Hi y’all,

Here’s a copy of my draft. It’s very rough. I started working on something then abandoned it for this topic, so I’m still thinking through a lot of things.

MEMO:
Initially with this project I knew I wanted to work with something that I could (potentially) use later on for my dissertation. As I want to look at corporate structure and language and have experience with and interest in Disney as a corporation (and its corporate culture), I thought incorporating it in this project in some way would be useful. Dr. Banks, in response to my draft proposal, brought up the idea of reactions Disney had/has to events in the community (and particularly tragedies in the community). The summer of 2016 was tough for the Central Florida area with the murder of singer Christina Grimmie, the Pulse nightclub shooting, and the death of Lane Graves by alligator attack. Disney responded primarily to two of these events – the Pulse shooting and death of Lane Graves had direct impacts on the company. I am hoping to analyze some of the public relations material Disney released internally and externally, as well as look at some of the unofficial Disney blogs to see how the company was not only portrayed during this time, but also how they handled these situations.

I think my draft tackles a lot of areas within this topic – analysis of the PR material Disney released, comparison/contrast of unofficial Disney blogs and websites for reactions, the history of corporate response to tragedy. I’m having a hard time making my argument with just one of these ideas. They all fit together and work to make the topic relevant, so I’m having a hard time boiling it down to a single idea.

As the writer, I want to know what interests you as the reader the most. What do you want to know more about? What has the most impact on you? What seems most useful to you? I want to connect my research in a way that is useful and in a way that the reader sees value in and connection to.

DRAFT:
What Would Mickey Do?:
The Walt Disney Company’s Response to Tragedy in the Community

Thousands upon thousands of guests visit the Disney theme parks each year. The Walt Disney Company, and particularly the theme park branch of this entertainment corporation, has built itself on this idea of total and complete happiness. It is, after all, the happiest place on earth. Disney has stood the test of time and built its brand on exceptional guest service. When employees (what Disney terms as “cast members”) begin their career with the company, each person must take a required course on their first day entitled “Traditions” which discusses the history and culture of the company. Preservation is imperative to The Walt Disney Company. Nearly everything within the theme park side of the business is built on the idea of “The Four Keys” – safety, courtesy, show, and efficiency – and in that particular order. (I want to take a moment to explain the use of Disney company jargon within my work and situate these terms before going any further. The term “cast member” is used to describe an employee of The Walt Disney Company. Walt Disney built the company, and especially the theme parks on the idea that employees were “onstage” when they were working in their “roles,” therefore the terminology surrounding the workplace is focused on a stage performance. Additionally, the term “guest” is used to refer to someone who visits the theme parks, and in company literature is always capitalized to add emphasis and importance, as the guest is valued. In terms of communications, the Disney company distributes and communicates internally (cast member to cast member) through numerous publications including a magazine titled Eyes and Ears. The Disney company/theme parks also communicate with the public, which going forward I refer to as external (meaning from within the company – cast member – to public – guest).

Walt Disney World operates as a city within itself with its own fire department, shopping, dining, accommodations, and entertainment. As a cast member or guest, it would be easy to never have to remove yourself from what people consider the “Disney bubble.” While this “Disney bubble” is a magical place to be, inevitably reality does begin to set in. The two American Disney theme parks are located in mid-to-large cities – Anaheim, California and Orlando, Florida (Walt Disney World carries the address of Lake Buena Vista, Florida which is a suburb of Orlando, but for our purposes, we will refer to Walt Disney World within the larger Orlando area). Walt Disney World and Disneyland run like small cities within themselves, but also make up a small part of a much larger community.

The year 2016 was a tragic and upsetting one for the greater Orlando area, as within the period of about one week it saw the murder of singer Christina Grimmie, the Pulse nightclub shooting, and the death of Lane Graves due to an alligator attack. The Pulse nightclub shooting, and the death of Lane Graves had direct ties to Walt Disney World. On the night of June 12, Pulse, a gay nightclub in Orlando was attacked by gunman Omar Mateen. Mateen killed 49 people in what was, at the time, the deadliest mass shooting in United States history (“Deadliest Mass Shootings”). Of the 49 victims, _____ were former or current Disney cast members (CITE). In the wake of this tragic event, Orlando came together as a community to support the victims and their families. As a member of the Orlando community at this time, I can attest to the fact that nearly everywhere you turned, there was a spirit of community. During a trip to a large shopping mall in the Orlando area later that week, there were rainbow flag displays in nearly every anchor department store, with most stores actually redesigning their windows and entrances in order to add flags and remembrances honoring the LGBTQ+ community and those who lost their lives at Pulse. With the response being so strong from the surrounding community, Disney also needed to get involved to offer its support to the victims, and their friends and families. With 49 victims and nearly 75,000 cast members, the likelihood that friends and family of the victims were Disney cast members was also extremely likely.

The death of Lane Graves had a vastly different, although still tragic impact on the theme park and the company. About a week after the Pulse nightclub shooting, Lane Graves, a two-year old boy and his family, were spending time on the beach at Disney’s Grand Floridian Resort and Spa when Lane was attacked by an alligator. The beach at the resort hosts a long sandy area that meets some marshy water. Around 9:00pm, Lane was attacked by an alligator who presumably lived in that body of water that overlooks the Magic Kingdom theme park. Despite his father’s efforts to save him, Lane was killed. The news hit Twitter more quickly than Disney would have liked (as they would have like to have been able to control and make a statement along with this news) and the call for more safety protocols from Disney soon followed. Since that time, there has been much speculation about who is to blame in this situation – is it Disney for not putting up proper safety signs, or is it the family’s for letting Lane go into unknown water that had a no swimming sign and is located in one of the swampiest states in America? While there is no clear-cut and decisive answer to this question, Disney’s response from the top down speaks to the literacy of the company, especially in how they handle the aftermath of those things that are less than Disney-like.

In this paper, I will explore the history and literacies used by Disney to respond to tragedies in the community and on their own property. Through looking at how executives and cast members have (or have not) responded to tragedies beginning with Walt Disney himself through 9/11 and eventually ending up with the attack of Lane Graves, I hope to see how these literacies are used to a) continue to uphold the reputation of the company and 2) make a true impact on the lives of the affected people, and 3) compare and contrast how the response to these events were portrayed across various theme park blogs and external communications (those not having any official connection to the company). Furthermore, I will also analyze some of the publications by Disney within internal (cast member to cast member) and external (cast member to guest) communications noting these events and supporting larger organizations.

History

Walt Disney’s dream was realized when he opened Disneyland in Anaheim, California in ____ (CITE). Disney did not live to see the opening of the Magic Kingdom, the first park to open in 1971 in Orlando, Florida. Disney did, however, experience tragedy to his empire even prior to either park’s opening day. Walt and his brother Roy created what is now the Walt Disney Studio in Burbank, California in 1926 (formerly the Disney Brothers Studio) (Amernic and Craig 88). In 1940 with the war happening, the studio created its first letter to its stockholders, thought to be written by Walt and Roy Disney. Amernic and Craig assert that, “The first sentence – ‘The effect of the war in Europe upon the affairs of your Company has been serious and the full measure thereof cannot yet be determined’” (94). Here the Disney brothers instill pride and ownership in the company to those shareholders – it is their company. The authors go on to write, “Disney refers to ‘the’ company forty-four times in the letter. Only once, and in this section, does he refer to ‘your’ company. In doing so, he brings home the implications of the bad news to shareholders” (94).