McDonaldisation of Disney Theme Parks - Essay Example

 McDonaldisation of Disney Theme Parks Capitalism has been increasingly identified with the phenomenon of “McDonaldisation.” When McDonald’s grew to thousands of outlets, its famous services and sub-brands have spread out from the fast food chain industry to others. Literature shows that McDonaldisation has come to represent the vast commodification and standardisation of numerous products and services in different industries and sectors (O’Toole 2009; Thompson 2006). Learning, for instance, has been McDonaldised with the rise of standardised approaches to tutorials and pre-school services, such as Kumon and kindergarten services that have the same learning strategies and materials. This paper reviews the McDonaldisation of Disney theme parks. The author already visited several Disney parks particularly in California and Hong Kong Disneyland Resort. It begins with providing an overview of the theory of McDonaldisation and then it applies the features of McDonaldisation on these theme parks. This paper argues that Disney theme parks have been McDonaldised, because they promote efficiency, calculability, predictability, better control, and the substitution of human by non-human technology. Theory of McDonaldisation McDonaldisation “is the process by which the principles of the fast-food restaurant are coming to dominate more and more sectors of American society as well as of the rest of the world” (Ritzer 1993, p.1 cited in Keel 2010). The theory has been developed by George Ritzer who has taken important elements of Max Weber’s framework and broadened and made them more relevant to present society (Keel 2010). The vital theme of Weber's examination of modern society was the process of Rationalisation, which is a process where conventional modes of thinking were replaced by ends/means analysis that pursued efficiency and formalised social control (Keel 2010). For Weber, the demonstration of this process was Bureaucracy, a large and formal organisation that possessed a hierarchical authority structure, clear division of labour, written rules and regulations, impersonality and technical competence (Keel 2010). Bureaucratic organisations stand for the process of rationalisation and the structure they inflict on human interaction and thinking intensifies the process, leading to a more and more rationalised world (Keel 2010). Ritzer critically analyses the impacts of social structural transformations on human interaction and identity (Keel 2010). He stresses that in the later part of the 20th century, the social structures of the fast-food restaurant has become the “organisational force” that broadened the process of rationalisation further to the dimensions of interaction and individual identity (Keel 2010). Ritzer stresses that the five themes within this McDonaldisation process are Efficiency, Calculability, Predictability, Increased Control, and the Replacement of Human by Non-human Technology, as well as the “irrationality of rationality” (Keel 2010). Efficiency pertains to choosing the means of production that was rapidly and uses the least cost or effort (Keel 2010). Calculability concentrates on factors that have to be calculated, counted, and measured (Keel 2010). Quantification tends to stress quantity over quantity, hence leading to mass production (Keel 2010). Quality becomes equal to quantity, such as quota (Ritzer 1994, p.142 cited in Keel 2010). Predictability means decreasing potential differences in the delivery of services or goods (Keel 2010). “A Big Mac is a Big Mac is a Big Mac” wherever it is served (Keel 2010). Increased control and the substitution of human by non-human technology are deeply connected (Keel 2010). Ritzer combines the two McDonaldisation process: “...these two elements are closely linked. Specifically, replacement of human by nonhuman technology is often oriented towards greater control. The great source of uncertainty and unpredictability in a rationalising system are people-either the people who work within those systems or the people who are served by them” (Ritzer 1994, p.148 cited in Keel 2010). Bureaucracies want greater control by decreasing human involvement and participation. This way, efficiency is also achieved. Irrationality of rationality pertains to how McDonaldisation crumbles basic human interactions. By making dining fast and convenient, communication among family members is no longer encouraged. As a result: “The ritual of cooking, eating together, and sharing is fading from the American family” (Ritzer 1994, p.148 cited in Keel 2010). These features will also be analysed in Disney’s resort parks. McDonaldisation of Disney Disney has also been widely McDonaldised, as can be seen from the themes of efficiency, calculability, predictability, better control, and the substitution of human by non-human technology, including irrationality of rationality, that are present in Disneyland Park in California and Hong Kong Disneyland Resort, although Disney did try to be more localised in the latter resort. Efficiency Efficiency can be seen in these two Disney resorts, because of the use of machines that make ticketing easier, as well as machines that run the various rides. Efficiency can also be seen in the rendering of the shows. For instance, when tourists see characters dancing, there is something efficient in their performances. Everything is done to the exact way that it should have been planned, to ensure that performances are maximised and the tourists are happy. There is also efficiency in how services are rendered, because of the need to deliver services and products the fastest way possible. Each ride is timed and every production has a timeframe also. All resources are calculated and used for exact purposes. Waste is not encouraged; profits must be maximised as much as possible to the multiple productions of goods and services. Efficiency is also inferred from the standard goods and services. In every Disney resort, themes remain the same. There are the same theme parks and shops, as well as performances and rides. The music also stays the same, and the same performances can be seen and heard. The standardisation of goods and services is important to the global production where costs are limited to target expenditures. When something is standardised, the costs are also controlled as well. Hence, there is something very efficient in how Disneyland works, which is natural, because it is a company. As a company, it has shareholders to please and it does so through maximising shareholder wealth. Calculability Calculability does not seem to be directly evident in Disney, because it offers experiences. When people view Sleeping Beauty and Snow White dancing or singing or when they are taking pictures with these Disney princesses, there is nothing “calculable” about it. Services are intangible ends that cannot be quantified or counted. Calculability can be inferred in how performances are rendered the same. The performers and employees follow work ethics and standards. They have to measure up to these standards, or else, they might lose their jobs. In this way, services are also calculated and