THE EXTENDED UNIVERSE
How Disney Killed the Movies and Took Over the World
Vicky Osterweil
Haymarket Books (18 May 2025)
Trade paper • ISBN-13: 9798888903667 • US $19.95 • 5 in x 8 in • 288 pgs.
ABOUT THE BOOK:
A sweeping history of Disney’s rise to cultural dominance that pulls all the skeletons from the corporate closet and playfully decodes the hidden political messages in all of your favorite childhood movies.
In The Extended Universe, Vicky Osterweil takes us on a quest to discover the black magic by which Disney has successfully made its image synonymous with not only youthful splendor, but pop culture itself. Their “imagineers” have made it impossible to reflect on the wonders of growing up without immediately thinking of Disney’s movies, Disney’s amusement parks, and various other bits and bobs of related Disney merchandising. What Osterweil unearths are reactionary political commitments and maleficent legal maneuvers—from fighting to protect the patent on the COVID vaccine, to breaking early efforts at an animator’s union—so cartoonishly evil they would make one of Walt’s own animated villains blush.
Along the way, Osterweil braids together Disney’s corporate history, an economic accounting of capitalism’s dependency on IP, and deeply engaging (and not entirely unsympathetic) analysis of some of Disney’s most famous movies, including Snow White, The Lion King (animated and live action!), Black Panther, and more. The result is an entertainingly woven and convincing case that Disney’s entire business model has been built upon a ruthless and fanatical defense of intellectual property rights—from Steamboat Willie to Infinity Wars and beyond!
PRAISE:
Praise for In Defense of Looting
“Osterweil debuts with a provocative, Marxist-informed defense of looting as a radical and effective protest tactic…a bracing rethink of the goals and methods of protest.”
Publishers Weekly
“A reflection on violence as a form of social protest that can lead to social change.”
New York Journal of Books
“[In Defense of Looting] is as much an argument for the possibilities of a riot as it is a reckoning between history as it happens and history as it is read…. [Osterweil’s] readings of history lend the book its exhilarating quality and make anything seem possible.”
Frieze
ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Vicky Osterweil is a writer, organizer, and brick-mason based in Philadelphia. Her first book, In Defense of Looting , was an account of historical struggles for liberation in the United States. She is currently the in-house film critic for AJ+, and cohosts a popular movie review podcast, Cerise and Vicky Rank the Movies . She has written about the intersections of film, politics and culture for a variety of outlets, including The Paris Review, Art in America, Al Jazeera America, The Baffler, Dissent, Lux Magazine , and The New Inquiry , where she was also a culture editor for many years. Her series on the political economy and cultural role of videogames, “Well Played,” which ran in Real Life Magazine from 2019-2020, won her the Blogger of the Year award from prestigious video game criticism outlet Critical Distance.
RIGHTS INFORMATION:
Please contact subagents for the following languages and territories:
| Language/Territory | Subagent |
|---|---|
| China, Taiwan, Indonesia, Malaysia, and Vietnam | Big Apple Agency |
| Dutch | Sebes & Bisseling Literary Agency |
| English outside North America | David Grossman Literary Agency |
| French | Deborah Druba Agency |
| German | Paul & Peter Fritz AG Literatur Agentur |
| Greek | Read n' Right Agency |
| Hebrew | The Deborah Harris Agency |
| Italian | Berla & Griffini Rights Agency |
| Japanese | The English Agency (Japan) Ltd |
| Korean | BC Agency, or Korea Copyright Center |
| Portuguese | RIFF Agency |
| Russia/Baltics/Eastern Europe | Prava I Prevodi |
| Scandinavia | Sebes & Bisseling Literary Agency |
| Spanish in Latin America | MB Agencia Literaria |
| Spanish in Spain | MB Agencia Literaria |
| Turkish | Anatolialit Agency |
For all other languages/territories, please contact Roam Agency.