Lecture 2: Angela Warsnip

The Buying of the Post-Modern City, the Selling of Society
The idea of a perfect society or world in which to live is not a new one. This idea has been around for centuries and has probed the minds of many leading thinkers of their day. From Plato’s Republic to More’s Utopia the idea that life could be better has permeated throughout the ages and in 1955 the idea of a Utopian Society was brought to the real world by way of steel and concrete by the man who brought our childhood fairy tales to life, Walt Disney.
In 1955 Disney opened his first themed amusement park in Anaheim California. Disneyland was the first real concept of a post-modern city. Built upon illusion and turning the unreal into reality, Disney succeeded in creating a city in which you could visit with no crime or urban poverty. Disneyland was a place where for a short time you could live out your fantasies and purchase a piece of your dream to take home to your reality. The Happiest place on Earth was proposed to fail, however, within in its first five years made millions of dollars in profit. Happiness was now a commodity that could be bought and sold.
Seeing that research showed most of the visitors to Disneyland were from west of the Mississippi River (the Western half of the United States) and banking on the theory of purchased happiness Walt Disney began purchasing land in the State of Florida to create a bigger and better post-modern city and to entice visitors from the Eastern United States. In the early 1960’s the plans were set in motion for Disneyworld. Originally, Walt Disney wanted his planned city in Florida to be EPCOT, Experimental Prototype Community of Tomorrow and did not want to recreate Disneyland in Florida, however, with happiness selling at a good profit margins, the board of directors at Disney, raised objections and Walt Disney compromised and Disneyworld would open with the Magic Kingdom, a Disneyland theme park within Disneyworld. This would create a simulation of a hyper-real post-modern city within a planned Post-modern city,
Disney managed to purchase over 27,000 acres of land in two counties in Florida and through The Reedy Creek Improvement District, carries out most of its own municipal duties ( such as energy plants, EMS services etc..) and liaisons with the state of Florida. The State of Florida sensing the revenues that could be generated by such an endeavour from Disney agreed to the creation of The Reedy Creek Improvement District under Florida State Law. However, this is the real side of Disneyworld not the Hyper-Real that the public sees. Yet, although on some level, putting Disneyworld above the law, it serves a necessary purpose given the amount of land being used, permanent residents (workers, etc…), and visitors to the park each year, Disneyworld would need these municipal services to keep things running. It would also appear the State of Florida was one of the first to buy into the Disney commodity of happiness.
Disneyworld opened in 1967, however, Walt Disney would not be there to see his new city realised having passed away in 1966. EPCOT would never open as Walt Disney had envisioned. In 1982, the EPCOT themed park opened at Disneyworld. The architecture was experimental and the attraction itself so unreal it was real. Today EPCOT is not home to the 20,000 permanent residents Walt Disney had wanted living in a completely controlled environment with technology and modernism at its fingertips, instead it is, as mentioned a theme park to those ideas as well as a sanitized representation of 11 international cultures including Canada, Mexico, The United Kingdom and ironically, The United States.
With happiness now fully entrenched as a profitable commodity, the idea of hyper-real is moving out into the real world. The convenience of one stop shopping started on the Main Street at Disneyland has now spread worldwide. The concept of the Mall has now been embraced by most of the Western World ending such icons as the British High Street and gone are the five and ten stores that adorned American and Canadian Main Streets. All of our shopping is now neatly contained within one building and offers food choices in a food court from around the world. It is all neatly packaged and sanitized for the public to consume.
Although Disneyland and Disneyworld are fake, creations of man, the ideas of commodities, commercialism and capitalism have bled out into real cities. Visitors to New York City would not leave without their plastic Statue of Liberty or a ‘Big Apple’ T-Shirt. People visiting London absolutely need to purchase a Big Ben Clock for their mantel and stand in line just to get a glimpse of Harrods. The list is amazing for major cities around the world that have packaged themselves neatly for the tourist industry to consume.
Through franchise opportunities if you cannot get to the real attractions someone will inevitably open a shop or themed restaurant that a customer can visit to purchase their happiness. If you want to see the Rain Forest but cannot afford to visit South America, it’s alright because you can have lunch at the Rain Forest Café. Jimi Hendrix is passed on but his guitar is available to be seen at the Hard Rock Café. Elvis Presley was a large draw for record sales and shows during his lifetime, however, after his death his life has become hyper-real. “The King” is dead but long live the commodity that has become his legacy. People can tour his house (Graceland), buy a deep fried peanut butter and mayo sandwich from the food kiosk and purchase a replica of his toilet seat on their way out of Graceland.
It would seem life has become a catch phrase, and you can put anything on a t-shirt.