alt Hacker News> the real answer might very well be a musician or filmmaker, not a writer.
Walter Disney, obviously.
Well, it will probably take at least another century for the fact to hit.
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rayiner • yesterday at 3:42 AM
I think that’s correct. One way to look at it: when the Greek world expanded geographically, the new people tried to connect themselves with the Homeric stories (as did the Romans). Whose stories serve that function today? Disney.
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Stan Lee probably had more influence than Walt Disney in terms of how Americans see themselves and how people around the world sees us.
Walt Disney is overwhelmingly about older stories (Cinderella, Snow White, Sleeping Beauty), and not anything I feel distinctly "American".
The most popular and timeless properties out of Disney (ex: Mickey Mouse) aren't really telling stories or setting cultural trends IMO. Meanwhile, Superman and Spiderman (Okay, I know Stan Lee only partially had influence on Spiderman...) are closer to what people see as distinctly "American".