To Cosmopolitanism… And Beyond!

The association between NASA, Disney-Pixar and brand identity

On May 31, 2008 Buzz Lightyear left Earth in the space shuttle STS-124 and he returned 450 days later in the STS-128. The 12-inch action figure, who is an original Disney-Pixar character from the Toy Story trilogy, was aboard the ISS (International Space Station) for over a year which makes the fictional astronaut “the longest serving toy in space” (Alers par. 1). In the following essay we will look at media convergence, synergistic processes, and pop cosmopolitanism in relation to the collaboration between NASA and Disney-Pixar and the consequences of their association.

Media convergence, according to Michael Latzer, entails “the blurring of the traditional demarcation between telecommunications and the mass media” (123). In May 2006 Pixar Animation Studios merged with The Walt Disney Company, making it possible for Disney-Pixar to create digital animation in films such as Frozen (2013). This was a logical form of industry convergence, since such an alliance requires adaptation and innovation  (128). In our case study NASA’s functionality and practical technology is placed in one frame with the fashion industry and the film industry, and moreover is funded by the US government and has consequences for global education. Disney is a prime example of a media conglomerate that uses industry convergence to combine film production with merchandizing, travel and theme parks. NASA used the space suit of Disney-Pixar’s character Buzz Lightyear as a model of their Z-1 prototype, which will actually be used when astronauts go to Mars in the future. Because of the resemblance with the image of Buzz Lightyear in popular culture, the suit scored 63 percent on aesthetic appeal. Disney-Pixar is therefore able to extend its brand identity indirectly into the fashion industry.

In “Maximizing Value: Economic and Cultural Synergies” Nathan Vaughan presents “an analysis of synergistic processes within Hollywood production and circulation” (169) and states that the American government supports Hollywood exports on global markets in order to protect the domestic film industry (173). Vaughan starts from the idea of a global media marketplace, which is a notion that Henry Jenkins uses when explaining pop cosmopolitanism. Disney-Pixar uses NASA for its own synergy or merchandizing in two ways which tend to collide: the material object / action figure that was sent to space (economic synergy) and the selling of an experience (cultural synergy). The boundaries between these two forms of synergy start to fade, which will ultimately make horizontal integration (where different media platforms work together while owned by a single corporation) easier.

As stated above, Jenkins builds upon this notion of a global market and introduces pop cosmopolitanism as embracing “global popular media [which] represent[s] an escape route out of the parochialism of local communit[ies]” (152).  He states that the American hold of the world-wide entertainment industry is decreasing in recent years with the emergence of for instance Asian films and TV series, yet we would like to argue that through the collaboration with NASA, Disney-Pixar is able to shift from Americanization to globalization. Internally Disney-Pixar is also trying to apply to a global audience, for instance by changing the ethnicity and names of their characters such as San-Fran Tokyo in Big Hero 6. Furthermore, they do not wish to eliminate local differences, but rather acknowledge them in order to gain a competitive advantage on the global market. For instance, in Inside Out (2015) Disney-Pixar changed several scenes in the international versions of the film to appeal to foreign audiences. In one scene toddler Riley refuses to eat broccoli, which is the stereotypical vegetable that is hated by children all over the United States. Yet, in Japan the broccoli is replaced by green bell peppers (Acuna, par. 3), because that vegetable is more likely to be disliked in Asia. Another example is when a hockey match is changed into different sports games such as soccer for European audiences. There are many more scenes that entail such changes, and other studios like Marvel apply the same strategy, which on the one hand feeds into Jenkins’ notion of celebrating local differences but on the other hand goes against it since the distributor is still American and there is little influx from other parts of the world.

NASA, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, is a government agency in the United States that enables research and occupies the space program. It is funded by the government with about one percent of the federal budget. In 2015, NASA received a little over eighteen billion American dollars from Congress (Clark, par. 1). Disney-Pixar and NASA collaborated in developing new educational activities and lesson plans by sending Buzz Lightyear to space. There are, for example, online games to play and bonus segments on the DVD’s. “All these activities are designed to encourage young people to pursue their dreams and develop an interest in exploration and discovery” (Severance, par. 2). This association makes sense since the government is indirectly funding educational programs, but it also participates in the synergy of Disney-Pixar and spreading their brand identity over the world.

In short, we have analyzed an example in which Disney-Pixar has distributed its own brand identity in three ways: first, by collaborating with NASA and their educational programs; second, by influencing NASA’s fashion department; and third, by adjusting the content of their films to distinct national cultures. It is an interesting phenomenon that one conglomerate in the cultural industries can indirectly influence government funding, public education, and even the space program. This development makes us wonder to what extent one corporation can hold power over other companies or agencies within industries other than the cultural sphere, and whether or not this is process or decay.

Thesis statement: Disney-Pixar aims at global brand identity through collaboration with government agencies and acknowledging cultural differences #BuzzLightyear #NASA #InsideOut #Moenandar

Works Cited

Acuna, Kirsten. “Why Pixar Changed Several Scenes in ‘Inside Out’ for Foreign Audiences” Business Insider, 2015. Web. 07 Sept. 2015.

Alers, Paul E. “Buzz Lightyear at Air and Space” www.nasa.gov. Web. 07 Sept. 2015.

Clark, Stephen. “NASA gets Budget Hike in Spending Bill Passed by Congress” Space Flight Now, 2014. Web. 07 Sept. 2015.

Janet, Murdock, Graham, Sousa, Helena (Eds.). The Handbook of Political Economy of Communications. Oxford: Wiley-Blackwell (2011): 169-186. Print.

Jenkins, H. “Pop Cosmopolitanism: Mapping Cultural Flows in an Age of Media Convergence” in: Fans Bloggers and Gamers: Exploring Participatory Culture. New York: UP (2006): 152-172. Print.

Latzer, Michael. “Media Convergence” in: Towse, Ruth, Handke, Christian (Eds.). Handbook of the Digital Creative Economy. Cheltenham: Edward Elgar (2013): 123-133. Print.

Severance, Mark T. “ISS Science for Everyone” www.nasa.gov (2015). Web. 07 Sept. 2015.

Vaughan, Nathan. “Maximizing Value: Economic and Cultural Synergies” in: Wasko, 



Initials: R.O., L.O., G.K., A.L.