Page 51 - The Disneyization of Society

THE DISNEYIZATION OF SOCIETY

themed in a more abstract way than the conventional presentation of animals in
categories such as monkey house, lion and tiger house, and so on. The second
42 sense in which theming can be said to be occurring in relation to zoos is that, in
the process of reconstructing their institutional identities, zoos are theming them-
selves at the corporate level. Each of these senses will now be examined.

Theming within zoos
First, an example of theming within zoos is to be found in Jungle World in Bronx
Zoo which opened in 1985 and which is often regarded as an exemplar. The var-
ious components are intended to represent Asian rainforest, mangrove swamp
and scrub forest. 98 Thus the zoo architecture and flora are no longer neutral but
are in effect simulations of natural habitats. Another example is the Lied Jungle
at Henry Doorly Zoo in Omaha which similarly places animals within a wider
ecosystem context. The Ford African Rainforest in Zoo Atlanta, Amazonia in the
National Zoo in Washington DC, and the Thai Elephant Forest and Rain Forest at
Woodland Park Zoo in Seattle are further instances of this process. Lowry Park Zoo
in Tampa, Florida, includes themed areas such as Primate World, Asian Domain,
and Florida Wildlife Center which is dedicated to typical wild animals found in
Florida. London Zoo’s biodiversity exhibit is a yet another illustration and one
which bravely seeks to present some of earth’s more numerous but less celebrated
creatures, especially insects. The Zoo’s Director described the new exhibit in The
Times as ‘a mission statement writ large’. 99 At Adelaide Zoo, there is a nocturnal
house in which night-time is simulated so that normally dormant and therefore
rarely viewed nocturnal animals are on display. There is also a World of Primates
in which the visitor is immersed in an apparently pristine natural environment. 100
The whole of Busch Gardens in Tampa, Florida is themed around Africa (which,
Malamud observes, 101 is a particularly popular theme in zoos) and includes a mas-
sive area containing free-roaming animals in zones like the Myombe Reserve. The
Sea World theme parks are basically zoos/aquariums for various forms of marine
life and their exhibits are themed in several different ways: Penguin Encounter,
Tropical Rain Forest, Tropical Reef, Key West, and Pacific Point Preserve. As Davis
observes in connection with the Sea World in San Diego, the theme park gradu-
ally replaced small cages and pools and tanks with ‘exhibits that tried to represent
whole worlds’. 102
Disney has in a sense created its own zoo in the form of the Animal Kingdom
in Walt Disney World in Florida, which opened in 1998. Initially, the bulk of the
park was themed on the African Savannah (an Asian zone opened in 1999).
Guests travel on a Kilimanjaro safari and visit areas like the Harambe Village. The
publicity this venture has attracted and its sheer scale are likely to provide food
for thought among zoo managers.
In part, theming inside the zoo is a product of public unease about the sight of
captive animals in cages. 103 Placing animals in contexts in which they could roam