Page 20 - The Disneyization of Society

DISNEYIZATION

Box 1.2 Disney language
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The Disney theme parks are very much associated with the generation of a
distinctive language to describe (some would say mask) different groups and
activities. Many of the terms can be seen in terms of a performance metaphor, an
observation that has important links with the issues addressed in Chapter 5. Here are
some common Disney terms and their equivalents:

Everyday term Disney-speak
theme park visitor/customer guest
employee cast member
frontline employee host or hostess
public areas onstage
restricted areas backstage
theme park ride or show attraction
hiring for a job casting
job role
foreman lead
uniform costume
job interview audition
crowd audience
accident incident
queue/line pre-entertainment area
attraction designer imagineer
talking robot audio-animatronic figure
Sources: Bryman (1995: 108); Disney Institute (2001: 81); Koenig (1994)

Nor should we be surprised at writers pointing out the influence of Disney.
Edward Ball, writing in Village Voice, has called Disney ‘America’s urban laboratory,
the clinic whose concoctions are exported around the world.’ In a sense, it is not
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the company as such that is the laboratory but its theme parks. It is these which
have had such a profound influence and have led architects to enthuse about their
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design. However we should not get too carried away with talk of Disney and the
influence of the company and its theme parks. It is crucial to remember that
Disneyization is not about the influence of Disney but about the spread of the prin-
ciples that its theme parks exemplify. The four dimensions of Disneyization can be
shown to predate Disneyland – hence my insistence on presenting in each chapter,
evidence of Disneyization that precedes the opening of this first Disney theme park.
In spite of the occasional use of the term in contexts like the Las Vegas leaflet,
Disneyization seemed to be a term that had fewer connotations and implications