Simulated Authenticity

Most tourists feel a desire to experience the authentic, but authenticity isn’t easily defined. Some argue that Disneyland is the antithesis of authentic. It is structured, controlled, and meticulously maintained. Lawrence Mintz writes “Tourists are seeking more meaningful, even profound satisfaction, but what they actually experience is a ‘staged authenticity,’ an encounter that is essentially engineered both by the tourism industry that controls the plan of the visit and by the cultural expectations of each visitor” (Mintz 267). However, I wonder if “staged” authenticity is really any less authentic, and if it is, at what degree does something become categorized as staged?

Erve Chambers writes, “In some discussions of the fate of authenticity in tourism places, concern for a single standard of authenticity has begun to shift to an appreciation of significance, or how a resource is valued and authenticated by different stakeholders and how those different different criteria for determining authenticity are negotiated by those who have a stake in any particular tourism circumstance” (Chambers 100). I believe that Chambers is suggesting that the authenticity of a place can be valued by way of its importance to various communities and cultures.

In the case of simulacra, I think this is very relevant since often times outsiders or first time visitors don’t see them the way that other people do. Places that are simulacra tend to have complex level of value in communities, and I think Chambers is trying to say that as long as their is value for the community or cultures it can be authentic. In a way, a simulacrum is actually completely authentic. It’s a copy of something that was never real, a representation of reality that is original in its own right.

The traditions formed at Disneyland, like parades and fireworks, were historically inventive and imaginative. Walt Disney was known for his ambitious over-the-top dreams for his park the simulacra within his parks are authentic in their own right. This goes back to the issue on authenticity, but people are really drawn to things that feel authentic and original, even if those things are completely staged and created for consumption.

What a Simulacrum is and What it Has to Do With Disneyland

Walt Disney was an incredible, inspired, and creative man who had a vision of recreating imagination. His efforts are reflected throughout Disneyland and the physical representations present in the parks of the real and imaginary.
Dino Felluga of Purdue University defines a simulacrum as “Something that replaces reality with its representation” (Felluga). Jean Baudrillard in “The Precession of Simulacra” writes, “It is no longer a question of imitation, nor duplication, nor even parody. It is a question of substituting the signs of the real for the real” (Baudrillard 2).
Disneyland as a whole is a major simulacrum, and there are many simulacra within it. Disneyland is a land made up of physical representations of imagination and fantasy, things that never really existed. The Sleeping Beauty Castle, for example, is based on the Neuschwanstein castle dreamt up by King Ludwig II, which was itself an inaccurate representation, or a simulacrum of a medieval castle. Therefore, the Sleeping Beauty Castle was actually a copy of a copy of an original that never existed.

Another example is Toon Town, a little cartoon town built to resemble the home of many cartoons. You can take pictures with Mickey Mouse inside his house, and see Minnie next door. Their homes are physical renderings, copies of images and drawings straight from the minds of the Disney Imagineers.

“These literary fantasy figures were first reinterpreted in animated cartoons and here reappear as images and three dimensional models re-representing the cartoon representations. Such illusions based on illusions are protectively distanced from reality, enabling us to enjoy, without engagement in real danger, the excitement.” (James Prout 118). This quote describes how an image such as a cartoon that is itself a representation can be represented by something else, and that is how a simulacrum is created. It is important to consider how simulacra are often based on a representation of something else, and in the case of Disneyland, cartoons and movies that are representations of imagination as well as the other stories that have inspired them.

The final example I’ll use is the holiday fireworks show. During the holidays at Disneyland they have fake snow (tiny bubbles) falling at the end of the holiday themed firework show. In a way, that show is a simulacrum of the fantasy we have about the perfect evening, and for Southern Californians, the perfect snowfall. All of these attractions are copies of intangible realities, yet most of us have grand expectations for them when we visit them.

Why it Matters to Me

For as long as I can remember, my parents have taken my older brother and I to Disneyland. They knew that it was a place that all of us could go and have fun together, and it helped them escape from the reality of their stressful work environments. Since we’ve almost always had annual passes of some kind, we could go just for the morning or my mom could strap me on her back and put my brother in his stroller after work on Fridays. They would also take us just for dinner and the fireworks.

As I look back on all of the time I’ve spent with my family there, I’ve begun to understand part of why Disneyland means so much to me. It is a place that holds many memories for me, and the rides I could go on marked my changes in height rather than a wall or doorway at home. Some of the happiest memories I have of my childhood happened there, and I also conquered some fears (the abominable snowman on the Matterhorn, anyone?).

All through middle school and high school I played the trumpet in marching band, orchestra, and jazz band. I performed with the Claremont Young Musicians Orchestra once on the Big Thunder Ranch stage (now being replaced by the Star Wars themed land), twice at the Carnation Plaza Gardens (now Fantasy Faire) with the Los Osos High School Jazz Band, marched down Main Street five times with the Los Osos High School Regiment, and I led the afternoon parade on December 26th, 2013 as the lead herald trumpet for the Tournament of Roses Honor Band (my most memorable performance). That’s a grand total of nine performances at the Magic Kingdom and nine visits backstage.

Hey, that’s me!

Now that I’m in college out of state, I still spend as much time with my family as I can. When I went back down to SoCal for my winter break last year, I made five different trips to Disneyland some with my family, some with my boyfriend, and some just to meet up with old friends. It’s amazing how one place can be so many things for me, and I don’t doubt that other people hold similar value for it. I think that’s a big part of why Disneyland feels so magical and enchanting. It’s not just the scenery and the rides, it’s the memories we have that are preserved there and knowing the impact it’s had on so many lives.

Group photo right before riding Thunder Mountain!

 

John’s first visit!!

From Dream to Reality

 

Chaos ensues as everyone tries to beat the crowds by running to their next destination.

Walt Disney was inspired to create Disneyland when he was with his daughters at various amusement parks. They would run around and play while he would “sit on a bench, eating peanuts” (KGO). In the early development of Disneyland, it had gone through a number of versions starting with a studio tour in a lot next to the existing Walt Disney Studios in Burbank, CA to the large plot of orange groves in Anaheim, CA that was ultimately chosen as the site. At first, Walt’s brother Roy, who was the financial mind of the company, was not supportive of his grand dreams, and neither were the potential investors.

Check out these old-school, slightly creepy Mickey and Minnie costumes!

Disneyland opened on July 17^th, 1955 after only about a year of construction. Opening day has been called “Black Sunday” due to the fact that the day was a bit of a disaster. There were counterfeit admission invites so the park was packed beyond capacity. The asphalt had been freshly poured and wasn’t given enough time to dry, so some women got the surprise of having their high heels stuck in the ground. Additionally, during the final weeks of construction it was discovered that there was no way all of the plumbing for the park would be completed in time, so Walt opted out of drinking fountains so that restrooms could be available, many of which failed due to the crowds on opening day. Finally, many of the rides broke down frequently throughout the day since the mechanics didn’t have a chance to get all of the bugs out of the systems. Despite all of these failures, the day went down in history as the start of an empire which would eventually become a staple in American culture.