One journalist traveled to Dollywood Resort to see what all the fuss is about. Instead of writing about theme parks, though, she mostly was shocked by Christianity.
It’s hard to imagine how you could do a worse review of a theme park than the one printed by a young Insider author. Instead of doing the normal things you’d consider for reviewing a theme park, such as talking about the rides, the shows, the food… this author decided that she would chat about how Dollywood was her first time in the Bible belt and she found it surprising that Dollywood has Christian iconography in the park. That’s special.
Essentially, the article reads like a hit piece for young people who are offended by anything Christian. There’s some extra padding that Talia Lakritz puts into her article, but that seems to just be there to keep the text from being solely about the one thing she’s interested in. Yes, she chats about steep hills (there really is only one place in Dollywood with anything remotely close to a “steep” hill). And yes, she mentions that Dolly Parton’s face and music isn’t blaring over the speakers and posters non-stop. Other than that, it seems that Ms. Lakritz is just taken aback by the fact there is a small chapel in the park, she found some Christian t-shirts for sale, and… well, that seems to have overloaded here. Take look at this excerpt:
Parton has often spoken about how her Christian faith has shaped her life and music, telling People magazine in 2019 that “I’ve always felt like my music was more my ministry than a job.”
My trip to Tennessee was my first visit to the “Bible Belt,” where religion plays an outsize role in the region’s culture and politics. I knew that Dollywood paid tribute to her Christian upbringing with attractions like gospel music performances, but I was surprised to find souvenirs such as cross necklaces, Jesus iconography, and shirts with Christian nationalist messages for sale.
“We’re very much a park that represents the area of the country we’re in,” Dollywood public relations manager Ellen Liston told me when I asked about the role of religion in the park. “We love that we are literally sitting in the Great Smoky Mountains, and so much of the nature of that and how the people here grew up was very strong faith that God was going to see them through any hard times that may befall them. Dolly grew up here, she’s a very spiritual person. You’re brought up to believe you treat people the right way. You treat everybody like your neighbor, ‘Love thy neighbor as thyself.’ Treat people with respect and help them out when they need it. That’s the faith-based part that I think you see a lot of here at Dollywood. It’s part of our heritage, it’s part of who we are. Everybody is welcome.”
This just really cracks me up. Every other thing in her article is like a couple of sentences long. But after claiming — in a theme park review — that Tennessee has “outsized” religious influence, the reviewer went on to actually contact Dollywood public relations for a statement on the fact that spiritual merchandise is available inside the park. Imagine going to Disney World to talk about things that surprised you regarding Epcot… and half your article is just about the nativity reading around Christmas, even to the point you called public relations for a statement.
Listen, I’m not trying to be mean, but this is someone who clearly is in a bubble. A bubble of bubbles. She later goes on to note that Dollywood didn’t have overt images supporting Pride Month.
So here’s an idea for everyone out there who aspires to be a good writer on entertainment. If your job is to cover a theme park, you’re probably not doing your job if you end up criticizing entire cultures or religions or political parties as a result of an article on a theme park. And if you find it difficult to talk about theme park things inside a theme park article because you’re so shocked by normal regional differences inside your own country, that’s not remarkable. It’s only remarkable that you need to travel more. Now for Talia Lakritz, she’s young, so there’s plenty of time to get out there and explore… and there’s some grace that can be given for such a frivolous “list” that is obsessed with topics other than her topic. In fact, I encourage her to check out more of the “bible belt,” as well as other areas in America. She might just find there’s beauty in all sorts of cultures outside of her own.
And yes, I absolutely wish her the best, even if I do need to be a little critical in this commentary.
I suppose this is what happens now that Dollywood is the top-rated theme park in the country according to Trip Adviser. Hopefully in the future it’s done a little more tastefully.
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