The American Dream and Other Fairytales is a full-feature documentary from activist Abigail Disney and co-director Kathleen Hughes. Abigail Disney is an heir to the Disney fortune, although she has no role in the company. She grew up in the 1960s, hearing tales of their company from her father and uncle Walt Disney. As an adult reflecting on her privileged wealth, she contemplates her family’s legacy and how our country’s shifting economic landscape has changed over her lifetime. Income inequality has drastically intensified; costs of living rises have not been met by similar income increases for the average Disney worker. The Disney CEO, like many CEOs, makes hundreds to thousands of times more money than their employees, who struggle to survive. Throughout the film, we witness Abigail Disney’s activism, the lives of several struggling Disney employees and a larger examination of economic shifts over the last fifty years.
The film centers, at least initially, around Abigail Disney’s perspective as an activist, a central crusader against the unfair structures around her. She is relatable and passionate as a driver for the film, but her perspective in the film remains non-specific and at times unfocused. Either the film could have given us more about Abigail and her personal experiences with wealth and privilege, or it could have decentered her view and focused on its selected Disney employees further. The film begins with Abigail Disney’s narration, and few scenes with her contemplating her family’s company, challenging the Disney CEO and later testifying before congress. She does not present as a specific or engaging enough figure, despite her genuine quest for more economic fairness.
The narrative is grounded by scenes of personal anecdotes and interviews with a few Disney employees. We get to spend time with these employees, understand the economic challenges in their lives, the grueling and relentless pace of their work. As we see the disparity between their endless striving and the challenges they poor quality of life, the reality of current American capitalism is truly humanized for the viewer in an effective and compelling way.
The second half of the documentary builds in a more emotionally and dramatic way; we see more of the lives of our employees, and also get a nice, somewhat terrifying visualization of American economics since the 1970s. A nice series of graphics and archival footage dramatize the Reagan-era shift: policies that favored corporations, slashing taxes for the rich and rhetoric that demonized the lower class. The film elegantly shows how the belief in small government and reduced taxation was manipulated to benefit the wealthy few, driving the systems we see today and the vast inequalities that are deemed to be the result of “free markets.” In this section of the film, history and the modern lives of Disney workers come together in a moving and necessary conclusion.
The American Dream and Other Fairytales conveys an important and urgent message about our country’s economic disparities. As earnest as its main storyteller is, much of the film lacks the forward movement and specificity to truly engage us, but the second half of the film brings together personal stories with broad reflections in a compelling manner.
Photo courtesy of Fork Films
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