Aesthetic Analysis of Themed Design

[wishesjake]

I believe that the discussions within the Disney online community are lacking in one area: serious discussion of the principles of themed design and the affects that they have upon us. I think that intelligent conversations about the Walt Disney World Resort can and must be had. Intellectual discourse about these subjects can reap great rewards:

1) They can enhance your appreciation for Disney theme parks and make your experience of them more pleasurable. For example, I challenge anyone to read Passport to Dreams Old & New and not feel a greater appreciation for WDW. (FYI, this is not my blog, I am just a huge fan.)

2) If Disney execs and/or Imagineers read this type of discussion, (for it has always been rumor/fact/fantasy that they have) it will show them that we are not inarticulate tourists who "love them disney cartoons." But, it can show them that we have a greater appreciation for the parks than the average person. It can show them that we understand themed design, applaud when it is brilliant, and protest when it is terrible.

3) It can help further self-education and self-awareness. We can begin to try to understand why we love what we love. Of course, there is no real "Disney Magic", so what is it that gives us goosebumbs during a stroll down Sunset Boulevard? Or makes us tear up during wishes? Or cringe when Iago invades the Tiki Room? Self examination of life can be profitable and fun; so what could be more fun than trying to understand why we love WDW?

In short, I am tired of listing my favorite attractions, disney characters, waterparks, firework shows, parades, and restaurants. So I propose that we start writing posts analyzing WDW. Let's disagree, argue, concur, and celebrate with each other the aspects of WDW that you love or hate or anything in between.

I'll start out with an example of the kind of post/discussion that I have in mind.

 

[SirNim]

I think the online faction of Epcot fanboys (to which I might say I belong) has this down pat already—at least in terms of detailed, subsurface, fundamental, artistic, aesthetic, purposeful discussion. (et cetera, et cetera, et cetera)

But—proceed regardless. I approve. (as if you need my permission )

 

[wishesjake]

Main Street U.S.A. is often listed as one of most peoples favorite spots in the Magic Kingdom. Why is this?

Well here's my opinion.

Main Street U.S.A. (MS) is a space that is quintessentially American. From the flags to the bands to the sash on the mayor Main Street is all red, white, and blue. Not only is MS American, but it is idealized America. There are no displaced Native Americans, there is no slavery, and the Civil War seems never to have happened on Main Street. So if Main Street is idealized America, then what is idealized America?

Idealized America is Liberty aka Freedom. Freedom is what separated us from Europe in 1776 and it has been our calling card ever since. We represent Freedom.

(An aside, I realize we did not offer freedom to every individual and every group, I am merely trying to say what we represented. So please do not bog this discussion down with politics and socioeconomic theory.)

So the idea of freedom is prevalent on Main Street. It is a place where men are free to open their own business. And, every business is booming. There are no "going out of business" sales on Main Street, it represents a place of economic peace.

Also, men (sorry ladies this is 1900) are free to choose their occupation, their place of residence, and how they raise their family. Therefore Main Street is a place where families have complete freedom and can do as they please. So it is a place of social harmony because families can do whatever they please.

So we can say that Main Street feels perfect because everyone is free to do as they please with no influence from anyone telling them how to live their lives.

However the idealization of Main Street owes as much to freedom as it does to Law and Order. For example, the businesses do not have complete economic freedom because if someone wanted to open an "Adult" shop on Main Street, it would be shut down. Also, if one of the free citizens of Main Street wanted to walk down center street nude, they would be arrested. So the citizens are not completely free, but are governed by Law and Order.

So to summarize, Main Street represents Freedom and Liberty but also Law and Order. Why does that appeal to people? Because as humans we want our freedom, but we also want laws to protect us and mainly our children. That idea of balancing Liberty and Law is one of the founding principles of America, but in America we have never reached a perfect balance of the two. But on Main Street, Liberty and Law live hand in hand every day of the week.

That is why Main Street feels peaceful and cozy because a social ideal has been reached that cannot be reached in the real world.

Agree or Disagree?
Please discuss.

 

[EpcotServo]

On behalf of myself, Bravo. Well said. Wish there was more of this and less complaining.

