Page 140 - The Disneyization of Society

Chapter Six

Control and surveillance

Mini Contents

Control at the Disney theme parks 132
Control over visitors’ behaviour 132
Control of the theme park experience 134
Control over the imagination 135
Control as a motif 135
Control over the behaviour of employees 136
Control over the immediate environment 137
Control over its destiny 138
Control and surveillance beyond the Disney theme parks 140
Control of the consumer 141
Surveillance of the consumer 144
Surveillance of the worker 146
Resistance 149
Resistance at the Disney theme parks 150
Resistance to Disneyization 152
Conclusion 154

In this chapter, the focus will turn to the ways in which Disneyization entails
control and with it, surveillance. It is tempting to view control as a dimension of
Disneyization much like the four aspects covered in the previous chapters. In a
sense, it is a feature of Disneyization but it is more of an enabling one rather than
an aspect of it per se. Control and surveillance permit Disneyization in the form
of the four dimensions outlined to operate to its full capacity. In other words,
without control, theming, hybrid consumption, merchandising, and performa-
tive labour are less likely to be effective.
1
Control is, of course, a dimension of McDonaldization. Ritzer shows that in the
McDonald’s restaurant, the worker is controlled in various ways, such as through
the division of labour; rule books concerned with the production of food and the
nature in which it should be delivered; supervision; and the use of technology to
regulate the workflow and the ‘building’ of burgers. He argues that along with the
three other aspects of McDonaldization, control in these senses is spreading through-
out society. Much of what Ritzer writes about control under McDonaldization is

131