|
Inside the Mouse: Work and Play at Disney World, The Project on Disney | 
 enlarge | Author: The Project On Disney
Creators: Jane Kuenz, Sharon Willis, Shelton Waldrep, Stanley Fish
Publisher: Duke University Press
Category: Book
List Price: $22.95
Buy Used: $3.88
You Save: $19.07 (83%)
New (6) Used (36) Collectible (1) from $3.88
Rating:  23 reviews
Sales Rank: 63367
Media: Paperback
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 264
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1
Dimensions (in): 9.2 x 6 x 0.8
ISBN: 0822316242
Dewey Decimal Number: 791.06875924
EAN: 9780822316244
ASIN: 0822316242
Publication Date: 1995
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Shipping: Expedited shipping available
Condition: Ships SAME or NEXT business day. We Ship to APO/FPO addr. Choose EXPEDITED shipping and receive in 2-5 business days. See our member profile for customer support contact info.
| |
| Editorial Reviews:
Amazon.com Review
What makes Disney tick? This theoretical cultural analysis is an alternative ride through "the happiest place on earth" that asks "What makes this forty-three-square-mile theme park the quintessential embodiment of American leisure?" Considering the park as both private corporate enterprise and public urban environment, the authors focus on questions concerning the production and consumption of leisure. Featuring more than fifty photographs and interviews with workers, this captivating exploration illustrates the high-pressure dynamics of the typical family vacation while taking the reader on a tour that looks well beyond Disney World's controlled facade.
Product Description
This entertaining and playful book views Disney World as much more than the site of an ideal family vacation. Blending personal meditations, interviews, photographs, and cultural analysis, Inside the Mouse looks at Disney World’s architecture and design, its consumer practices, and its use of Disney characters and themes. This book takes the reader on an alternative ride through "the happiest place on earth" while asking "What makes this forty-three-square-mile theme park the quintessential embodiment of American leisure?"
Turning away from the programmed entertainment that Disney presents, the authors take a peek behind the scenes of everyday experience at Disney World. In their consideration of the park as both private corporate enterprise and public urban environment, the authors focus on questions concerning the production and consumption of leisure. Featuring over fifty photographs and interviews with workers that strip "cast members" of their cartoon costumes, this captivating work illustrates the high-pressure dynamics of the typical family vacation as well as a tour of Disney World that looks beyond the controlled facade of themed attractions.
As projects like EuroDisney and the proposed Disney America test the strength of the Disney cultural monolith, Inside the Mouse provides a timely assessment of the serious business of supplying pleasure in contemporary U.S. culture. Written for the general reader interested in the many worlds of Disney, this engrossing volume will also find fans among students and scholars of cultural studies.
|
| Customer Reviews: Read 18 more reviews...
 The Disney that THEY don't let you see!!! June 15, 2005
6 out of 14 found this review helpful
I read this book while I was attending a prestigious college in NY, and I thought it was one of the most well written books on the con side of Disney World. People just think it is all Mickey Mouse Pops and trips to Cinderella's castle, and it is not. I have friends and family that have worked and interned for the corporation and have said the same things, it is not all what the Disney Corporation makes it out to be, there are many bad things and inappropriate things that go on behind the castle walls that would just make people sick and wonder why they ever spent $70 a person to walk through the "Magical" gates to the "Happiest Place on Earth".
 Biased piece of trash March 23, 2004
12 out of 27 found this review helpful
It is obvious that the authors are biased against the Disney corporation and wish to force their perspective on everyone else. The money I spent to purchase this book could have been better used elsewhere. I wish i could shred the book and send the pieces back to each author. THE ONLY REASON IT RECIEVED ONE STAR IS THAT ZERO WAS NOT AN OPTION. DO NOT WASTE YOUR MONEY ON PURCHASING THIS PIECE OF TRASH.
 Not For Mouseketeers May 19, 2003
6 out of 17 found this review helpful
This book was an interesting and informative read. It delves deep into the myths that surround Disney, and exposes many facets of the wonderland that are far from wonderful. This book is not for devout fans of disney, as it seeks to deconstruct the myths surrounding the mouse. I found many of the discoveries to be not only surprising but quite horrifying. It is important as our country moves towards the "disnification" of our culture, that we understand the motivations are not those of fluffy cartoon bunnies but of huge corporations which of course include Disney. Most of the negative reviews I have read for this book come from those that are so grossly loyal to an ideal that a company has sold them that they are unwilling to even listen to a hint of critisizm for it's actions. This is an excellent read, very well written and very informative.
They Missed the Point November 24, 2002
16 out of 22 found this review helpful
The authors started their project with the agenda of being critical of Disney. They refused to participate in the experience of "The Mouse" before rejecting it. One author was absolutely horrified when she found herself shopping in the park, and immediately returned to her distanced observer position. The authors treat Disney and those who enjoy it, snobbishly. Yet they frequently fall prey to their own criticisms (the most amusing parts of the book). This book was not "entertaining," nor was it "playful". It seeks to ask why Disney is "the quintessential embodiment of American Leisure" yet it spends more time discussing the parks hiring practices than it does asking or answering this question.
An Academic Work on the Cultural Implications of Disney December 11, 2000
5 out of 9 found this review helpful
This book does not aim to be a tell-all of the behind the scenes workings of Walt Disney World. It is, rather, a look at the implications that Disney World has on the experience of its visitors. The book provides an interesting look at how Disney reinforces social norms (specifically the heterosexual family consumer unit) and controls experiences. I really enjoyed reading this book, and found the writers' personal experiences to be very enjoyable.
|
|
|
Powered by Associate-O-Matic
| |
