Fan Phenomena: Disney

Dr Sabrina Mittermeier is a postdoctoral researcher and lecturer in American cultural history at the University of Kassel, Germany, the author of A Cultural History of the Disneyland Theme Parks (Intellect 2021), and the co-editor of Fighting for the Future: Essays on Star Trek: Discovery (2020), as well as The Routledge Handbook of Star Trek (2022).

Introduction – Sabrina Mittermeier



Part 1: Diversity and the Disney Princess





Frozen Fever: Fan Fashion, Costumes, and Revisions of Elsa and Anna Designs – Nicole Lamerichs




‘Let It Go!’: Child Fans, Song, and the Frozen Franchise – Ryan Bunch 
“Dream Big, Princess”: Disney’s Princess Fandom as a Trans-generational, Feminist Fan Space – Tracey Mollet 
That’s (Not) My Princess: Representation, Race, and (Anti-)Fan Activism – Christina Wurst 
Panel Discussion: The Live Action Mulan (2020) and Disney’s Approach to Racial Diversity – Michelle Anya Anjirbag, Bertha Chin & Jingan Young 


Interlude: Representation, Censorship and Disney+





“Please don’t censor Hamilton!”: Disney+, Social Media Fandom, and Censorship – Olympia Kiriakou 
Musings of a Queer Disney Fan – Sabrina Mittermeier 


Part 2: The Disney Theme Parks and Their Fans





Creativity and Connection: How Disney Parks’ Fans Responded During the Coronavirus Closures – Rebecca Williams 
To Act Like a Kid or Not to Act Like a Kid: Disneybounding in the Parks – Rebecca Rowe 


Fan Appreciation: Victoria Wade 





Friends Just Around the Riverbend: Performing Intimacy and Authenticity in Disney Park Character Meets – Victoria Pettersen Lantz 


Fan Appreciation: Shawn Rosell





Haunted Waters: The Elimination of Liveness in Disney’s Rivers of Light – Tom Robson 
From Mickey Waffles to Vegan Samosas: Evolving Disney Food Fandoms – Jennifer A. Kokai 
The Traveling Disney Bear ‘Duffy’ and His Surprising Popularity in Japan – Katharina Hülsmann & Timo Thelen 


        Fan Appreciaton: Chris Nilghe



Part 3: The Brand and its Fans – How Disney Responds to Fandom and Monetizes Fan Labor 





Faith, Trust and Pixie Dust: Disney’s Participatory Publics – Amber L. Hutchins 
Disney's Social Media Moms – Kylie Torres 
Fitting Inside the Mouse House – Disney’s Experiential Media Aesthetics – Chris Comerford 
Disney Publishing and the Saturation of the Imaginative Market – Michelle Anya Anjirbag