History Literature / AWorldOfLaughterAWorldOfTears

* CIAEvilFBIGood: Averted. J. Edgar Hoover is far more vindictive than ever after [[spoiler:being injured in an assassination attempt]], and its implied [[spoiler:the government made deals with drug dealers]].

** Some narrators are outright lying. Dodd and Cohn's narratives overtly contradict each other at some points, due to Cohn's attempts to shrug off blame or achieve glory for his deeds and Dodd... telling the truth, mostly.

The reality starts with little changes: Eisenhower has a minor heart attack early in his presidential campaign causing him to step down from his nomination. With the Republican party at a loggerhead, Walt Disney is selected almost for simple publicity. Disney then proceeds to use his ''huge'' [[VillainWithGoodPublicity media chain]] to sweep the elections and take office as President of the United States. However, while Walt is a great businessman and excellent campaigner, when it comes to the slow, complicated work of politics he mostly flounders. When the worse trials of the 1950's hit, including the Korean War, Civil Rights movement and Middle East issues, the kind-hearted but flawed businessman succeeds at first but is soon out of his element.

Various narrators and characters include White House [[ManipulativeBastard Chief of Staff]] [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roy_Cohn Roy Cohn]], [[OnlySaneMan White House]] [[TheWoobie Press Secretary]] [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jimmie_Dodd James W. Dodd]] [[RebelLeader protest organizer]] and [[AWorldHalfFull future president]] [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jerry_Brown Jerry Brown]], expatriate film director Creator/OrsonWelles, Senator [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Lincoln_Rockwell George Rockwell]], government sponsored writer Creator/RobertAHeinlein, a mysterious beatnik known only as "[[CloudCuckooLander Beano]]", a young UsefulNotes/BillClinton, a civil rights leader called [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eldridge_Cleaver Eldridge Cleaver]], ''Sandstorm'' lead singer Music/BrianWilson and [[LoadsAndLoadsOfCharacters many, many more.]]

-->--'''UsefulNotes/HarryTruman''' [[note]]1/7/53 to an anonymous aide immediately before announcing that the United States successfully tested a Hydrogen Bomb on 11/1/52. Quoted in "Geopolitical Ramifications of the Uncontrolled Dissemination of the American Image In The Media In The Atomic Age," by the Rand Corporation.[[/note]]

* Deconstruction: The story smashes apart the idea of a famous celebrity becoming President. While Walt does have a few achievements under his belt as President, he lacks the mental fortitude to deal with the various crises of civil disorder and race relations. He allows himself to be manipulated by people who mismanage those crises for their own gain, and eventually [[spoiler: Walt effectively breaks down and becomes a sickly alcholic, unable to cope with the horrible realities around him]].

* Deconstruction: The story smashes apart the idea of a famous celebrity becoming President. While Walt does have a few achievements under his belt as President, he lacks the mental fortitude to deal with the various crises of civil disorder and race relations. He allows himself to be manipulated by people who mismanage those crises for their own gain, and eventually [[spoiler: Walt effectively breaks down and becomes a sickly alcholic, unable to cope with the horrible realities]].

* EvilVersusEvil: Cohn vs. Rockwell. To be fair, that's MagnificentBastard vs. SmugSnake

* ThrowItIn: Statichaos has a tendency to work in any historical figure he comes across. The rise of George Rockwell, by his own admission, came about after he read a biography of the man.

* WordOfGod: Statichaos has, at the request of other posters, announced where various celebrities who don't factor into the story are in this timeline. Creator/JamesDean, for example, is stuck as the JD heavy in two-bit pictures, Creator/NatalieWood is an ingenue for Disney, and Sal Mineo is in jail on sexual deviancy charges.

* BreatherEpisode: Beano's mini-arch in Europe and after his return to California, Orson Welles'.

* AllohistoricalAllusion: Several, as is usual in AlternateHistory. Dodd hates being called Jimmie and ponders his life if he had become a musician instead, Malcolm X replaces Che as the most common face in campus posters, Bill Clinton mentions that he wanted to be president in kindergarten...

* TokenEvilTeammate: [[spoiler:Roy Cohn becomes this to the Rockefeller campaign.]]
* TokenGoodTeammate: Jimmie Dodd and Everett Dirksen in the Disney cabinet. Nelson Rockefeller becomes the only major political figure that is actively preventing the collapse of civil liberties.
* TornApartByTheMob: [[RichardNixonTheUsedCarSalesman President Disney's]] refusal to send the National Guard in during [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Little_Rock_Nine the Little Rock crisis]] results in Ernest Green being torn to pieces by an angry racist mob.
* UnwittingPawn: [[spoiler:Rockwell. The neo-Nazi didn't see it coming.]]

