Page 53 - The Disneyization of Society

THE DISNEYIZATION OF SOCIETY

These themes are equally prominent in zoos’ websites. For example, Chester Zoo’s
opening page cites the following as its mission:
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The role of the zoo is to support and promote conservation by breeding threatened species, by
excellent animal welfare, high quality public service, recreation, education and science. 110

It is not surprising that conservation at this zoo is especially prominent in its web
pages.
Unsurprisingly, the motifs of species conservation plus education are major
components of Disney’s Animal Kingdom’s raison d’être too. Disney say that:
‘inspiring a love of animals and concern for their welfare is the underlying theme,
both subtle and obvious, throughout the Animal Kingdom’. 111 This remark nicely
side-steps the fact that one of its lands is sponsored by McDonald’s and the park
itself sells vast quantities of steaks, burgers, hot dogs and nuggets and is built on
former wetlands. However, its director of animal operations, who was lured from
the famous San Diego Zoo, has stated that he would not have taken on the task
unless he was ‘sure Disney was a 100 per cent committed to conservation’. 112
This growing unease about the use of the depiction ‘zoo’ and the substitution
of alternative terms stressing conservation and education are in themselves com-
ponents of the turn towards theming. However, it has to be acknowledged that
some commentators are sceptical about the application of narratives of education,
science and species conservation. 113 Nevertheless, the theming of zoos in terms of
these master narratives is a continuing process, as is the internal theming of the
zoo in terms of regions, species types, and so on. Of course, these two processes
usually coincide. Busch Gardens in Tampa, which began life as a zoo adjacent to
a brewery (owned by Anheuser-Busch, the then and current owners of the park),
has been described as ‘a theme park, with an African motif largely submerged into
a naturalist-environmentalist theme’. 114 At many zoos, the theming of areas or
attractions within their grounds has gone hand in hand with the introduction of
the conservation theme.

Theming of place

This section deals with two related forms of theming. They are both concerned
with the notion of place and with the role that theming plays in creating a sense
of place. The emphasis will be placed primarily on the creation of place in con-
nection with tourism. One way in which we can talk about the theming of place
is in relation to the use of cultural narratives to create a sense of place. This occurs
when a place is themed in terms of its association with well-known or striking cul-
tural products or events. The second sense is a more internalist theming which
takes as its starting point features that are intrinsic qualities of a place or at least
are commonly regarded as such. With this second sense, the theming of place