This connects to Horkheimer and Adorno’s assertion that “to be entertained means to be in agreement” (Horkheimer & Adorno 57). As guests of Disney World, we agree to be herded into lines, moved off of the streets during parades, and be taken through gift shops in order to exit a ride. What also struck me as ridiculous when I was at Disney World was that for the fireworks show, there are now “special viewing areas” where people pay to stand and watch the fireworks for a “better” view. I realized that Disney has considered every avenue of commodification; they figured out how to make people pay to watch a show that is complimentary with park admission. Yet we agree to this, and thousands of people pay for these “special viewing areas” in the hopes that their families will get a better experience than they otherwise would have. This option to buy makes us feel as if we are in control, when we are really only feeding into the agreement and the consumerism. Disney World, though intricately masked as an amusement park, is just one huge advertisement for Disney characters and Disney merchandise, and while I still love going there and I’ll still admit that I have favorite characters and movies, I am now able to visit Disney World with a more critical eye.
Wednesday, December 2, 2015
A Trip to Disney With the Masses
When I went to Disney this year, I could not get over the fact that, throughout the day, after nearly every ride I was dumped into a gift shop, and if I wasn’t, I was encouraged to buy a photo of myself and my friends on the ride. Disney is extremely skilled in making sure that families spend a ridiculous amount of money while in the park, adding to the small fortune that they spend by staying at Disney hotels, eating Disney food, and of course, spending time in the Disney parks. There are gift shops everywhere, and they are themed to the land in which they are located, so as to attract the little girl who just rode the Little Mermaid ride to ask her parents for a princess costume, or to get the little boy who just rode on Pirates of the Caribbean to ask for a toy sword. This is the genius of Disney; making parents tired and irritated by walking through the parks all day, and then showing their children new toys that they could have is a recipe for disaster. No parent is going to want to endure the annoyance and humiliation of their child having a nuclear meltdown in the middle of a gift shop, so they reluctantly buy the toy.
This connects to Horkheimer and Adorno’s assertion that “to be entertained means to be in agreement” (Horkheimer & Adorno 57). As guests of Disney World, we agree to be herded into lines, moved off of the streets during parades, and be taken through gift shops in order to exit a ride. What also struck me as ridiculous when I was at Disney World was that for the fireworks show, there are now “special viewing areas” where people pay to stand and watch the fireworks for a “better” view. I realized that Disney has considered every avenue of commodification; they figured out how to make people pay to watch a show that is complimentary with park admission. Yet we agree to this, and thousands of people pay for these “special viewing areas” in the hopes that their families will get a better experience than they otherwise would have. This option to buy makes us feel as if we are in control, when we are really only feeding into the agreement and the consumerism. Disney World, though intricately masked as an amusement park, is just one huge advertisement for Disney characters and Disney merchandise, and while I still love going there and I’ll still admit that I have favorite characters and movies, I am now able to visit Disney World with a more critical eye.
This connects to Horkheimer and Adorno’s assertion that “to be entertained means to be in agreement” (Horkheimer & Adorno 57). As guests of Disney World, we agree to be herded into lines, moved off of the streets during parades, and be taken through gift shops in order to exit a ride. What also struck me as ridiculous when I was at Disney World was that for the fireworks show, there are now “special viewing areas” where people pay to stand and watch the fireworks for a “better” view. I realized that Disney has considered every avenue of commodification; they figured out how to make people pay to watch a show that is complimentary with park admission. Yet we agree to this, and thousands of people pay for these “special viewing areas” in the hopes that their families will get a better experience than they otherwise would have. This option to buy makes us feel as if we are in control, when we are really only feeding into the agreement and the consumerism. Disney World, though intricately masked as an amusement park, is just one huge advertisement for Disney characters and Disney merchandise, and while I still love going there and I’ll still admit that I have favorite characters and movies, I am now able to visit Disney World with a more critical eye.
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