THE PLEASURE IN PARADOX: THE NEGOTIATION BETWEEN AGENCY AND ADMIRATION IN THE DISNEY FAN COMMUNITY Alissa Butler A Dissertation Submitted to the Graduate College of Bowling Green State University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY May 2021 Committee: Radhika Gajjala, Advisor Emily Freeman Brown Graduate Faculty Representative Bradford Clark Rob Sloane © 2021 Alissa Nicole Butler All Rights Reserved iii ABSTRACT Radhika Gajjala, Advisor With one of the largest and most dedicated fan bases, the Disney Company enjoys a strong following with adults. A portion of these fans purposefully and pointedly incorporate the Disney brand into their everyday lives making it their chosen lifestyle. Through social media, they have formed a tight knit community that, for many, has become the nexus of their social lives. Disney fandom, however, is not so straightforward and fans face conflicting pressures as Disney, their fellow fans, and their own personal desires attempt to influence their behaviors and fan practices. Disney pressures fans to unquestioningly promote it, consume as much of its products as possible, and to convince others to do the same. The fan community gatekeeps what it means to be a Disney fan and pressures fans to conform to social norms that can suppress individual expression. Fans themselves want to be completely dedicated to both Disney and their community but simultaneously independent and uninfluenced by both. Rather than choosing any one influence, they find a way to accommodate all parties by situating themselves in a paradox that enables them to continue being fans. They are both independent from and dependent upon Disney, they keep community unity through rejection and angst, and they are able to be better community members and Disney fans by pursuing their own self-interests. Using participant- observer ethnography, this dissertation explores the world of these fans to understand how they negotiate agency between the conflicting pressures. Each chapter highlights a paradox fans manage as they establish themselves in their identities as Disney fans. From these paradoxes, I demonstrate that media fandom, particularly with Disney, is not as simple as straightforward admiration and instead, is a complex process that requires careful navigation. iv For all my cheerleaders v ACKNOWLEDGMENTS First and foremost, I would not be here without the incredible love and support of my husband Rafi. You have been there from the beginning and I am so thankful you took this journey with me. I love you. I have so much gratitude for the support I received from my amazing family—the Butlers, the Dins, the Singers, and the Fischbachs. Your unwavering support, understanding, and enthusiasm are why I am here today. I am so fortunate to have you in my life. To my enthusiastic cheerleaders Bonnie Miller and Steven Bellavia. You always believed in me and were there to listen and encourage me whenever I needed you. Thank you so much and I am grateful to have friends like you. I am so appreciative of my wonderful committee: to Radhika Gajjala for taking me and this project on when I was struggling; to Brad Clark for your thoughtful ideas and notes; and especially to Rob Sloane for the countless hours you spent “nerding” out with me over this project and the many drafts you slogged through with me to get to this point. To my wonderful friends at BDN: Will, Bobby, Marina, Maggie, and Chi. You are the best kind of people and you make my life better. A special thanks to all the amazing people who I met on the last leg of this race and cheered me to the finish line: MaryKate Smolenski, Hope Gillespie, Sydney Sheehan, and my peers at Historic New England. Your encouragement and enthusiasm mean so much to me. And finally, to Tiffany Knoell. My heart is full of gratitude for the mentorship you gave me when I needed it most. You helped me get off the ground, dust myself off, and finish. I am eternally grateful. vi TABLE OF CONTENTS Page INTRODUCTION .................................................................................................................... 1 Methodology ................................................................................................................. 3 Theoretical Frameworks ............................................................................................... 5 Literature Review.......................................................................................................... 8 Fandom Studies ................................................................................................. 8 Disney Scholarhsip ........................................................................................... 12 Chapter Summaries ....................................................................................................... 20 Terminology ............................................................................................................... 24 Race, Class, and Gender ............................................................................................... 26 Conclusion ............................................................................................................... 28 CHAPTER I. THE FANS, THEIR COMMUNITY, AND THE NEGOTIATION OF AGENCY AGENCY ................................................................................................................................. 30 Fans and the Disney Magic ........................................................................................... 35 The Power of the Parks ................................................................................................. 39 The Fan Community ..................................................................................................... 47 Cults and Neoreligiosity ............................................................................................... 51 Disney’s Control and Influence .................................................................................... 57 Case Study in Hegemony: Disney’s Magic Bands ....................................................... 62 Agency, Community, and Participatory Fandom ......................................................... 66 Conclusion: “I Will Always Go Back” ......................................................................... 69 CHAPTER II. DISNEY-ANGST: NEGATIVITY AND EXPLICIT BEHAVIOR IN DISNEY FAN SPACES ............................................................................................................... 73 vii The Consequences of Control ....................................................................................... 77 Angst-Fans and Their Activities ................................................................................... 85 Bullies or Victims? ....................................................................................................... 97 Disney Snark vs. Mouse Rants ..................................................................................... 103 Conclusion: The Angst-Fan Paradox ............................................................................ 107 CHAPTER III. CONTENT CREATORS: FINDING THE BALANCE BETWEEN THE SELF, THE COMMUNITY, AND DISNEY ...................................................................................... 109 The Creators and Their Content .................................................................................... 113 Building Community Through Disconnect ................................................................... 118 Pixie Dust Perks ............................................................................................................ 121 Stuck Between Agency and Admiration ....................................................................... 127 Stuck Between Agency and Authenticity ..................................................................... 132 The Brief and Wondrous Life of Disflix....................................................................... 137 Conclusion: Finding Peace in the Paradox ................................................................... 144 CONCLUSION ............................................................................................................... 148 WORKS CITED ............................................................................................................... 152 APPENDIX A. INTERVIEW QUESTIONS ........................................................................... 165 APPENDIX B. LIST OF INTERVIEWEES ............................................................................ 167 APPENDIX C. LIST OF DISNEY FAN PODCASTS ............................................................ 168 1 INTRODUCTION The Disney Company is one of the most powerful and influential media corporations in the world. It also has one of the most loyal and dedicated fan bases, the majority of whom are adults. As scholarship has shown (e.g., Henry Jenkins, Matt Hills, Jonathan Gray), media fandom is increasingly viewed in a positive light, and participating in a fandom community is seen as empowering and an act of personal agency. However, Disney fandom in adults is still commonly viewed, both in the academic and popular realm, negatively and as what cultural theorists Theodore Adorno and Max Horkheimer would describe as a “duped” practice, or when media companies create “false needs for consumer goods that we neither want nor need, yet we purchase anyway, which results in our own repression” (Wiedenhoft