Today in class we watched clips from Davy Crockett: King of the Wild Frontier. This week’s readings will touch on the 1955 Crockett craze that the movie inspired.

As you do the readings, here are some questions to think about. You should also choose ONE of the questions and write a response of 300-500 words in your Google Doc.

1. The first part of the Roberts and Olson article focuses on what the author’s call Walt Disney’s “worldview” (p. 233) in the 1940s and 1950s. Drawing on evidence and examples in the text, describe Disney’s worldview and the events that shaped it. Then, think about the clips from the movie we watched last week, and make a case for or against the view that the film was an expression of Disney’s personal political ideas.
2. In this week’s readings, a variety of reasons are given for the incredible popularity of the Crockett movie in 1955, which amounted to a merchandising “craze.” Among the possible reasons for the “craze” include: (a) a simple fad for which there is no good explanation, (b) a desire among audiences for escapist entertainment, (c) the power of television and marketing to manipulate consumer taste, and (d) the rich historical symbolism of the Crockett “frontier” character, which provided both Disney and his audiences with a “usable past” (Roberts and Olson, p. 237) that had political implications in the present. Which of these factors (if any) best explains the Crockett craze? What evidence from these readings or others we have done support your explanation?
3. As the readings show, the Crockett craze eventually sparked controversies about the historical accuracy of Disney’s movie. Based on the evidence in the readings, do you think the defenders and critics of Davy Crockett, the man, in 1955 really disagreed more fundamentally about who should be authorized to write or represent history? If so, what were some of the major positions on that question, and which of them do you agree with?
4. Was Walt Disney essentially a twentieth-century version of Parson Weems? Why or why not?
5. Using internal evidence in the entries, as well as the articles by King, Roberts and Olson, assess the reliability of the American National Biography and Wikipedia entries on Crockett. Do you consider one of the two sources better than the other, and if so, why?

Image credit: Davy Crockett movie poster, from IMPawards.com