Inside the Mouse: Work and Play at Disney World, The Project on Disney

By The Project on Disney and Project on Disney

Book Overview

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.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0822316242
• ISBN13: 9780822316244
• Release Date: April 1995
• Publisher: Duke University Press
• Length: 264 Pages
• Weight: 1.04 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.7" x 6.1" x 9.2"

Customer Reviews

Not For Mouseketeers

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.

An Academic Work on the Cultural Implications of Disney

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.

It's a small (minded) world after all...

It appears that most of the negative reviews written here are by Disneyphiles. This makes sense. The book isn't for them. It's for Disneyphobes. And by extension, it's for people who feel that America (and other countries it taints) is becoming one big self-feeding entertainment playground in deep denial of the problems at its core. We've reached a point where escapism can't be escaped.Disney is all about escapism, and this book is about the bizarre, downright surreal ways Disney and its willing consumers co-conspire to maintain an illusion of wholesomeness and "fun." Compare Disney World to the ways in which Americans distract themselves with the Internet, "Survivor," video games, or the latest Oprah Book Club pick to make sure that not even a shred of reality, despair, or suffering pierces their little bubble. Has anyone actually had fun at Disney World? I haven't. I've been there three times. It was a nightmare of homogenized culture and enforced cheerfulness. (Universal Studios has a little more going for it.) Disney World isn't for everyone. This book is for the people that Disney World isn't for. If that's you, this book will make you feel better about being a "grouch" whose suspicions about the place are actually well-founded. If Disney World and all things Disney are your idea of a good time, maybe you should rent "Pocahontas" again or something, because this book will just annoy you. To which I say: Good.

Uneven, but provocative

I'm a big Disney fan, and found myself vehemently disagreeing with many of the essays in this book (academics just don't "get it"); however, it did force me to think about just why these critics are dead wrong. Most enjoyable to me were the "behind the scenes" interviews with (mostly) former employees and the architectural commentary.

Good

For a pretty good inside look on the dirt on the Mouse's theme park in Orlando, this will open your eyes. Some good anecdotes and the publishing team kept it pretty well-balanced and moving. Given that it's so difficult to find out almost anything behind-the-scenes on this place, this book is worth a go. My perception in reading was that they made a genuine effort to be fair and objective. Respectable