:sohappy: :lol:

 

[SirGoofy]

Love the thread idea.

No time to respond now, but I definitely will later.

 

[Mr.EPCOT]

I think the online faction of Epcot fanboys (to which I might say I belong) has this down pat already—at least in terms of detailed, subsurface, fundamental, artistic, aesthetic, purposeful discussion. (et cetera, et cetera, et cetera)

But—proceed regardless. I approve. (as if you need my permission )

Represent.

 

[Lee]

Agree....I guess.
Kinda overthinking it...makes my head hurt.:lol:

 

[kingslyZISSOU]

Finally!

 

[wishesjake]

To all the EPCOT Center fanboys:

This was exactly my goal.

Contribute, Analyze, Discuss, and Overthink!

Seriously join the discussion. Give some of that heady Epcot (oops . . . sorry, EPCOT) analysis that you guys are famous for.

BTW, you can respond to something that has been posted or write something completely new.

 

[EPCOT Explorer]

To all the EPCOT Center fanboys:

This was exactly my goal.

Contribute, Analyze, Discuss, and Overthink!

Seriously join the discussion. Give some of that heady Epcot (oops . . . sorry, EPCOT) analysis that you guys are famous for.

BTW, you can respond to something that has been posted or write something completely new.

Welcome. I love it.


Now....What do you want me to talk about?:lol:



sohappy

 

[wishesjake]

Welcome. I love it.


Now....What do you want me to talk about?:lol:



sohappy

You could respond to my Main Street post.

 

[SirNim]

Main Street! Main Street! Meet me tonight on Main Street!

Liberty and Freedom, but Law and Order too. Quintessentially American. Like Walt himself, the quintessential American. Makes sense.

I think the struggle, or rather dichotomy, between liberty and freedom, and law and order, is a topic rife for discussion (while avoiding modern politics). In the very first years of this republic, I think the balance was shifted much more towards liberty and freedom than it was towards law and order; that goes without saying due to the reasons for the revolution; having been subjected to one extreme of arbitrary law and violent order, the pendulum naturally swung towards a more laissez-faire promotion of liberty and freedom as the ultimate moral code of the land. In the years since, the pendulum has swung back towards the center, yet we would do well to keep it aligned more often with the interests of freedom and liberty than with those that would have the state becoming the final arbiter of not only law and order, but also compulsion beyond the original intent of the framers.

Where does Disney come into play? Or Main Street? Well, Main Street could, perhaps should, be seen as a beacon beckoning for a return to the more serene days of the past. As Buckminster Fuller, another of Walt's muses, once said, "Dare to be naive." Main Street is Naive Street. What do we sacrifice when we turn left in our automobiles off Naive Street onto Cynical Street, leaving the Main Street of America's past behind?

 

[hemloc]

 

[EPCOT Explorer]

You could respond to my Main Street post.

Honestly, I agree with it in full. It's a fantastic representation of MSUSA.

I do wish to point out this, though...

Main Street U.S.A. is often listed as one of most peoples favorite spots in the Magic Kingdom. Why is this?

Well here's my opinion.

Main Street U.S.A. (MS) is a space that is quintessentially American. From the flags to the bands to the sash on the mayor Main Street is all red, white, and blue. Not only is MS American, but it is idealized America. There are no displaced Native Americans, there is no slavery, and the Civil War seems never to have happened on Main Street. So if Main Street is idealized America, then what is idealized America?

Idealized America is Liberty aka Freedom. Freedom is what separated us from Europe in 1776 and it has been our calling card ever since. We represent Freedom.

(An aside, I realize we did not offer freedom to every individual and every group, I am merely trying to say what we represented. So please do not bog this discussion down with politics and socioeconomic theory.)

So the idea of freedom is prevalent on Main Street. It is a place where men are free to open their own business. And, every business is booming. There are no "going out of business" sales on Main Street, it represents a place of economic peace.

Also, men (sorry ladies this is 1900) are free to choose their occupation, their place of residence, and how they raise their family. Therefore Main Street is a place where families have complete freedom and can do as they please. So it is a place of social harmony because families can do whatever they please.

