Have any good ideas for a Disney-themed school research paper?

[mermaid_hair]

At my school, we have this thing called the "Junior Project". In summary, throughout our junior year in high school we must write a rather large research paper based on a given theme, and give an oral presentation at the end of the year. It's a pretty big deal, and everyone is expected to do a good job.

The theme this year is modern America (20th-21st century), and I thought what better topic to use than Disney?

I need to come up with a really good in-depth topic that will explore a lot of ideas, theories, etc. I thought maybe researching the legacy/influence of Disney animation on the movie industry or animation in general, or find a way to research the Disney Company's influence on American culture. I think there are better ideas out there.

Do any of you have some good topic ideas? I would really appreciate the help, and I would love to do a year-long project focusing on Disney!

[IndyFantasmic]

I'm actually about to write a paper for my English class about Disney films and racism. I know that sounds bad at first glance, but it's actually a closer examination about opinions on certain racially insensitive aspects of Disney films that the public debate over, which I think is an especially rich topic with The Princess and the Frog coming up. It goes back to movies like "Song of the South", "Dumbo", and even (supposedly) "Fantasia". It's a very deep topic.

I previously did a Powerpoint presentation comparing Disney films to Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs, an idea in psychology that to pass through stages of life, we have to achieve lower stages on a pyramid that resembles something like the food pyramid, except with traits that show a person's growth rather than food. There's a very interesting link between the number of "needs" in the movies and whether the films were well received. For example, I found that some of Disney's earlier films lacked these needs, while many films from the "renaissance" had them. I did the project in an attempt to show my classmates that Disney films had very mature aspects that many easily blow off as kiddie stuff, which is an interesting topic in itself.

Examining the Disney princesses could also make a pretty interesting topic. Look at how they've evolved over the years! I think that has a lot to do with how our culture has changed over time. Could go lots of places with that.

But looking at Disney's impact on the film industry is a great topic too! The book for my film class has very little mention of Disney and animation, and I find that disappointing. It'd be great to see you prove 'em that Disney's had a bigger impact than some like to admit.

[mermaid_hair]

Wow, those are some great ideas. I'm sure your paper will be great. And I really like that princess idea!

[Sesshomaru-sama]

Maybe how Walt Disney made a huge impact on history, starting with nothing but a pencil and a piece of paper. From drawings, how it became well known and made an empire around the world.

Sincerely, a brother of a half-demon,
Sesshomaru-sama

[austen]

maybe mention how large disney has grown over the years and what influences it has on the world.

[#1DisneyFreak]

I think I would write about how whe revolutionized the industry... the theme parks, the movies, the animation, the tv shows... I think just writing about Disney the man and what a cultural icon he is and all of his business achievements and how they have affected modern day. What did he do with animatronics, animation, camera work, etc that set the standard for things they do today.

[JGomber]

helpful!

[Executioner]

You could take it all to a different level and not study the man or his empire but go into why each ride is only a certain amount of minutes long over the other ones and how we as humans feel after each individual one. Also going into the attention span of the people that ride these rides and maybe how that is a factor as well as budget for the building of the rides. maybe even spreading all that info out over the time frame of when they were built and how things were (attention span-wise) back then to now when they build a ride.

[TuesdayBear]

You've got some really good ideas, any one of which would make a good project.

As a teacher, here's how I'd guide you on this project. Try to choose something that you'd want to spend the better part of a year thinking about so you don't get bored with it. Also, think about what your career goals are, or career areas that you'd like to explore. This project could pique your interest in something that would help you in your life goals.

In the area of business, you could explore the company structure. What aspects of the corporate organizational structure work? Which ones don't? What were pros and cons of the company structure when Walt and Roy were at the helm? How did this change after Walt died, and what effect did this have on company success in the 1970s? What did Eisner do that changed that, and how has the structure of the company changed since then?

Also in the area of business, you could specifically look at Disneyland and determine which leadership styles were better for the park in terms of both safety and profits.

Also in business (I was a business major, can you tell?), you could definitely research Productions/Operations Management with respect to the park... how the park plans for crowds, how they know how many feet of line cord to put up for a given ride at a given time in a given day. There is a lot of information out there on this concept. I remember watching videos in my college P/OM classes that were specific to Disney parks about these issues. You can major in this subject in college, and I wish I'd gone to a university that had offered that major, because it's fascinating to me.

In sociology/psychology - and I've done this for college sociology projects - you could go to a park and observe humans in action. How do people behave in line? If you sit down and watch the Matterhorn line, for example, how many people in an hour stand there and don't talk to anyone in their party? How many people brought iPods or other things to pass the time? How many people do interact with their parties? Are the social ones more likely to be teens, a family group, etc.? What group of people is more likely to set up blankets and wait 3 hours to see Fantasmic? In your perception, what group of people tends to be the most tired at the end of the day, or the most polite, or the most rude. Research what sorts of personality types lend themselves to what kinds of behaviors. These are the kinds of things that sociologists do, and it can be fascinating work if you like people-watching. As long as you aren't taking a survey, you shouldn't need extra permission to just observe.

If you're interested in literature, writing, or film production, you could take a look at each Disney movie that was based on another book or story. Compare and contrast the original with the movie. What was taken out? What was added? Why were these changes made? What effects did the sensibility of the times have on the need to make changes? What was the effect on the overall story? You could take it one step further and take a story that Disney hasn't remade into a movie, and write a script treatment for that, making changes as you see fit based on what you've already learned about why changes are made.

The previous suggestion of the princesses would be a good project. So much of the animation of the princesses was based on what was perceived to be the ideal female form at the time. You can explore how the perceived ideal female form has changed over the years, including a study on the media's effects on women's self-perceptions. You can also talk about feminism throughout the 20th century and the effect it had on the princesses.

No matter what you choose, I hope you have fun with it!