The Disneyization of society

• Main Author: Bryman, Alan (Author)
• Format: Book
• Language: English
• Published: London Thousand Oaks, Calif. SAGE Publishers 2004
• Subjects: Amusement parks > Sociological aspects > United States; Social structure > Social aspects > United States; Globalization; Consumption (Economics) > Social aspects > United States; Disneyland (Calif.); Walt Disney World (Fla.)
• Online Access: Click Here to View Status and Holdings.

 This is an agenda-setting new work in the sociology of culture and modern society. It argues that the contemporary world is increasingly converging towards the characteristics of the Disney theme parks. This process of convergence is revealed in: the growing influence of themed environments in settings like restaurants, shops, hotels, tourism and zoos; the growing trend towards social environments that are driven by combinations of forms of consumption: shopping, eating out, gambling, visiting the cinema, watching sports; the growth in cachet awarded to brands based on licensed merchandise; and the increased prominence of work that is a performance in which the employees have to display certain emotions and generally convey impressions as though working in a theatrical event. This insightful book demonstrates the importance of control and surveillance in consumer culture.