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The Gospel According to Disney: Faith, Trust, and Pixie Dust
by Mark I. Pinsky
Product Group: Book
Publisher: Westminster John Knox Press (2004-07)
ISBN: 0664225918
EAN: 9780664225919
Dewy Decimal #: 791.43682
Paperback: 286 pages
SKU: 70913622
Condition: Used: Good
Comments: Sold with pride and shipped with confirmation for US addresses. No writing, no highlighting. This is a used copy with reading/ shelf wear.
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Editorial Reviews
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Product Description
In this follow-up to his best-selling The Gospel According to The Simpsons: The Spiritual Life of the World's Most Animated Family, religion journalist Mark Pinsky explores the role that the animated features of The Walt Disney Company have played in the moral and spiritual development of generations of children. Pinsky explores the religious, moral, and theological themes in 31 of the most popular Disney films, including Snow White, Cinderella, Beauty and the Beast, and the Lion King, and discovers what he calls the Disney Gospel: faith that good will prevail, trust in yourself and your friends, and a little bit of something magical. Pinsky also looks at recent Disney developments, including the 1990s boycott of Disney by the Southern Baptist Convention, the impact of the theme parks on American culture, and the role that CEO Michael Eisner has played in the resurgence of the company since the mid-1980s.
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Customer Reviews
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DO NOT BE DECEIVED! GOD IS NOT MOCKED!
Rating  (1)
Date: 2008-06-09
1 out of 5 customers found this reveiw helpful
I have not read this book. As far as Disney I cannot comment on the man, but only the actions and ideologies his company puts forth. The Disney Company seems to be deeply rooted in the theme of magic. Disneyland is referred to as the magical kingdom. Many of Disney's films and cartoons include magical representations such as casting of spells, divination, witchcraft and sorcery. A lot of times these representations are presented as "good" which is a lie. There is no such thing as good/white magic, even the Book of Satan testifies that there is not a difference between white and black magic. READ DEUTERONOMY 18:9-14!!! These things are detestable in the sight of God. Can Christians find entertainment or enjoyment in things that God considers an abomination? To the spiritually weak or unbeliever, at the very least these films and parks desensitize you and prepare you to more openly accept things within this realm that you normally would not have. The more you see something the more you get use to it and the less wrong you may find it. Do not be deceived!
Another example are Pirates, as in the Pirates of the Caribbean, which in reality are thieves and drunkards, also an abomination in the sight of God, for we know that neither of them have a place in the kingdom of heaven. Are these the things we want to glorify or shine a good light upon? Are we confusing our children or giving them a misrepresentation of right and wrong, good and evil?
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Informative, but not Insightful
Rating  (3)
Date: 2008-05-21
Pinsky starts off on an upbeat note, successfully discussing religious topics found in early Disney films, but as the book progresses through the company's animation history, Pinsky looses most of his analysis and commentary in favor of summarization. I felt that Pinsky did a good job explaining the premise of the post-Disney era films (beginning in the 80s and through the 90s - his insight picks up again in the 2000s) he lacked the spiritual commentary I was looking for, the commentary the book's subtitle "Faith, Trust, and Pixie Dust," advertises.
Overall, I would suggest this book as a good read, but there are probably more informative books out there for research purposes or more thought-provoking discussion.
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Good title, BAD book!
Rating (1)
Date: 2008-01-08
1 out of 1 customers found this reveiw helpful
If ever there was a book that embodied the saying, "Don't judge a book by its cover", this book is it. I picked it up at my local Barnes and Nobles, expecting an entertaining and inspiring read. From page one, I felt my stomach knot up and the more I read, the more disgusted I became. This man not only slanders Uncle Walt's good name(calling such characters as Mickey, Donald, Tink and so forth satanic because they believe in wishing on a star instead of praying to God) but implies that anyone who follows Disney's moral code is destined for eternal condemnation. Pinsky then goes to openly voice his support for the Southern Baptist Boycott, a boycott that was made up of convervative Christians making false allegations of materials in Disney films that never appeared. To all die-hard Disney fans, DON'T READ THIS BOOK! To Pinsky, leave the book-writting to someone with real vision because you wouldn't know creativity if it handed you a business card!