An AlternateHistory where Creator/WaltDisney, not UsefulNotes/DwightDEisenhower, is elected president of the United States in 1952. [[FromBadToWorse Bad Stuff Happens.]] Read it [[http://alternatehistory.com/discussion/showthread.php?t=113866 here]].

* TheAtoner: Roy Cohn. After the [[spoiler:attempted assassination of Disney]] followed by Rockwell's rant against Jews, Cohn goes back to his synagogue and apologizes to his rabbi for being a bad Jew. He then [[spoiler:gets Nelson Rockefeller, a pro-civil rights liberal Republican, to run in the primaries against Rockwell, who until then was the only strong nominee. This is despite having been very supportive, and in most cases the architect, of Disney's anti-civil rights actions.]] To top it all off, [[spoiler:[[SugarWiki/MomentOfAwesome he gets Rockefeller to put a Hebrew phrase in his speech announcing his candidacy, just to spite Rockwell]].]] He then finishes the job by [[spoiler: setting in motion an awesome BatmanGambit that takes down Rockwell.]]

** The InUniverse view of [[spoiler: Nelson Rockefeller vs John Stennis]], according to black activists and college students.

* CIAEvilFBIGood: Averted. J. Edgar Hoover is far more vindictive than ever after [[spoiler: being injured in an assassination attempt]], and its implied [[spoiler: the government made deals with drug dealers]].

** Unfortunately it may be undermined by Rockwell [[spoiler: leaving the Republican Party and siding with Stennis.]]

* EveryoneHasStandards: Walt Disney may be an old time racist, [[spoiler: but he attacks Roy Cohn for trying to exploit the murder of one of the Little Rock 9]].

* GoodParents: Pat Brown to Jerry. [[spoiler: Despite his political career being killed by Jerry's activism, Pat encourages him to fight for justice]].

* LudicrousGibs: [[spoiler: Ernest Green of the Little Rock Nine]] is ''annihilated'' by a white mob. According to UsefulNotes/BillClinton's testimony, it was so bad that [[spoiler: you ''couldn't even tell'' what race he was by the time it was over]].

* ScrewThisImOuttaHere: Due to the deteriorating racial relations in the United States, a lot of blacks left United States for Soviet Union, [[spoiler: especially after a massacre of blacks by the Florida state government.]] In fact, Disney's government sponsored the relocation of black people in America to other countries.

* VillainousBreakdown: [[spoiler: Cohn takes down Rockwell by manipulating him into having one in front of the cameras.]]

* WeCanRuleTogether: [[spoiler: When the Republican Convention is deadlocked, Rockwell offers to support Goldwater if they join on the same ticket. Goldwater not only refuses, but does so in a way that completely shreds Rockwell's chances]].

* ANaziByAnyOtherName: Disney, both Walt and the company, are accused of fascism and anti-Semitism. The Mickey Mouse Club turns into a pro-segregationist, nationalistic youth group.
** And eventually, [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Rockwell George Lincoln Rockwell]], an actual Nazi, gets elected to the Senate, because the Senator he was running against, a staunch segregationist, was considered ''too moderate''.

* PetTheDog: Cohn giving a heartfelt eulogy to [[VillainousBreakdown Joe [=McCarthy=] ]], as well as praising Walt Disney's vision.

* RedScare: It ''never ends.''

''A World Of Laughter A World of Tears'' was finished on March 25, 2010. Its continuation, titled '''When You Wish Upon A Star''' [[http://www.alternatehistory.com/discussion/showthread.php?t=180537 arrived shortly]] thereafter, but statichaos's [[RealLifeWritesThePlot health issues]] caused it [[ScheduleSlip to slow and then completely stop]] shortly after its start. While its fans wait for the author to recover and return, as of December 2011 it was considered safely a DeadFic. In [[http://www.alternatehistory.com/discussion/showpost.php?p=5643571&postcount=145 February 2012 ]], the Author returned, and on [[http://alternatehistory.com/discussion/showthread.php?t=238872 April 12]] When You Wish Upon a Star was started again, but eventually stopped. The thread then remained dormant for seven years before the author returned again on August 30, 2019, the 10th anniversary of the original story, to rewrite the sequel, and as of this writing the story is being continued once again under the title "The Oceans Divide".

''A World Of Laughter A World of Tears'' was finished on March 25, 2010. Its continuation, titled '''When You Wish Upon A Star''' [[http://www.alternatehistory.com/discussion/showthread.php?t=180537 arrived shortly]] thereafter, but statichaos's [[RealLifeWritesThePlot health issues]] caused it [[ScheduleSlip to slow and then completely stop]] shortly after its start. While its fans wait for the author to recover and return, as of December 2011 it was considered safely a DeadFic. In [[http://www.alternatehistory.com/discussion/showpost.php?p=5643571&postcount=145 February 2012 ]], the Author returned, and on [[http://alternatehistory.com/discussion/showthread.php?t=238872 April 12]] When You Wish Upon a Star was started again. However, it appears to be a DeadFic once again, since as of this writing statichaos has not made any posts on the timeline.

