Teri Talk: A Cinderella story — Disney college class keeps students animated
Yes, there was sometimes trash talk on campus.
But the students in Walt Disney’s America at Virginia Wesleyan College didn’t seem to mind.
After all, they literally took a Mickey Mouse class.
“There’s a misconception Disney is all about fun and rides,” said junior Amy Large, 21. “It’s so much more than what it seems.”
Take the trip to Disney World.
The 13 students and two instructors spent four days earlier this month roaming the Florida parks, going on rides and hunting down souvenirs, including custom ears and collections of pins. Many had visited before but said this experience was different.
“They were going not just as fans but as cultural anthropologists,” said professor Kathy Merlock Jackson. “Disney’s like wallpaper; we don’t think critically about it. We should think critically about everything.”
From early morning until midnight each day, the students learned about the inner workings of Disney World, Disney himself and the societal, entrepreneurial and even religious implications of what they experienced.
“When I first saw a flier (for the class), I thought, ‘This is going to be real fun,’ ” said freshman Nicholas DeLuca, 18. “It is great, but it’s also a little hard.”
Once they returned to campus, he and the other students spent more than a week in a classroom at Birdsong Hall discussing the required reading, which included one of Jackson’s four Disney books. They also kept a journal, had to write a final reflection and had group presentations on four theme parks.
Students paid $1,800 each to cover travel, food and lodging. Some financial assistance was available.
This is the second time Jackson and fellow communications professor Terry Lindvall have teamed up for the class, which was first offered six years ago.
Lindvall, though not nearly as devoted to all things Disney, appreciates the significance of the brand. He remembers visiting Disneyland in 1956, the year after it opened.
“(Disney) is pervasive, there’s no doubt about it,” he said. “It’s an alternative religion, too. If you look, it’s got its own myths. It’s got its own rituals. It’s got its own morals, and Disneyland is one of the most secular places in the world.”
Most of the students were either communications, business or psychology majors.
“If you’re interested in learning about business and marketing, Disney is your best bet,” said senior Michael Willson, 22. “Disney is one of the largest corporations in the world. They own a number of different media outlets. If you go to Disney World, you get to see how they tick.”
Variations on a theme … park
Willson, DeLuca and Corey King spent part of a recent class thinking up new attractions for one of the Disney parks, Epcot.
“It’s really hard to plan future exhibits because, by the time they’re built, it’s yesterday,” Jackson said.
Lindvall said they tried to have the students act as consultants, studying what works at the parks, what doesn’t, what messages they send and how that information changes people.
Freshman Tara Truax, 19, who wore blinking mouse ears, said knowing this makes her better appreciate the Disney experience.
“Even when you know the secrets, Disney does its very best to make sure the magic never really leaves. Mickey Mouse was the thing to have when it came out. And Mickey Mouse … every little kid (still) knows his name.”
Jackson has been to Disney World and Disneyland about 10 times. The class is a byproduct of her interest in the subject. “Studying things like Disney is what I’ve done my entire professional career.”
Her introduction came at age 8 when her older brother took her to see “Sleeping Beauty.”
“I wish I’d known Walt Disney,” Jackson said. “He, like anyone, was flawed, but he had some interesting ideas. He wasn’t a great artist. He could be close-minded, single-minded. But he clearly created an empire few people could.”
Her office is jam-packed with Disney, Warner Brothers and other pop culture memorabilia, including signed photos of Patty Duke and Shirley Temple, a Betty Boop clock and anime.
“Once you start doing Disney, there’s always more Disney,” she said.
That’s why she’s never gotten sick of it.
Lindvall feels differently.
He loved “watching the students learn” on the trip, but that was the only thing that appealed to him.
“Kill the mouse,” he joked. “If Kathy is Minnie, I’m the Donald Duck. … The irascible, cantankerous nemesis of Mickey.”