AN ABSTRACT OF THE THESIS OF Patricia C. Allen-Spencer for the degree of Master of Arts in English presented onMy 21, 2001. Title: Of Mice and Bunnies: Walt Disney, Hugh Hefner, and the Age of Consensus. Redacted for Privacy Abstract approved: / Jon Lewis Post World War II victory culture and its falloutthe consensus ideologyled to the creation of a middle class willing to conform to a prescribed set of ideals, safely removed from all danger, and enjoying the material benefits of a growing middle-class income bracket. Walt Disney and Hugh Hefner, two seemingly ideologically opposed businessmen, recognized this economic, political, and cultural shift and sought to capitalize on it financially. A cultural-history study of both companies revels many similarities in each company's design, development, and impact on American culture. To begin with, Disneyland and Playboy appeared in the mid-1950s as Americans were settling into postwar affluence and consumerism. Disney and Hefner each recognized thechanges occurring within society and intended to design areas of reprieve. As such, Disneyland and Playboy were designed as areas of refuge where one could escape the stifling conformity of middle-class America and simultaneously forget Cold War fears. Instead, Disneyland and Playboy embraced the consensus and became reflections of society and culture rather than operatives of counter-culture. To understand how each company could fail in its original intent but remain as an emblem of American culture, it is necessary to understand the era, the men behind the visions, and how each company absorbed and reacted to cultural attitudes and strains. Disney and Hefner manipulated their way into the American cultural consciousness through a series of ironies and inconsistencies. Each sought to provide a haven of diversity as an alternative to the consensus conformity rampant within 1950s society. Ultimately, Disneyland and Playboy came to represent the homogeneity Disney and Hefner sought to escape. © Copyright by Patricia C. Allen-Spencer May 21, 2001 All Rights Reserved Of Mice And Burmies: Walt Disney, Hugh Hefner, and the Age ofConsensus by Patricia C. Allen-Spencer A THESIS submitted to Oregon State University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts Presented May 21, 2001 Commencement June 2002 Master of Arts thesis of Patricia C. Allen-Spencer presented on May 21, 2001 APPROVED: Redacted for Privacy Major PcrfScor, representing English Redacted for Privacy of Department of English Redacted for Privacy Dean of th braduate School I understand that my thesis will become part of the permanent collection of Oregon State University libraries. My signature below authorizes release of my thesis to any reader upon request. Redacted for Privacy Patricia C. Allen- Spencer Author ACKNOWLEDGMENTS When I embarked on this journey I hadmany goals set for myself and for this project. Those goals were quickly derailed whenmy father passed away three weeks into my first term. His passing forced me to reevaluatemy goals, as well as what I intended to achieve through the completion ofmy education. I learned a lot about keeping things in perspective. This project wouldnever have reached its culmination had it not been for the support of several people. I will forever be indebted to Dr. Jon Lewis for his patience throughout this lengthy process. He was always willing toanswer questions, give advice, read a lengthy draft, or help smooth out a rough area in theprocess. His help and encouragement with each rewrite or revision made this process a positive experience. I owe more than words can express to the Beck family. Michael, Kristin, Jonah, and Aaron you all helped me to get backon track after a difficult period. The meals and happy times I shared with you reminded me of the importance of family and providedme with the courage to finish what I had begunThank you! I wish to thank my parents. You each instilled withinme the will and desire to reach higher and push my own expectations. Yoursupport has always been my strength. Mom, you helped me to keep things in perspective after Dad passed, andyou would not let me quit. Thank you for believing in me and keepingme on track. To my husband Dennis, your love and support throughout thisprocess has been a source of inspiration. Thank you for believing in my ability to complete this project and for giving me the freedom and resources to doso. I know the sacrifices that you have made so that I could chase my dream and I will be forever gratefulI dedicate thisto I,I.Ip TABLE OF CONTENTS Practicing Consensus in Americas Postwar Victory Society 1 HumbleBeginnings..................................................................................... 