* AntiVillain: Though President Disney makes one disastrous action after another, he genuinely attempts to be well meaning in his policies. For example, he only supports segregation because a high profile hate crime convinces him that blacks & whites aren't ready to live together. Further, the worst decisions and actions seem to be committed by manipulative underlings and more distant followers as he sinks into a helpless depression. The only time he clearly comes off as a bad guy is when his kneejerk anti-Semitism poisons relations with Israel and causes them to side with the Soviets.

* TheBadGuyWins: [[spoiler:Stennis ends up beating Rockefeller in the election. Made worse by the fact that he most likely only won due to voter fraud.]]

* BeenThereShapedHistory: Beano. He's the only fictional recurring character, but is pal with Wally Hedrick, Allen Ginsberg and Jerry Brown. He also meets John Lennon, Paul [=McCartney=], ''Lucky Luciano'' and introduces The Beach Boys to marihuana(!)

* CIAEvilFBIGood: Averted. J. Edgar Hoover is far more vindictive than ever after [[spoiler: being injured in an assassination]], and its implied [[spoiler: the government made deals with drug dealers]].

** And eventually, [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Rockwell George Lincoln Rockwell]], an actual Nazi, gets elected Senator, because the Senator he was running against, a staunch segregationist, was considered too ''moderate''.
*** And it gets worse. He now has a strong shot at the Presidency, with only Roy Cohn and Nelson Rockefeller [[EvenEvilHasStandards in any position to put a stop to him]].

* UnwittingInstigatorOfDoom: The unknown man at the Republican leadership meeting in 1952 who jokingly suggests Walt Disney as a replacement for Dwight D. Eisenhower. If he'd only known how much misery he would unleash...
** Some narrators are outright lying. Dodd and Cohn's narratives outright contradict each other at some points, due to Cohn's attempts to shrug off blame or achieve glory for his deeds and Dodd... telling the truth, mostly.

** Hell, it might be argued that the rest of the world in general is better than in RealLife: The Hungarian Revolution was successful, Cuba didn't go communist (though at the cost of direct American intervention and Batista's regime being continued), there was no Suez Crisis nor Vietnam War. As for whether Cuba not going communist and sticking with Batista is a good thing...

* AntiVillain: Though President Disney makes one disastrous, un-PC ([[FairForItsDay by today's standards]], anyway) move after another, he genuinely seems like he has the country's best interests at heart. For example, he only supports segregation because a high profile hate crime convinces him that blacks & whites aren't ready to live together. Further, the worst decisions and actions seem to be committed by manipulative underlings and more distant followers as he sinks into a helpless depression. The only time he clearly comes off as a bad guy is when his kneejerk anti-Semitism poisons relations with Israel and causes them to side with the Soviets.

->''"[[ThisIsGonnaSuck My God...to think that this is going to be in the hands of the man who did]] 'WesternAnimation/SteamboatWillie'"''
-->--'''UsefulNotes/HarryTruman''', 1/7/53 to an anonymous aide immediately before announcing that the United States successfully tested a Hydrogen Bomb on 11/1/52. Quoted in "Geopolitical Ramifications of the Uncontrolled Dissemination of the American Image In The Media In The Atomic Age," by the Rand Corporation.

* HarsherInHindsight: The Republican establishment can't unite behind a Presidential candidate, leading to an outsider with a huge media presence becoming President, who gets accused of being a "fascist showman", is too friendly with the Klan and Neo-Nazis and leads America to verge of a full-on race war.

* SugarWiki/MomentOfAwesome: Barry Goldwater showing himself to be a man of honor and integrity at the 1960 GOP Convention, also a CMOA for Roy Cohn.

* BeenThereShapedHistory: Beano. He's the only fictional recurring character, but is pal with Wally Hedrick, Allen Ginsberg and Jerry Brown. He also meets John Lennon, Paul McCartney, ''Lucky Luciano'' and introduces The Beach Boys to marihuana(!)

* DarkFic: Of AlternateHistory anyway. It's as bleak, if not even more so, as ''FanFic/AllHeEverWanted''.

* MoralGuardians: Protests by the Mickey Mouse Club strangle ''Magazine/{{Playboy}}'' magazine in its cradle, kill MarilynMonroe's career, stifle America's counterculture and drive it overseas, and, by stringently supporting segregation, cause the CivilRightsMovement to give up non-violent protest.