(C) Daily Kos This story was originally published by Daily Kos and is unaltered. . . . . . . . . . . A Tennessee white culture museum - Dollywood [1] ['This Content Is Not Subject To Review Daily Kos Staff Prior To Publication.', 'Backgroundurl Avatar_Large', 'Nickname', 'Joined', 'Created_At', 'Story Count', 'N_Stories', 'Comment Count', 'N_Comments', 'Popular Tags'] Date: 2023-04-23 Umbrella sky at Dollywood, Pigeon Forge, TN I really like Dolly Parton. I think she’s a great singer/songwriter and an incredible philanthropist. She has been assiduously apolitical (nay, bipartisan) — even when other A-list performers have recently showed their true-blue (i.e. Dem) colors. I just visited Dollywood today, and unfortunately, the experience knocked her down a peg in my eyes. Don’t get me wrong. Dollywood (which opened in 1986) has a lot of fun attractions and you will be entertained if you go there. Who can grumble after seeing an “umbrella sky” (title image)? Wasn’t Steve Martin objectively correct when he claimed, on SNL about 45 years ago, “...you just can’t sing a depressing song when you’re playing the banjo”. There are several banjo acts performing at Dollywood, and they are downright happy. The problem is the park’s clientele is 99% white and the park management has done almost nothing to make it more inviting to other races and cultures. Disneyland, their primary competition, has striven to uplift multiculturalism since they opened EPCOT in 1982 and California Adventure in 2001. The buck must stop somewhere. If Dolly herself hasn’t felt it necessary to direct the park management to re-evaluate their near-universal emphasis on rural, white, southern culture, then she must take the blame. A perfect example is Heartsong, a 1993 film that is featured in the Heartsong Theater, right next to the park’s only train station. The music is catchy, the “multisensory” effects are fun, and the scenery is gorgeous. The problem is that every character in the movie is white. From grandma and grandpa on the front porch to the little kids in the swimming hole, to Dolly herself, everyone is beautiful, wondrous, and white. Whether anyone considered it at the time or since, a movie like that sends a message — only white people have good fun. No, it’s even worse than that. Only yesterday’s white, religious culture is good enough to commemorate in a feature film. If people from other cultures want to visit (especially rural, non-white cultures that have coexisted for centuries with folks like Dolly’s family), we don’t care if they don’t see themselves in our film. We made it for us, and we don’t care if those other cultures come to visit us. Another example is the live performances. Check out this webpage for Dollywood’s Spring 2023 performing groups. Ten groups are shown with about 40 total performers — and only one is non-white (...one of the acrobatic flowers from Bloom). Why not a group of black gospel singers? Why not an ensemble to act out a Cherokee legend or two? Why not blend a couple of Latino singers into the tribute band that performs “Harmonies of the Heart” at the Dreamsong Theater. I don’t want to be a spoilsport. I think Dolly makes music that can be enjoyed by everyone, and I’m not criticizing her for her art. However, I think she needs to revamp her theme park to reach a 21st century audience. It seems like the park has been coasting for a couple of decades or more, and if she wants to maintain it as a part of her legacy beyond her time on this planet (cue Walt Disney), it needs new blood and a change of heart(song). [END] --- [1] Url: https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2023/4/23/2165517/-A-Tennessee-white-culture-museum-Dollywood Published and (C) by Daily Kos Content appears here under this condition or license: Site content may be used for any purpose without permission unless otherwise specified. via Magical.Fish Gopher News Feeds: gopher://magical.fish/1/feeds/news/dailykos/