From Publishers Weekly
Calling Walt Disney World "the most ideologically important piece of land in the United States," anthropologist Fjellman, a respectful cynic, offers a wide-ranging, often jargon-laden analysis of "this quintessence of the American Way." Intrepid readers unwilling to take Disney World at face value may find much that is rewarding here. Fjellman argues that Disney provides a utopian antidote to everyday life, which is fragmented and confused in "late capitalist society." After academic excursions concerning culture and consumerism, Fjellman analyzes Disney's distorted approach to history ("time is defined spatially," as in Tomorrowland), the corporate ideology infusing EPCOT Center and the machinations of Disney's Orlando land grab. He tracks the daily details: the transportation system as social control, the psychology of refuse disposal and the five keys to Disney's system of managing people on line. The 10 national pavilions of World Showcase, Fjellman writes, offer the message that other countries "are essentially theme parks." He concludes that Disney World is "postmodern"--a place where the distinction between real and fake is no longer important.
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc. --Ce texte fait référence à une édition épuisée ou non disponible de ce titre.
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc. --Ce texte fait référence à une édition épuisée ou non disponible de ce titre.
Book Description
In Vinyl Leaves Professor Fjellman analyzes each ride and theater show of Walt Disney World and discusses the history, political economy, technical infrastructure, and urban planning of the area as well as its relationship with Metropolitan Orlando and the state of Florida. With brilliant technological legerdemain, Disney puts visitors into cinematically structured stories in which pieces of American and world culture become ideological tokens in arguments in favor of commodification and techno-corporate control. Culture is construed as spirit, colonialism and entrepreneurial violence as exotic zaniness, and the Other as child.
--Ce texte fait référence à une édition épuisée ou non disponible de ce titre.
