How's that for American realism??
I am hoping this is just a sarcastic post, but knowing people today, I am going to argue against it: What country in World Showcase is giving the full story?
Should France speak of its bloody Revolution? Should Germany emphasize the Pre-World War II era? Should China praise the glory of its over-abundant population where millions of abortions happen a year?
The point of all these countries is to give a glimpse at the best in their country, not give the full history of it. If you want that, go to the country itself.
I think the American Adventure is the only pavilion that discusses some problems: while not mentioned slavery is part of the Civil War, and Chief Joseph's speech captures the essence of those horrible actions of America.
Now on to an arguement about why the American Adventure is the way it is.
All of the countries in World Showcase cater to the American tourist. Norway was built for Americans to go to the actual country. France has a specific "American" wine tasting. I could give instances of this in each country.
Therefore, the American Adventure does the same thing. The show is an uplifting, patriotic extravaganza that assumes that most audience members already know American history. These audience members want to feel good about their country, and for the non-Americans in the audience, we want to show them that we are the best. (That's why the American pavilion is the tallest and biggest in World Showcase).
The Quick Service restaurant also caters to Americans. Where else in World Showcase can you get a hamburger or chicken tenders? There is need for a less adventurous quick service restaurant in the 1.3 miles that encompases World Showcase.
Now, we can finally talk about the location and style of the architecture at the American Adventure. The original intent of the Imagineers was to place the American Adventure between Future World and World Showcase (look how Canada and Mexico set up this design). The building would have beend designed much like the modern buildings of Future World. This created, again, the "America is best" idea with the American pavilion bridging the future to the past with technology in one direction and the old countries in the other.
When they finally decided to create the American Adventure show, they realized that the show really couldn't take place in such a modern building. They changed the style of architecture, and to make it fit in, they moved across the lagoon, making it the host pavilion and crown jewel of World Showcase.
The American Adventure is created to inspire Americans about their nation, but also to give a reprieve from the exotic natures of the other nations in World Showcase.
