Page 62 - The Disneyization of Society

THEMING

in response to the confusion that themed environments inflict on normally
reasonably rational consumer behaviour. We should be wary of such a view. Most
53
people are very familiar with themed environments and their attractions, and are
not taken in by the seductive experiences they offer. The plight of themed restau-
rants since the late 1990s is a good illustration of this point. It was precisely because
many of them offered an experience at the expense of good food that they were
increasingly shunned. This rationality in consumer taste and behaviour is testament
to the resilience of consumers to the allure of theming.
Theming may also be spreading, not just because service providers and others
perceive it to be a weapon for getting money out of our pockets. It may also be
spreading because it has a kind of multiplier or snowball effect in our conscious-
ness: we increasingly expect the accoutrements of theming. Just like the shoppers
at the mall studied by Sandicki and Holt who found it dull and boring, 156 there is
a growing expectation of a level of theming. Shoval notes that in Israel, holy sights
are increasingly themed. 157 It might have been expected that these sights could
speak for themselves, that they would have a kind of intrinsic significance and
message because of their religious and historical connotations and importance. He
suggests that the reason is that around 80% of visitors come from Europe and
North America where theming has become a key element in tourism and other
consumption activities. In other words, theming may have (or be seen to have) its
own momentum because of the expectations and requirements of consumers.

Notes

1 Wolf (1999). 19 Thomas (1976: 251).
2 Ritzer (1999). 20 Findlay (1992); Nelson (1986).
3 Bitner (1992). 21 Kasson (1978: 23–4)
4 Solomon (1998). 22 Harris (1997).
5 Pine and Gilmore (1999). 23 Marling (1997: 45).
6 Gottdiener (2001). 24 Marling (1994: 105).
7 Schmitt and Simonson (1997). 25 Weatherford (1998).
8 Ritzer and Stillman (2001a). 26 Hannigan (1998: 201).
9 Beardsworth and Bryman (1999: 243). 27 Doss (1997: 189).
10 Schmitt and Simonson (1997: 124). 28 Beardsworth and Bryman (1999).
11 Euro Disneyland S.C.A. Offer for Sale of 29 Beardsworth and Bryman (1999).
10,691,000 shares by S.G. Warburg 30 Shoval (2000: 261).
Securities. Quotation is on page 13. 31 Kirshenblatt-Gimblett (1998: 171).
12 Bryman (1995). 32 www.blackbeardscave.com/rest.htm
13 Quoted in Mosley (1986: 221). consulted on 4 December, 2001.
14 Findlay (1992: 80). 33 www.poole-associates.com/house_of_
15 Adams (1991); Weinstein (1992). mao1.htm consulted on 20 August, 2003.
16 Kasson (1978: 69). 34 Bagli (1998); Mccalla (1999a).
17 Quoted in Kasson (1978: 69). 35 ‘Crash-themed restaurant scrapped
18 Bright (1987). following attacks’. 25 September, 2001