Admittedly, I am one of the few individuals who does not like Disney. I did not come from a "Disney family" that took trips once a year to the parks. In fact, I have only been to the area less than five times in my life (a figure I think is quite large, yet probably isn't in the minds of white, middle class families).
During my few visits to the magical world, I have always acknowledge how expensive the parks were. I don't know if I'm negative (or rather, privileged), but I could never figure out why millions of people flocked to Disney every year. It wasn't until I read Eco's work that I began to understand.
I particularly liked the quote found on page 203: "When there is a fake -- hippopotamus, dinosaur, sea serpent -- it is not so much because it wouldn't be possible to have the real equivalent but because the public is meant to admire the perfection of the fake and its obedience to the program [...] A real crocodile can be found in the zoo, and as a rule it is dozing or hiding, but Disneyland tell us that faked nature corresponds much more to our daydream demands [...] [In Mississippi,] it is possible to see alligators on the banks of the river, and then you don't see any, you risk feeling homesick for Disneyland where the wild animals don't have to be coaxed. Disneyland tells us that technology can give us more reality than nature can."
But what happens when we live in this fake world for too long? What are the repercussions? It seems as if we'll never be satisfied with the "real world." Instead, we are constantly searching for perfection by shelling out large sums of money. Has the world become too unpleasant to bear? It seems terrifying to me that people would trade their entire savings for a trip to Disney.
I still very much stand by this caption:
During my few visits to the magical world, I have always acknowledge how expensive the parks were. I don't know if I'm negative (or rather, privileged), but I could never figure out why millions of people flocked to Disney every year. It wasn't until I read Eco's work that I began to understand.
I particularly liked the quote found on page 203: "When there is a fake -- hippopotamus, dinosaur, sea serpent -- it is not so much because it wouldn't be possible to have the real equivalent but because the public is meant to admire the perfection of the fake and its obedience to the program [...] A real crocodile can be found in the zoo, and as a rule it is dozing or hiding, but Disneyland tell us that faked nature corresponds much more to our daydream demands [...] [In Mississippi,] it is possible to see alligators on the banks of the river, and then you don't see any, you risk feeling homesick for Disneyland where the wild animals don't have to be coaxed. Disneyland tells us that technology can give us more reality than nature can."
But what happens when we live in this fake world for too long? What are the repercussions? It seems as if we'll never be satisfied with the "real world." Instead, we are constantly searching for perfection by shelling out large sums of money. Has the world become too unpleasant to bear? It seems terrifying to me that people would trade their entire savings for a trip to Disney.
I still very much stand by this caption:
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