jenniferaimee's review
2.0
Oh boy. I picked this up at Barnes & Noble because it was in the clearance section, looked interesting, and I've been on a bit of a theme-park kick lately. I don't necessarily regret buying it (it's a pretty book), but it definitely did not live up to my expectations (which were not that high to begin with).
The first couple of chapters of this book did what I wanted them to; they detailed a Disney attraction, described the historical inspiration for that attraction, and provided a bit of background on how the Disney version has changed over time. While the writing style is fairly simple, it's not terrible (although there are some obvious typos), and I found the chapters on Main Street and the Crystal Palace interesting enough to keep my attention. However, the more history that the author covered, the less appealing I found the book. I love history, and I think that this book resulted in too many historical periods being watered down in order to support the author's thesis. There are a lot of sensitive historical subjects discussed in this book, including colonialism, the treatment of deformity in the late 19th/early 20th century, and Disney propaganda, and I did not think the topics were addressed appropriately. Delving into serious historical criticism would have gone beyond the scope of this book, but the way that certain periods were treated still made me uncomfortable. Either the author glossed over them, or he summarized them in a way that seemed dismissive.
What bothered me the most were the author's assumptions or generalizations. For example, in the section on the Pirates of the Caribbean ride, he wrote,
This sounds like he drew conclusions based on a biased view of historical events and presented them as fact. Similar summaries occurred throughout the book, and it was frustrating to see history simplified. Also, in this and in other sections, his premise of analyzing the attractions based on their historical accuracy is faulty. I guess it's an interesting question, whether or not the rides are accurate, but I would not have expected them to be. The historical inspiration is obvious, but the primary goal of Disney is to entertain (well, its primary goal is to make money, but the company does that by entertaining), not to educate. The inaccuracies here are not problematic. It is not a bad thing that women are shown defending themselves against pirates, who, historically, abused women.
Another troublesome piece of the book was the interpretive aspect of it. It often reminded me of last-minute essays that analyze a chapter or poem through some specific lens. The author's lens is history and his poem is Disney attractions; he gave detailed summaries of certain attractions and picked apart the decorations, speaking parts (if there were speaking parts), and signage. Regarding the Dumbo ride, he wrote,
Believe me, no one, not even the six-year-olds on the ride, needed that sign interpreted for them.
While it is true that the imagineers added significance to the tiniest details included in their attractions, the meaning behind those details is often self-evident and, if it is not, then the author has no more insider knowledge than the average park guest. He provided his own interpretation of what certain Easter eggs might mean and, while he may have been correct, this approach resulted in more generalizations and assumptions than the book already had. And, as you may have noticed, I thought it already had more than enough.
What I enjoyed about this book were the details about the rides themselves and how they came to be incorporated in the Disney theme parks. I understand that that was not the purpose of the book, but I think it could have been a stronger book if the author had focused more on the history of the attractions in the context of the parks rather than their context within human history.
The first couple of chapters of this book did what I wanted them to; they detailed a Disney attraction, described the historical inspiration for that attraction, and provided a bit of background on how the Disney version has changed over time. While the writing style is fairly simple, it's not terrible (although there are some obvious typos), and I found the chapters on Main Street and the Crystal Palace interesting enough to keep my attention. However, the more history that the author covered, the less appealing I found the book. I love history, and I think that this book resulted in too many historical periods being watered down in order to support the author's thesis. There are a lot of sensitive historical subjects discussed in this book, including colonialism, the treatment of deformity in the late 19th/early 20th century, and Disney propaganda, and I did not think the topics were addressed appropriately. Delving into serious historical criticism would have gone beyond the scope of this book, but the way that certain periods were treated still made me uncomfortable. Either the author glossed over them, or he summarized them in a way that seemed dismissive.
What bothered me the most were the author's assumptions or generalizations. For example, in the section on the Pirates of the Caribbean ride, he wrote,
Only women are shown fighting back, and this is even more unlikely, because strong women wouldn't have gotten a chance to chase a pirate, but rather would have been captured quickly because they were seen as useful and attractive to pirate crews. Also, at this point in the attraction, the pirates are starting to set the town on fire. Rather than fighting the pirates, townspeople, especially women, would have gotten their families and valuables together and tried to make their escape before the town burned to the ground around them or they were captured by the pirate crews.
This sounds like he drew conclusions based on a biased view of historical events and presented them as fact. Similar summaries occurred throughout the book, and it was frustrating to see history simplified. Also, in this and in other sections, his premise of analyzing the attractions based on their historical accuracy is faulty. I guess it's an interesting question, whether or not the rides are accurate, but I would not have expected them to be. The historical inspiration is obvious, but the primary goal of Disney is to entertain (well, its primary goal is to make money, but the company does that by entertaining), not to educate. The inaccuracies here are not problematic. It is not a bad thing that women are shown defending themselves against pirates, who, historically, abused women.
Another troublesome piece of the book was the interpretive aspect of it. It often reminded me of last-minute essays that analyze a chapter or poem through some specific lens. The author's lens is history and his poem is Disney attractions; he gave detailed summaries of certain attractions and picked apart the decorations, speaking parts (if there were speaking parts), and signage. Regarding the Dumbo ride, he wrote,
As guests board the ride vehicles, they may notice the backside of the entrance sign to the attraction, which has a short phrase the (sic) sums up the message of the film: “Believe and Soar!” This inspiring quote adds another dimension to the attraction, making guests feel as though they are not riding on Dumbo, but are the baby elephant themselves, believing in themselves to do something that has never been done before.
Believe me, no one, not even the six-year-olds on the ride, needed that sign interpreted for them.
While it is true that the imagineers added significance to the tiniest details included in their attractions, the meaning behind those details is often self-evident and, if it is not, then the author has no more insider knowledge than the average park guest. He provided his own interpretation of what certain Easter eggs might mean and, while he may have been correct, this approach resulted in more generalizations and assumptions than the book already had. And, as you may have noticed, I thought it already had more than enough.
What I enjoyed about this book were the details about the rides themselves and how they came to be incorporated in the Disney theme parks. I understand that that was not the purpose of the book, but I think it could have been a stronger book if the author had focused more on the history of the attractions in the context of the parks rather than their context within human history.
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