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Awful Book
Rating (1)
Date: 2007-10-13
1 out of 2 customers found this reveiw helpful
We purchased this book at a church convention thinking it might be interesting to get a religious perspective on Disney.What we got instead was a schizophrenic,overly-critical tearing apart of what are truly good films.Mr. Pinsky's overall opinion seemed hard to place.Sometimes his opinions were on the side of the conservative.At other times,they could be placed squarely on the side of the very,very,lunatic-fringe sector of liberal.While some of what he said was fair criticism,the majority of it was nothing more than whiny nitpicking.For example,he criticized Lady and the Tramp for stereotyping.I disgree with his opinion there.Number one,I thought that the nationatlities were portrayed fairly realistically to how they would have been in a neighbourhood like that at the turn of the century.Also,each group was portrayed in a very positive light.The Italian restrateur and chef are two of the best characters in the movie.And just becuase the movie portrayed them certain groups in a certain way does not mean that from watching everyone assumes they are all like that.I grew up with this movie and I know that each individual is unique and you can't categorize someone on basis of their race and/or ethnicity.
I will be fair though,the chapter on the actual business minds who now run Disney and on the current condition of the parks themselves was useful.It put into perspective that the current establishment has far more important things to do than make decent films.It really helped to explain the horribly poor excuses for film that Disney has turned out over the past few years.
However,in conclusion,this book is really not worth the time unless you want a laugh at the expense of nitpickers like Mr. Pinsky.If you are a die-hard Disney lover,I especially suggest you read something else.
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Lazy Research
Rating  (2)
Date: 2006-11-09
2 out of 2 customers found this reveiw helpful
It sounds like a good premise if a bit of a tall order, examine Disney's animated features for the role that their themes have played in the moral and spiritual development of generations of children. The idea being that these themes originated in the minds of Walt Disney and his successors, who were not entirely motivated by a bottom line, but had certain political and social agendas to advance.
Unfortunately, Mark I. Pinsky, the religion reporter for The Orlando Sentinel, conducts his analysis of the Disney animation world like a reporter running late for a press run deadline. Mostly this consists of a cursory viewing of 31 Disney films, plucking out a few nuggets of content that support his theme, and creating short chapters speculating on the symbolism within each film.
At the end is a non-philosophical analysis of the 1990's boycott by the Southern Baptist Contention.
Shortly into the book it becomes obvious that Pinsky has made little if any attempt to examine the source material for each film, attributing each relevant element to Disney rather than to the source material from which each screenplay was adapted.
This becomes especially glaring when a reader is familiar with the source material. A more useful approach would have been to compare and contrast the original material with its adaptation; identifying which elements Disney elected to keep, to cut, and to alter. It is likely that what was excluded is just as important as what was included in understanding the motivational forces at work within the Disney empire.
For example, the animated film "Alice in Wonderland" (1951) was more inspired by than adapted from the original Lewis Carroll story. Little more than title, some character names, and the basic premise (little heroine dreaming about going down a rabbit hole into a strange wonderland) was utilized by the Disney movie. That most viewer's believe it was a closer adaptation stems from the use of John Tenniel's original prints as inspiration for the character sketches.
Pinsky details several scenes in the film that were not even part of Carroll's story, then states: "For all the complaints about Disney's tinkering with and sanding down the edges of fairy tales, "Alice in Wonderland" demonstrates the pitfalls of fidelity to the original, of illustrating a classic story rather than transforming it and making it your own". As anyone even vaguely familiar with the book and the film know, on this point Pinsky is totally incorrect. Only someone unfamiliar with Carroll's original could have reached such a faulty conclusion. The failure (be it error or laziness) to do basic research in this case should set off reader alarm bells regarding most of the other assertions Pinsky makes in this book. No doubt some are valid but readers would do well to not accept any of Pinsky's points at face value.
Which doesn't mean that Pinsky's ideas are totally useless. They introduce fresh ways to examine many elements within Disney's features and might actually provide some useful insights to anyone motivated to aggressively explore his cursory assertions.
Then again, what do I know? I'm only a child.
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