The Disney Middle Ages: A Fairy-Tale and Fantasy Past
The New Middle Ages
Edited By Tison Pugh and Susan Aronstein
Palgrave Macmillan, December 2012
ISBN: 978-0-230-34007-7, ISBN10: 0-230-34007-5,
5.500 x 8.500 inches, 304 pages, 6 b/w illustrations,
Hardcover $85.00
The Middle Ages depicted in Walt Disney
movies have come, for many, to figure as the Middle Ages, forming the
earliest visions of the medieval past for much of the contemporary
western (and increasingly eastern) imaginary. The essayists of The
Disney Middle Ages explore Disney's mediation and re-creation of a
fairy-tale and fantasy past, not to lament its exploitation of the
Middle Ages for corporate ends, but to examine how and why these
medieval visions prove so readily adaptable to themed entertainments
many centuries after their creation.
Contents:
Introduction: Disney's Retroprogressive Medievalisms: Where Yesterday Is Tomorrow Today; T.Pugh
PART I: BUILDING A BETTER MIDDLE AGES: MEDIEVALISM IN THE PARKS
Mapping the Happiest Place on Earth: Disney's Medieval Cartography; S.YandellDisney's Castles and the Work of the Medieval in the Magic Kingdom; M.BaylessPilgrimage and Medieval Narrative Structures in Disney's Parks; S.Aronstein
PART II: THE DISTORICAL MIDDLE AGES
'You don't learn it deliberately, but you just know it from what you've seen': British Understandings of the Medieval Past Gleaned from Disney's Fairy Tales; P.SturtevantThe Sorcerer's Apprentice: Animation and Alchemy in Disney's Medievalism; E.F.Labbie
The Sword in the Stone: American Translation and Disney's Anti-medievalisms; R.GossedgeWalt in Sherwood, or the Sheriff of Disneyland: Disney and the Film Legend of Robin Hood; K.J.HartyFuturistic Medievalisms and the U.S. Space Program in Disney's Man in Space Trilogy and Unidentified Flying Oddball; A.Foster
PART III: DISNEY PRINCESS FANTASY FAIRE
'Where happily ever after happens every day': The Medievalisms of Disney's Princesses; C.BradfordDisney's Medievalized Ecologies in Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs and Sleeping Beauty; K.C.KellyThe United Princesses of America: Ethnic Diversity and Cultural Purity in Disney's Medieval Past; I.Mitchell-SmithEsmerelda of Notre Dame: The Gypsy Girl in Medieval View from Hugo to Disney; A.CravenReality Remixed: Neomedieval Princess Culture in Disney's Enchanted; M.S.Cecire
About the Editors:
Tison Pugh is a professor of English at the University of Central
Florida. He is the author of Queering Medieval Genres, Sexuality and Its
Queer Discontents in Middle English Literature, and Innocence,
Heterosexuality, and the Queerness of Children's Literature.
Susan Aronstein is a professor of English at the University of Wyoming,. She is the author of Hollywood Knights: Arthurian Cinema and the Politics of Nostalgia and her articles on medieval Arthurian romance, medieval film, medievalism and popular culture have appeared in numerous books and journals.
Praise:
'An exciting excursion through
Disney's entertainment kingdom. The exploration of Disney's
'retroprogressive' reimagining of the Middle Ages - from the medieval
cartography of the theme-park maps and the fantastical geography of
Wart's Camelot and Robin's Sherwood to the familiar iconography of
Disney's fairy-tale castles and the increasingly diverse ethnography of
his princesses - is lively, perceptive, and provocative. The Disney Middle Ages
offers fascinating insights into American values and consumer
practices; and it is essential reading for anyone interested in
medievalism, film, or popular culture.' - Barbara Tepa Lupack, author of
The Girl's King Arthur and Illustrating Camelot
"Witty, wry, and informative, this volume opens with an engaging introduction followed by thirteen essays that explore Disney's influence on contemporary readings of medieval sources as well as on modern perceptions of the Middle Ages. Stylishly written, the essays have wide appeal, reaching medievalists in all disciplines and well beyond to anyone who has ever encountered or who has been touched by a Disney film, owned a Disney product, or visited a Disney theme park. A model for other publications of its kind, The Disney Middle Ages presents fresh ways to consider popular culture in historical contexts and demonstrates Disney's apparently endless vitality in shaping modern notions of all things medieval." - Martha W. Driver, Distinguished Professor of English and Women's and Gender Studies, Pace University
"Witty, wry, and informative, this volume opens with an engaging introduction followed by thirteen essays that explore Disney's influence on contemporary readings of medieval sources as well as on modern perceptions of the Middle Ages. Stylishly written, the essays have wide appeal, reaching medievalists in all disciplines and well beyond to anyone who has ever encountered or who has been touched by a Disney film, owned a Disney product, or visited a Disney theme park. A model for other publications of its kind, The Disney Middle Ages presents fresh ways to consider popular culture in historical contexts and demonstrates Disney's apparently endless vitality in shaping modern notions of all things medieval." - Martha W. Driver, Distinguished Professor of English and Women's and Gender Studies, Pace University
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