So we can say that Main Street feels perfect because everyone is free to do as they please with no influence from anyone telling them how to live their lives.

However the idealization of Main Street owes as much to freedom as it does to Law and Order. For example, the businesses do not have complete economic freedom because if someone wanted to open an "Adult" shop on Main Street, it would be shut down. Also, if one of the free citizens of Main Street wanted to walk down center street nude, they would be arrested. So the citizens are not completely free, but are governed by Law and Order.

So to summarize, Main Street represents Freedom and Liberty but also Law and Order. Why does that appeal to people? Because as humans we want our freedom, but we also want laws to protect us and mainly our children. That idea of balancing Liberty and Law is one of the founding principles of America, but in America we have never reached a perfect balance of the two. But on Main Street, Liberty and Law live hand in hand every day of the week.

That is why Main Street feels peaceful and cozy because a social ideal has been reached that cannot be reached in the real world.

Agree or Disagree?
Please discuss.

Perhaps that it's also the freedom to explore, and imagine? That would situate it as a perfect gateway to the rest of the Magic Kingdom, and the realms of Today, Tomorrow, and Fantasy?

Or...


dropping the theme of Freedom, it could even be seen as a blank slate. It't the ordinary world, an ideal one, at that, and the rest of the Magic Kingdom is this pallet transformed into a community of adventure, a community of fantasy, of frontier? Or Tomorrow?

Just a thought, seeing that I have always thought of the MK Lands, as cities, or smaller microcosms.


Food for thought.

 

[EPCOT Explorer]

Main Street! Main Street! Meet me tonight on Main Street!

Liberty and Freedom, but Law and Order too. Quintessentially American. Like Walt himself, the quintessential American. Makes sense.

I think the struggle, or rather dichotomy, between liberty and freedom, and law and order, is a topic rife for discussion (while avoiding modern politics). In the very first years of this republic, I think the balance was shifted much more towards liberty and freedom than it was towards law and order; that goes without saying due to the reasons for the revolution; having been subjected to one extreme of arbitrary law and violent order, the pendulum naturally swung towards a more laissez-faire promotion of liberty and freedom as the ultimate moral code of the land. In the years since, the pendulum has swung back towards the center, yet we would do well to keep it aligned more often with the interests of freedom and liberty than with those that would have the state becoming the final arbiter of not only law and order, but also compulsion beyond the original intent of the framers.

Where does Disney come into play? Or Main Street? Well, Main Street could, perhaps should, be seen as a beacon beckoning for a return to the more serene days of the past. As Buckminster Fuller, another of Walt's muses, once said, "Dare to be naive." Main Street is Naive Street. What do we sacrifice when we turn left in our automobiles off Naive Street onto Cynical Street, leaving the Main Street of America's past behind?

Suggesting that the basis of an American Utopia is based in Naivety?


I have a professor and mentor that calls America the "Experiment in Enlightenment". I tend to agree....Hopefully it is a lasting experiment.

Or, hopefully that beings are fundamentally good, and that this IS the way to live?


Ooooh, we are getting philosophical.:lol:

 

[SirNim]

I think it's a question of where the definitions of naive and optimistic merge. Do they overlap to the point where they are total synonyms? Or can someone be naive and pessimistic, or optimistic but not naive?

Bucky's asking us to be optimistic, to be anti-cynical, when he tells us to "dare to be naive"—though it's much cooler to take a nihilist view of the world. What is Main Street, USA telling us as we walk down it? Is it telling us what's past is prologue? Is it telling us America used to have it really good? Used to? Is it telling us America sucked before the iPhone and FiOS came out? Is it telling us to regard the past as a sterile museum exhibit, or as something more like a foundation upon which the future must be built? If it's a foundation, what kind of foundation is it? Because one doesn't build a castle upon a foundation that is not compatible with a castle.

 

[wishesjake]

Wow! The ideas are starting to percolate. This is awesome.

First, SirNim, I love how you point out the struggle between Liberty and Law because the absence of that struggle is part of what makes Main Street so charming. However I disagree about the naivite. I think that Main Street understands the struggle between liberty and law and strikes a perfect balance. Also, we tend to think of Main Street as something in the past but America has never existed how it is depicted on Main Street. Main Street could then be futuristic not in design but in idea because it is a beacon or ideal that we should strive to attain.

