Walt Disneys Dreams for a Utopian Society - Essay Example

Creating Utopia From its earliest conception, Disneyland was designed to meet Walt Disney's dreams fora utopian society in which everything was always perfect. This was the reason behind his creation of his animated characters as a means of creating a world where strife only enters as a minor but planned plot point. Disney was astute enough to realize that the utopian playground he envisioned could not be found within the existing entertainment structures of places such as Coney Island or Riverside and it needed to be more permanent than the popular showcases of the World Fairs. Instead, he wanted to create a place where families could enjoy spending time together, somewhere where middle class values and utopian dreams could combine and the hope of a brighter future could be realized and inspired. He created his own form of temporary utopia in the form of the Disneyland theme parks, most specifically within the park in Anaheim, California. There is a large amount of sociological research to back up Disney's claim that providing families with a place to play and act out their innocent fantasies was the key to creating an ideal society. “Implicit in Bateson’s work … is the notion that culture is built upon the playful capacity, since playing is the first step toward learning that a sign is only a sign” (Moore, 1980: 208). By providing children and adults with the permission to play and experiment, Disney hoped to encourage American society to envision something better, to realize that the symbols they saw around them that seemed to dehumanize them only had power if they were allowed to have power and to realize that the power to make the changes necessary were held within our own hands. He was mostly successful in establishing that his message was intended for the adult children of the world. According to Mike Wallace (1985), there were 33 million visitors to the Disneyland Anaheim location in 1983 representing a recurring trend for increased visitors each year over the last. Even though it is typically considered to be an amusement park for children, visitor statistics indicate at least four adults visit the park each year for every one child (King, 1980). In dreaming up his own amusement park that would be in keeping with his individual ideas of utopia, it is clear Disney based his concepts on some of the other attractions that were available at the time, but struggled to eliminate elements he felt would detract from his vision of the perfect society. With some of the basic foundations in place such as the types of attractions people would come to see, Disney began making customizations to his approach that would be more in keeping with his concept of the perfect world. He wanted to keep the fun elements of the carnival atmosphere that he felt were important to the growth of culture and family togetherness as well as the wondrous elements of the technological attractions that were present in the temporary installments of the world’s fairs that were popular at the time, but he needed his park to be more permanent. His daughter recounts an experience she shared with her father when he used to take her and her sisters to ride the carousel at the park. "He'd see families in the park ... and say, 'There's nothing for the parents to do ... You've got to have a place where the whole family can have fun" (Gabler, 2007: 484). To Disney, utopia could only be found where all individuals, regardless of their race or age or ability, could have fun, learn and experience some of the new ideas coming out in the world. This contributed to their togetherness, their interconnectedness and fed their curiosity. He also wanted to add the elements of historic forms of entertainment such as the tableau and the family holiday camp. These were common forms of 'acceptable' entertainment at the time and reflected other important ideals Disney held - namely a sense of history and a focus, again, on ensuring everyone had a good time, including Mom. For example, the mechanized President’s show in Frontierland was inspired by the educational tableaux of an earlier age. “They descend, in part, from the patriotic dioramas, tableaux vivants, and waxworks of the nineteenth century. Disney upgraded the technology … but the red-white-and-blue spirit remained much the same” (Wallace, 1985: 39-40). While Disney generally avoided covering individual historical subjects, he clearly wanted a historical connection present within the park. Another popular form of amusement, the holiday camp, offered the comforts of home while giving Mom a vacation from the duties of the home (Ward & Hardy, 1986). The primary draw to these types of camps was the sense of neighborly connection guests generally felt with the staff. As soon as they arrived, guests were cheerfully guided through scheduled activities without losing their sense of personal control because of the level of attention they received - they left feeling activities had been scheduled around their individual preferences. Disney adopted the fun elements of these parks, the historical reference, nostalgic atmosphere and sense of participation and worked to overcome the more negative elements in order to present a more utopian atmosphere at Disneyland. Disneyland appeals to the desire of the common American to escape the uglier realities of modern life and escape back into a more perfect society. One of the most important desires Disneyland works on is the desire for nostalgia, or a return to carefree, innocent childhood. “As Kant, in his Anthropologia, suggested, it is really another time, not another place, that we want to re-experience; we want to recapture childhood” (King, 1981: 131). To create this atmosphere, Disney presented his version of a middle class utopia, a place where families had good times together and individually, where the grounds were clean and protected, their individual needs were met and life could be forever beautiful. “Disneyland skips over those portions of portrayed history that have a tendency to cause controversy or stress among people of that period or in times since” (Wallace, 1985: 36). Visitors can only enter the park through Main Street USA. This street presents Disney’s concept of the utopian Midwestern town. The buildings are distorted just enough to impress the visitor with a childlike perspective without losing their ability to function as shops and restaurants. The way this is achieved is by constructing the upper stories of the buildings to a different scale than the fully functional ground floors, but the trick is easy to ignore by those wanting to live in the utopian fantasy (Lipp, 1996). Another one of the ways that Disney attempted to present a utopian society was by reducing the obvious elements of the capitalist system. Instead of charging cash for rides or games at the point