The atom according to Disney

Bibliographic Data

ID9237671
AuthorsElizabeth Walker Mechling (California State University, Fullerton), Jay Mechling (University of California, Davis)
Year1995
Volume81
Issue4
Pages436-453
Publication date1995-11-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessNo
TypeARTICLE
VenueQuarterly Journal of Speech (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0033-5630 • E-ISSN: 1479-5779
PublisherInforma UK Limited (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1080/00335639509384128
OpenAlexW2065659796
LanguageEN
Citations received9
References cited27

The broadcast of Disney's 1957 film, “Our Friend the Atom,” a Tomorrow land segment for the Disneyland television show, was a significant moment in the rhetorical history of the naturalization of atomic energy. Disney's interpretation of the peaceful atom, both in the televisual text and in the theme park narratives, had much in common with other mid‐century texts, from world's fairs to popular science books, but the particular contribution of Disney was the metaphor and visual icon of the Genie who grants three wishes. The Genie metaphor offered an optimistic twist on a traditionally ironic story, helping naturalize the peaceful atom

Aesthetics · Art · Energy (signal processing) · Icon · Interpretation (philosophy) · Linguistics · Literature · Media studies · Metaphor · Narrative · Physics · Rhetorical question · Sociology · Theme (computing) · Climate Change Communication and Perception · Computer Science · Philosophy · Rhetoric and Communication Studies · Science Education and Perceptions