Popular Culture Review Vol. 10, No. 2, August 1999 | Page 92

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Popular Culture Review

from leadership positions because, in moments of passion or thoughtlessness,
they violated a core value of their constituency, as exemplified by President Nixon,
and others. Leaders are only leaders when their followers acknowledge them.
Thus, despite the authority embedded in certain positions of power, real power is
bestowed by the followers, not by the position.
A third leadership issue arises when a charismatic leader engages in selfreflection and finds that he is not all that he has presented or believed himself to be.
Although self-scrutiny can be daunting to any leader, it is especially disheartening
to those who exhibit a larger-than-life persona. When Buzz realizes that he cannot
fly, that his spaceship is, indeed, merely a cardboard box, and that he is “just a toy,”
his personal power is depleted. He is totally disempowered. What he fails to
notice, however, is that Woody and all the others are merely “toys” as well. Instead
of seeing himself as a member of the “race of toys,” he sees himself as a “fallen
being.” In Buzz’s mind, he is either a paragon of leadership or a total failure.
Through a series of well-orchestrated strategies and tactics. Buzz and
Woody, by combining their individual talents, jointly solve their problem and re
turn to their rightful owner. Toy Story thus delivers the message that a larger than
life leader rarely can withstand alone the blows life affords. At some point, every
leader must come to terms with his or her personal inadequacies. These assume
numerous forms, including a lack of information, an underdeveloped skill, and
failure to see long-term consequences. Woody and Buzz overcame their personal
inadequacies, insecurity and pride, and acknowledged that, despite their personal
flaws, together they were able to accomplish what neither could accomplish alone.
Toy Story thus teaches that inadequacies, inherent in the human condition, are
overcome by engaging in team effort and enlisting the strengths of others.
These recent films reveal that Disney continues to speak to the times. In
a child’s mind, a beast becomes human when he falls in love with a pretty young
girl; in the mind of an adult, leadership is regained by overcoming base needs for
power and domination. In a child’s mind, a young lion returns to his home to
assume his rightful position as leader of the lion kingdom; in the mind of an
adult, leadership authority is regained when commensurate responsibility is as
sumed. In a child’s mind, two competing toys become good friends; in the mind
of an adult, success is the result of cooperation and team effort, not competition.
The themes of these films are relevant and applicable to a world where produc
tivity and accomplishment, indeed success, are contingent upon the resolution of
conflicting core values; the assumption of responsibility at the expense of living
a comfortable, leisurely existence; and the act of engaging in cooperative team
effort with those who could threaten positions of superiority.
York College, Pennsylvania

Becky L. Smith