Shortsleeve, Kevin. "The Wonderful World of the Depression: Disney, Despotism, and the 1930s. Or, Why Disney Scares Us." The Lion and the Unicorn, Johns Hopkins University Vol. 28, No. 12004 pp 1-30. 2 April 2008 <http://proxy.library.upenn.edu:2239/journals/lion_and_the_unicorn/v028/28.1shortsleeve.html>.

    In this article, Kevin Shortsleeve discusses the tension between Walt Disney’s messages and his actual organization.  Shortsleeve finds that on the one hand Disney is committed to a utopian fantasy and a sentimental longing for monarchy in the messages of films.  However, on the other hand, he also finds that the level of efficiency and production that has been achieved in Disney could not have happened in a democratically run system and that Disney is in fact run exactly like a cutthroat and semi-fascist U.S. corporation.  Because of the disparities in the way Disney runs its organization and its posture as a representative of American ideals, there is a level of mistrust and paranoia surrounding the Disney enterprise.
    Critiques of Disney range and vary depending on its opposition.  Some authors critique the “dumbing down” and simplification of fairy tales for film adaptation.  They despise the moral simplification and appeal to sentimental aesthetics, which result in the elimination of more thought-provoking and complex outcomes.  P.L. Travers, author of the Mary Poppins books, expressed many of these sentiments during the making of Mary Poppins.  In addition, some political critics argue that many of the films, like Aladdin for example, further U.S. imperialist aims and stereotype minorities.  Feminists critique the depictions of women as Barbie-like and unrealistic.  Other critiques of Disney posit that many of the films peddle false innocence and brainwash children and its employees.  Conspiracy theories cite the immense autonomy Disney World enjoys in Florida and totalitarian working conditions in the Disney Corporation.  This paranoia is apparent in Godzilla (1972), for example, where cartoonists who are designing a theme park turn out to be alien cockroaches with an evil plan to take over the world. 
    Just like in Mary Poppins, the tensions between Walt Disney’s conservatism and modernism is exhibited.  Ex-employees have referred to working for Disney as ‘Waltarianism’ where collaboration and camaraderie between colleagues is prohibited and the executives rule with an iron fist.  The working environment has been compared to Nazism or Big Brother, where someone is always watching and any wrong move is punished.  At the same though, the corporation has maintained a rare unity in all aspects since its rise to fame in the 1930s.  Disney helped ordinary Americans define themselves in a time of trauma and uncertainty throughout the Great Depression, World War II and the Cold War.  Disney’s essence is a set of beliefs about good, evil and human aspiration where films are imbued with a sense of optimism.  Shortsleeve identifies this rift between Disney’s idealistic message and its inner workings, which has fueled paranoia, and critique of Disney.  This rift can be likened to the tension of ideas in Mary Poppins where a strong patriarchal family structure and strong outspoken woman are advocated at the same time.
 

   Wright, Jon. "Leaders in Marketing."Journal of Marketing. Vol. 32, No. 1, (1968), pp. 62-63. 2 April 2008.       <http://proxy.library.upenn.edu:5549/stable/view/1249199?seq=2>

    As shorter workdays and lengthened vacations started to become the norm in the mid-1960s for middle and upper class families, leisure time became a subject worthy of study.  Once businesses starting to realize the implications of this new leisure culture, the need for leisure and recreation marketing increased.  E. Cardon Walker was the Vice President of marketing for Walt Disney, Inc. and was largely responsible for revolutionizing marketing in this era.
    Walker rose through the ranks of Disney starting as a messenger after graduating from UCLA in 1938 and eventually moving to the advertising/publicity department in 1949.  He was promoted to head of the department in 1950 and by 1960 became part of the three-man executive committee including Walt Disney himself that served as the top policy-making body.  Walker was in charge of sales, advertising, publicity and promotion.  In 1966 under his direction, Disney’s sales were $116.5 million and their profits reached over $12 million. 
     The marketing philosophy that Walker built for Disney in the 1960s has not changed much over the past half decade.  Walker’s philosophy is grounded in sound marketing policies.  Walker wanted to keep Disney limited to family entertainment and specifically film to maintain complete control of marketing from within the corporation.  Approximately half of the corporation was devoted to films and the other half focused on ancillary products such as sound tracks, merchandise and toys, all of which reinforced the advertising of the films themselves.  During this time, Disney was able to transition successfully from cartoon shorts to feature length animated films, to feature length live action films and eventually to television.  These smooth transitions show Disney’s flexibility and ability to maintain control over its market.  For example, when television emerged as a new means of entertainment, Disney embraced it instead of fighting this new technology and starting to produce television programs.  Again, Disney’s conservative but modern approach is apparent.  Disney did not expand its markets beyond the entertainment and film industry, and when it did, do so slowly and cautiously to avoid risk.  In addition, its marketing techniques have not changed significantly over the years.  At the same time, they were one of the first to jump on the television bandwagon and utilize marketing techniques to enhance their sales.