It's A Small World is about the Cold War.

Why are you booing me I’m right.

Disneyland’s “it’s a small world” holds a special place in my heart. I also think it's about the Cold War. Here I dive into the cultural context it was created within, the design principles behind it, and how the fear of nuclear weapons and atomic war played a role in the creation of this unique and wonderful ride. The title might seem like a bit of a stretch, but stick with me and you might be surprised.

Come join the afterparty:
Instagram:   / mikefromtheparty  
Twitter:   / mikefromtheprty  

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Special thanks to Molly Parker for the wonderful, incredibly detailed notes, as well as Jamie Kenny and Sinéad Hammond for being my test audience. I first created an outline of this video essay in late 2018 (!) and I know in the intervening years many a friend or acquaintance have had to hear me bang on about it, so shout out to each of you for your infinite patience.

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Music used:


Freaks, Deja Vu, Roller-skate, Memories and Alive by Jahzzar
Songs here: https://freemusicarchive.org/music/Ja...
License here: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/...


All tracks have been adapted to sound like they’re at a party.


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Media used:


Alex the Historian    / alexthehistorian  

Attractions 360    / attractions360  

Best of Orlando    / bestoforlando  

David Colman    / jfk14thday  

DLP Welcome    / dlpwelcome  

Efteling    / efteling  

Fireurgunz    / fireurgunz  

Forever Fairytales    / @foreverlandfairytales731  

Goosebumps    / @goosebumps212  

Gorillas Don’t Blog http://gorillasdontblog.blogspot.com/...

JerseyGroovyFilms    • Wild West Show: Sioux City  Adventure 🤠🌵🐎  

JPL Productions    / jpl1311  

King Rose Archives    / kingrosearchives  

Kinolibrary    / thekinolibrary  

Marcio Disney    / marciodisney  

Mental Health Treatment    / mentalhealthtreatment  

MouseSteps/JWL Media    / jefflangedvd  

Musickeys8    / musickeys8  

Pacmandrugs    / pacmandrugs  

Retro Video Vault    / retrovideovault  

RetroWDW    / retrowdw  

The Canvas    / thecanvasarthistory  

Theme Park Science    / themeparkscienceofficial  

WDW News Today    / wdwnt  

Xtreme Coasters Network    / xtremecoasters  



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Sections:
00:00 Intro
01:30 Disneyland and the art of “Reassurance”
05:31 The World’s Fair and Mary Blair
11:04 Analysing the themes of the ride
17:41 Outro

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#disneyland #disneyworld #videoessay #deepdive #itsasmallworld