How does Disneyland Reflect the American Dream?

What does it mean to belong in the American imagination? That’s one question we explore on this week’s episode of UnTextbooked. In another installment of “UnTextbooking the Museum Collections”, we dive into the Smithsonian's National Museum of American History exhibit named “Mirror Mirror: Disney theme parks and American stories”. Producer Victor Ye speaks with original Disney Imagineer Bob Gurr about working with Walt Disney, designing original Disney rides, and queer identity. Smithsonian Curator Bethanee Bemis shares how Walt Disneyland is a microcosm of the American dream.   Listen to new episodes every Thursday. Follow the show on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music or wherever you listen. That way you never miss an episode.  Love the show? Consider writing us a review on your podcast app or telling a friend about the show. This really helps us spread the word.  Visit UnTextbooked.com for learning resources including a glossary of terms.  Show Notes: (00:00) - Mirror, Mirror: Disney Theme Parks and American Stories (4:29) - Bob Gurr, Original Disney Imagineer (9:29) - Bob Gurr on Designing the Monorail (14:44) - Bethanee Bemis on Disneyland and American Values (18:25) - Splash Mountain & Song of the South (21:07) - “Gay Days” at Disney Parks (25:33) - Being Gay as an Early Disney Employee (27:00) - Bob Gurr on the Disney Omnibus for Pride (31:17) - Iconic Disney Ears (34:34) - Reflections & Legacy

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UnTextbooked is brought to you by teen change-makers who are looking for answers to big questions. Have you ever wondered if protests really can save lives, why assimilation required Native American kids to attend boarding schools, how Black-led organizations for mutual aid began, how the fear of communism led the United States to plan the overthrows of many leaders in Latin America, or why Brazilian cars run on sugar? Or maybe you've questioned when Asian Americans will stop being seen as "perpetual foreigners," how African heritage influences Black activism, or what resilience looks like for Iranian women?  Your textbooks probably didn't teach you how American Jews were an integral part of the Civil Rights Movement, if history’s greatest leaders were generalists or specialists, how a Black teenager and his young lawyer changed America’s criminal justice system, or if either the US or the USSR won the Cold War. Did you know some of the forgotten BIPOC women of history were spying in aid of the French Resistance, that there's more to being a leader than going down with your battleship, or that there is a long history of gender expression in Native American cultures that goes beyond the male/female binary? Listen in as we interview famous authors and historians who have the answers.  Context is the key to understanding topics like British imperialism, segregation, racism, criminal justice, identifying as non-binary and so much more. These intergenerational conversations bring the full power of history to you with the depth and vividness that most textbooks lack. Real history, to help you find answers to your big questions. UnTextbooked makes history unboring forever.