11 The Construction of Plasticland.................................................................. 25 Grand Openings, Premieres, and Early Growth_________________________________________ 46 Plastic Reality in the American Consensus 65 Endnotes....................................................................................................... 82 OF MICE AND BUNNIES: WALT DISNEY, HUGH HEFNER, AND THE AGE OF CONSENSUS Practicing Consensus in America's Postwar Victory Society Victory culture and its fallout, the consensus philosophy, led to the creation of a segment of a society willing to conform to a prescribed set of ideals, safely removed from all danger, and enjoying the material benefits of a growing middle-class income bracket. Walt Disney and Hugh Hefner recognized this consensus movement as a market and sought to capitalize on it, both financially and psychologically. Initially, each sought to create an escape from the choking compliance and atomic fear prevalent in postwar society. In the end, both created entertainment empires that not only embraced the tenets of consensus ideology but also altered the American cultural landscape by embracing images of homogeneity. Employing similar goals and tactics, Disney and Hefner created their own versions and visions of American culture. Beginning in the 1950s Walt Disney transformed his corporation into a producer of mass-culture, theme parks, and televisionshows.1Walt recognized that his market audience had changed, and he manipulated the baby boom generation as a target audience to create an empireDisneyland. Disney sought to create a place safe from Cold War fears that provided diversity, yet his theme park quickly began to reinforce societal conformity. Cultural critic Mitsuhiro Yoshimoto explained that Disney tried to createan autonomous utopian space cut off from the rest of society. In order to do so, any elements that reminded visitors of the outside world needed to beexcluded.2Disney accomplished this goal by successfully capturing the essence of conformity in architectureplacelessness. Disney created a perfectly planned environment void of any 2 outside chaos or interference. Disneyland,or plastic land, would come to represent the best and the worst in planned environments. With 1950s conservatism as a backdrop, Hugh Hefner transformedhis home-start men's magazine into a national emblem of sexual liberation. Working fromthe foundation that the Kinsey report established in discussing the sexualprocess, Hether sought to establish a male social sexual conscience void ofpostwar tensions and conservatism. Preeminent in the first issue was Hefher's desire to provide relieffrom Cold War fears and anxieties for his male audience. Justas Disney desired Disneyland to provide escape from the outside world, Heftier designed Playboy with the same goal. Hefner's mission statement appeared in the first issue, telling male readersthat "if we [Playboy] are able to give the American Male a few extra laughs and a little diversion from the anxieties of the atomic age, we'll feel we've justifiedourexistence."3Early issues dealt little with political and worldconcerns and focused on Hefner's opinion and definition of "healthy" male and female sexuality amidst the accepted conservatismand Puritanism of the time. In The Playboy Vision of America, author Thomas Weyrargues that Playboy was just what a generation growing up in the shadow of the mushroomcloud and under Joseph McCarthy's claw needed. An increase in personal incomeand the establishment of a strong middle class contributed to thesuccess of Playboy just as it did with Disneyland. Author David Halberstam attributes Playboy'ssuccess to Americans' greater financial freedom, which resulted in the lessening of religious andmoral restrictions. Hefner "preached pleasure. He touched the rightchord at precisely the right time," explainedHalberstam.4Playboy's success, according to Halberstam and Weyr, reflected the postwar decline of Puritanism in America dueto the newfound affluence of society. In The Century of Sex: Playboy's History of the Sexual Revolution 1900-1999, Hugh Hefner targets urbanization, advancements in transportation, andmass communications as the three major events of the twentiethcentury. Hugh, like Walt, manipulated these social changes to sell hisown vision of American security. Targeting the young urban male of the mid 1 950s, Hefner sought to instilla need for the gadgets, styles, and social status readily available toyoung men in the booming postwar victory economy. In addition, Hefner sought to relax the sexual conservatism ushered in with the broad consensus. Hefner would use television and themass communication network to sell his own brand of theme park, the Playboy Empire. During a period of remarkable prosperity, these