Disney branding itself as a wholesome, magical company where dreams come true, where happy endings are within everyone’s grasp, has always been treacly enough to irk me. But now, after watching “The American Dream and Other Fairy Tales,” I feel confident in calling that narrative an outright lie. Directed by Disney scion Abigail E. Disney and Kathleen Hughes, the documentary uses the corporation, specifically its theme parks, as a case study on the malignancy of American capitalism. Spoiler alert: This film will not inspire that warm, fuzzy feeling you associate with “Beauty and the Beast” or Disney World.
When we spoke to Abigail Disney about “The American Dream” during its Sundance run, she revealed that her biggest challenge while making the film was “[her] own fear.” She explained, “[the] fear of betraying my family, of being hesitant to speak the whole truth, of making myself so vulnerable to criticism and attack.” Fortunately, that fear didn’t prevent her from taking a long, hard look at what her family’s company has become, and the larger culture it upholds and benefits from.
In 2018, then-Disney CEO Bob Iger made $65.5 million. At the same time, many Disney parks employees had to choose between buying food or medication because they couldn’t afford both on their salary. Needing food stamps, sleeping in cars, and inadequate medical coverage are also widespread problems spotlighted in the doc. All of the main subjects, at one point or another, confess they thought they’d be further along, have more financial security, by this time in their lives — they range in age from mid-20s to mid-50s.
Of course, Disney isn’t the only company doing morally reprehensible shit — it’s just one gear in a huge, greedy machine. In its 87 minutes “The American Dream” efficiently breaks down how workers rights have systematically been dismantled in the past 50 years or so, while reminding us that the American economy was born out of stolen Indigenous land and slave labor. It is biased by design. Yet, somehow, our national consciousness is controlled by magical thinking: if you do what you’re supposed to do, work hard and follow the rules, anything your heart desires will come to you. We keep buying into that very Disneyfied ethos, even as the disgustingly rich get disgustingly richer, and the working poor work harder just to get poorer.
In the time since Abigail Disney and Hughes made this film — and as the pandemic-era economic situation has become more untenable in the U.S. — the Disney legacy has only gotten thornier. The base minimum wage for park employees was raised but current Disney CEO Bob Chapek made $32.5 million last year, more than double his 2020 earnings. He also seems fine with jacking up park ticket prices just because, and, initially, he essentially shrugged at the notion of Florida’s asinine Don’t Say Gay bill.
Again, in the spirit of fairness, Disney is just one evil corporation in a culture full of them. They are not interested in being on the right side of history, at least not in this point in time — just look at how studios have dragged their feet in response to the showrunner coalition’s very reasonable abortion access demands. As much as “The American Dream and Other Fairy Tales” bursts the pretty little bubble Disney has built around itself, it also emphasizes something that has become increasingly clear in the past decade: we can’t depend on businesses to do the right thing on their own. Their feet have to be held to the fire, by us. Because, let’s remember, there are a lot more of us than them.
“The American Dream and Other Fairy Tales” is now in theaters and will be available on VOD September 23.