Epcot Explorer, what a great observation about Main Street providing the freedom to explore. The idea of the lands of the magic kingdom as microcosms is interesting, and you should follow up with some commentary.

And yes I believe the underlying philosophy on Main Street and much of WDW is that people are basically good and this ideal (MS or WDW) can be achieved with hard work and ingenuity. (Technically, the ideal has already been achieved but it is as a work of art in a theme park and not in reality)

Awesome discussion!

 

[wishesjake]

I think it's a question of where the definitions of naive and optimistic merge. Do they overlap to the point where they are total synonyms? Or can someone be naive and pessimistic, or optimistic but not naive?

Bucky's asking us to be optimistic, to be anti-cynical, when he tells us to "dare to be naive"—though it's much cooler to take a nihilist view of the world. What is Main Street, USA telling us as we walk down it? Is it telling us what's past is prologue? Is it telling us America used to have it really good? Used to? Is it telling us America sucked before the iPhone and FiOS came out? Is it telling us to regard the past as a sterile museum exhibit, or as something more like a foundation upon which the future must be built? If it's a foundation, what kind of foundation is it? Because one doesn't build a castle upon a foundation that is not compatible with a castle.

The word "naive" has a connotation of ignorance. It is someone who doesn't have all the facts and doesn't understand things. Like a child.

However optimism is knowing all the facts and still having a positive opinion about something. Therefore Main St. is optimistic but never naive.

Main Street is telling us that balance is possible. It is a blueprint for the future. The castle at the end of the blueprint for America tells us that if we learn to follow that blueprint than in effect all our dreams will come true. At the end of the road of this American Experiment is the ultimate symbol of wish fulfillment. Now we are dealing with some truly optimistic stuff. Or maybe we have hit a wall of naivite.

 

[Lee]

Wow....ya'll are WAY overthinking this stuff.:lol:

 

[EPCOT Explorer]

I think it's a question of where the definitions of naive and optimistic merge. Do they overlap to the point where they are total synonyms? Or can someone be naive and pessimistic, or optimistic but not naive?

Bucky's asking us to be optimistic, to be anti-cynical, when he tells us to "dare to be naive"—though it's much cooler to take a nihilist view of the world. What is Main Street, USA telling us as we walk down it? Is it telling us what's past is prologue? Is it telling us America used to have it really good? Used to? Is it telling us America sucked before the iPhone and FiOS came out? Is it telling us to regard the past as a sterile museum exhibit, or as something more like a foundation upon which the future must be built? If it's a foundation, what kind of foundation is it? Because one doesn't build a castle upon a foundation that is not compatible with a castle.

As mentioned, it's all connotations. Using Optimism is a much more positive word, and therefore I think it's the meaning for MSUSA. It's showcasing a world of long ago, and telling us, NOW, that optimism is still possible to lead us to bigger and better things. It did so for the dezidens of MSUSA, it can for you too.

Wow! The ideas are starting to percolate. This is awesome.

First, SirNim, I love how you point out the struggle between Liberty and Law because the absence of that struggle is part of what makes Main Street so charming. However I disagree about the naivite. I think that Main Street understands the struggle between liberty and law and strikes a perfect balance. Also, we tend to think of Main Street as something in the past but America has never existed how it is depicted on Main Street. Main Street could then be futuristic not in design but in idea because it is a beacon or ideal that we should strive to attain.

Epcot Explorer, what a great observation about Main Street providing the freedom to explore. The idea of the lands of the magic kingdom as microcosms is interesting, and you should follow up with some commentary.

And yes I believe the underlying philosophy on Main Street and much of WDW is that people are basically good and this ideal (MS or WDW) can be achieved with hard work and ingenuity. (Technically, the ideal has already been achieved but it is as a work of art in a theme park and not in reality)

Awesome discussion!

Thank you.

Perhaps when I have more time...:lol: Kinda busy with my studies, and I would love to give this my whole attention.

Wow....ya'll are WAY overthinking this stuff.:lol:

It's what we do.