of service, he opted to sell a single ticket as entrance into the park. This made it possible for visitors to jump on rides or attend shows as they wished. This created a sense of a more communal society and one in which everyone is there simply to be your friend. Use of cash within the park is almost exclusively confined within the gift shops and food vendor stations. At the same time, “the playful, romanticized tone of false-front buildings and props create an atmosphere of total theater ‘which exceeds the wildest dreams of avant-garde dramatists’” (King, 1981: 127). The entire atmosphere is established to allow visitors to take a part in the play, choosing whichever theme or environment they wish to explore. This allows them to enter a utopian world almost of their own creation. Within his design, Disney created what can only be considered an entirely new venue in the form of an atmospheric theme park by presenting a utopian experience for each one of his visitors. “That Disneyland significantly departed from the dominant fantasy landscape of the time was dramatized when Disney failed to arouse enthusiasm in a convention of amusement park owners that previewed plans for the park in 1953” (Zukin, 1991: 222-223). Potential investors were worried about the types of clientele they knew of at other parks and felt the number of rides Disney was offering would be unable to compete on the national market. They failed to realize Disney was offering his visitors a full utopian experience rather than the simple diversion of other parks. “Visitors to Disneyland paid for a variety of entertainment experiences linked by the narrative of the different themes. These in turn provided a narrative for different program segments on the Disney Studio’s weekly television series. Combining narrative with serial expectations, each visual product of the Disney Company fed into the others. Although commercial spin-offs were not a new creation, this commercialization was the most extensive to take place under a single corporate sponsor” (Zukin, 1991: 223). Even in this early design phase, Disney was planning another utopian ideal into the operation of his park. This was his planned use of robotics and other cutting edge technology to both fill the park with a sense of magical unreality and keeping its operations on par with actual reality. “This ‘animation in the rough,’ ‘the grand combination of all the arts – using sculpture, painting, drama, theatre and film, combined with advanced electrical and engineering skills – made possible lifelike replicas of humans and animals capable of complex programmed motion and sound” (King, 1981: 119-120). His creative use of available technology in adapting it to the overall themed area within his park became one of the major challenges Disney faced. Without this innovation, Disney was certain his park would not present itself as something new and different to the public. “The originality of these custom-made rides has given the parks a reputation for technical expertise and progressiveness as much as for entertainment” (King, 1981: 120). Ideas that emerged from this innovation approach include the swivel cars and Circle Vision used on several of the rides as well as the monorail and skyrides that are used more outwardly as a means of transporting guests around the park easily, noiselessly, pleasurably and without damaging the park environment (Merriam, 2011). It is argued that the Disney utopia will not achieve the same kind of success in other parts of the world that it has enjoyed in the U.S. When transplanted outside of the culture it is designed to reinforce and emulate, Disneyland loses some of its 'universal' appeal as a utopian society. Without this larger identification and incorporation into the ‘American’ community ideal which is an inherent part of the Disney approach and reinforced by widespread belief among its visitors, the park loses authenticity and its tricks become exposed as exploitive. “The internationalization of commodity forms in leisure (and other) industries means that tourists recognize the theme park formula as familiar whatever country they are in. When travel is structured around the search for an experience of cultural difference, the theme park is rejected as just more of the same and hence as international rather than national culture” (Hawkins, 1990: 224). Australia’s Wonderworld illustrates this point. This park was very similar to the original Disneyland in terms of themes and scope (Wonderland History, 2011). In taking this approach, the park fails to offer something new and unique to visitors who have already been to Disneyland, causing them to feel the utopian dream realized at Disneyland has been cheapened and tarnished by the new park. Disneyland creates a utopian atmosphere by capturing the spirit of an idealized American golden period. It does this by appealing to the emotional desires of people attempting to find utopia - namely, their desires for fun no matter who they are and the ability to spend quality family time in exciting and imaginative ways. Values and beliefs of the American middle class are woven throughout the various details that make up the Disneyland experience. The Disney characters used to entertain and beguile visitors are well-loved characters imbued with a history of their own, shared with audiences through films and television broadcasts presented weekly. Themes have cultural and historical significance while also keeping an eye on the future and providing a venue through which the possibilities of these new technologies can be explored and expanded. Within the boundaries of Disneyland, it really does seem as if all your dreams can come true. Works Cited Gabler, Neal. Walt Disney: The Triumph of the American Imagination. New York: Random House, 2007. Hawkins, Gay. “Too Much Fun: Producing and Pleasure at Australia’s Wonderland.” Sport and Leisure: Trends in Australian Popular Culture. David Rowe & Geoff Lawrence (Eds.). Sydney: Harcourt Brace, 1990. King, Margaret. “Disneyland and Walt Disney World: Traditional Values in Futuristic Form.” Journal of Popular Culture. Vol. 15, N. 1, 1981. Merriam, Paris. "Disneyland." Paris Merriam Photography. 2011. Lipp, R.W. Main Street USA General Fun Facts. Hidden Mickeys, 1996. Moore, A. “Walt Disney World: Bound ritual space and the playful pilgrimage centre.” Anthropological Quarterly. Vol. 53, N. 4, 1980. Wallace, Mike. “Mickey Mouse History: Portraying the Past at Disney World.” Radical History Review. Vol. 32, 1985. Ward, Colin & Dennis Hardy. Goodnight Campers - The History of the British Holiday Camp. Mansell, 1986. "Wonderland History." Wonderland Sydney. Sydney, Australia, 2011. http://wonderlandhistory.net/ Zukin, Sharon. Landscapes of Power: From Detroit to Disney World. Berkeley, CA: 1991. Read More

 

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