AMERICAN DREAM AS FANTASY

The theme of most Walt Disney movies boils down to the lyrics in Pinocchio: "When you wish upon a star, makes no difference who you are, your dreams come true" It is no coincidence that Disney movies are so durable, they simply update Locke's Fantasy. And the global, amorphous vision of establishing a city upon the hill, killing the great white Whale, striking a vein of gold, making the world safe for democracy- or simply living a life of decency and dignity- underlies all analyses of what success means or what practices will attain it.