Disneyland at 50

Thye LA Times runs a fascinating piece on the history of Disneyland, now celebrating its 50th birthday. Anyone studying modern American culture has to deal with Disney and Disneyland, so this is a useful piece.

Some appropriate commenst on Disney's cultural significance from scholars and cultural critics quoted in the article:

• "'There's still nothing to compare it to,' said Jamie O'Boyle, senior analyst for the Philadelphia-based Center for Cultural Studies and Analysis. 'It is a cultural magnet for people…. Walt didn't build an amusement park. He really built the first virtual reality.'"
  
• "Others are less flattering, saying the park is too artificially controlled and idealized. Italian author Umberto Eco suggested that Disneyland is 'the Absolute Fake.' After facing tooth-baring alligators on Disneyland's Jungle Cruise, Eco was disappointed at seeing none while taking a paddle-wheel steamer down the Mississippi. 'You risk feeling homesick for Disneyland, where the wild animals don't have to be coaxed,' Eco wrote in the 1975 essay, 'The City of Robots.'"
  
• Among other American cultural developments, "The modern museum, . . . reflects the Disneyland experience by featuring special lighting, music and full-immersion exhibits. At banks and airports, people wait in 'switch-back' lines pioneered by Disney. And Disneyland brought the word 'guest' into the lexicon of customer service. Disneyland has influenced Madison Avenue too, giving lessons in corporate synergy, branding and cross-promotions. Think Happy Meals, Kodak Moments, The Lion King on Broadway. Margaret King, who studies Disney and wrote the entry on theme parks for the Guide to United States Popular Culture, said it's all part of the 'Disney effect.' 'It's huge. Disney has just permeated our culture. It's almost easier to look for something that has not been affected,' she said."
  
• "Disneyland's Main Street inspired cities to inject downtown revivals with old-town ambience. It contributed to the design of the modern-day shopping mall by linking stores so shoppers can meander from one to the next without stepping outside. And mimicking Disneyland, today's malls grew into entertainment complexes with movie theaters, restaurants, and, in some cases, amusement park rides. Architects and urban planners greeted Disneyland with rave reviews in journals and at professional conferences. One called Disneyland 'a symbolic American Utopia.'"
  
• "Some critics say . . . 'Disney Realism' is actually 'Disney-fication' - a veneer that gives everything a more positive glow at the expense of history or reality. In the 1950s, one of the few representations of blacks was an Aunt Jemima greeting diners at her Pancake House. Attractions such as 'Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln' gloss over weighty subjects like slavery; in 'It's a Small World,' Chinese children are represented wearing coolie hats. As a result, political protesters found Disneyland the perfect stage because its Utopian backdrop contrasted starkly with such social problems as war and discrimination."