measured, but not in the same way as products. Furthermore, Disney products are everywhere. There are all sorts of objects, from paper to stuffed toys that have Disney characters. These products are found in Disneyland Park in California and Hong Kong Disneyland. The overproduction of goods is seen in these resorts, because the shops are teeming with products. They are calculated to bring out the most profits from every tourist. Calculability is in the inventory of the products. Every object is accounted for as a product or asset. They are part of inventories and financial statements. When a ticket or Mickey Mouse pen is sold, it is quantified with a price. Hence, calculability is also present in how Disney operates. This is essential for every company, especially for corporations that operate internationally and have to look after their financial interests. Predictability Predictability is important to Disneyland resorts. Music is perennial to predictable experiences. Inside Disneyland resorts, resort customers listen and watch numerous musical events that concurrently point out to previous Disney films and the new ones they are making. There are three kinds of musical shows in Disney parks: 1) “piped in” background, such as musical themes for individual rides and attractions; 2) live music, such as those performed live or in shows; and 3) “pre-recorded performances” which might have live elements or not, as in “It’s a Small World” performances (Carson 2004, p.229). This music types are present in Disneyland resorts; it is like expecting the same Big Mac all over the world. Disneyland resorts have the Main Street USA. The Main Street USA often produces these musical shows, present in Hong Kong and California resorts. The Main Street is a reproduction of a 1900 pre-industrialised American town square and is the conduit for the Magic Kingdom Park in Florida, as well as in Paris (Carson 2004, p.229). Main Street USA is a mainstay, one of the predictable themes in Disney resorts. It offers “experience. . .designed to evoke nostalgia for an Age of Innocence” (Salamone and Salamone 1999, p. 85 cited in Carson 2004, p.229). Generic ragtime marches are played in the background through a “Dixieland” band that has a “tailgate” trombone. The background music serves as boundaries also to differentiate experiences and correspond to diverse themes. The music is played with modest volume, so it would not interfere with live musical performances (Carson 2004, p.229). Along the road, a Dixieland band plays. The level of musicianship stresses the importance of the “Disney Experience,” where people approach the performers and are surprised to know that they are really singing and playing musical instruments (Carson 2004, p.229). They are often amazed of the level of performance present in these bands. Predictability is also present in the wide range of goods, performances, and services in all Disneyland resorts. People expect Disney entertainment. They look for fairy tales, humour, and colourful rides for their children. They anticipate excitement and nostalgia. Predictable experiences and goods are part of the same experiences that Disney wants to provide worldwide, and so Disneyland resorts offer the same broad services and products (O’Toole 2009). If there are differences, they are more of cultural to the location. For instance, in Hong Kong, Disney tried to prevent problems of cultural backlash by trying to add Chinese culture, customs, and traditions when designing and building the resort. It followed the rules of Feng Shui. For example a bend was put in a footpath near the Hong Kong Disneyland Resort entrance so good "qi" energy would not flow out to the South China Sea. On the one hand, this superstition is not widely followed for all resorts. On the other hand, it is an important aspect of the Chinese construction of Disney Hong Kong. It might seem different and unpredictable, but it is also predictable for Disney to follow cultural customs of a different culture from its own. Does this loss of predictability make Disney less McDonaldised? It seems, in the periphery, that Disney is not a true McDonald’s because it customises to some extent. However, it must be highlighted that McDonald’s also sells particular local viands for local branches. When it differentiates, it does so predictably for the interests of making more revenues and profits. Thus, by being a bit different for purposes of cultural attractions and monetary rewards, Disney still follows McDonaldisation. Increased Control Control is important to the production of goods and services. There must be a uniform experience in all Disney resorts. Disney theme parks are generally designed around the history of Euro-American expansionism or by American control of European fairy stories. Walt Disney admitted his yearning to transport people to another world: “I don’t want the public to see the world they live in while they’re in the park...I want them to feel they’re in another world” (quoted in Wilson 1992, p. 161 cited in Nooshin 2004, p.240). “It’s a Small World”, for instance, shows different cultures happily combining together. Morley and Robbins stress that “the very celebration and recognition of ‘difference’ and ‘Otherness’ may itself conceal more subtle and insidious relations of power” (1995, p. 115 cited in Nooshin 2004, p.241), and Turino agrees that capitalism sells differences and “Exoticism is simply one source of distinction and novelty” (2003, p. 73 cited in Nooshin 2004, p.241). Even when Disney does want to sell “differences,” it is for the purpose of novelty and making the sale. Representation and control go together: orientalism and colonialism/imperialism are two sides of the same coin that assert each other (Nooshin 2004, p.241). Representation and orientalism create a “racialised knowledge of the Other (Orientalism) deeply implicated in the operations of power (imperialism)’’ (Hall 1997, p. 260 cited in Nooshin 2004, p.241). Disney’s oriental themes are also present, which Nooshin (2004) describes as an act of imperialism, though subtly. There is imperialism in how oriental values are subjugated for corporate goals and interests. Warren talks about Disney’s “colonial impulses” and “the fact remains that Disney parks create the ‘placeless places’ of colonial occupation” (ibid., p. 115), a place of “manufactured cultures’’ where “each ride and attraction is an explicit ideological retelling of a cultural narrative” in which Disney “remake[s] local histories and geographies by erasing non-Western identities and replacing them with Western motivations’’ (ibid., p. 116 cited in Nooshin 2004, p.242). Warren concludes that “the Walt Disney Company deserves honorary colonial status’’ (ibid., p. 112 cited in Nooshin 2004, p.242). Thus, control is critical to colonising cultures and presenting the same values through standardised products and services. Replacement of Human by Non-human Technology Humans are increasingly replaced by non-human technology too. Many piped-in performances are done by robots. Different processes are done by machines too. Pre-packaged performances are the norm. Nevertheless, human performances cannot be entirely eradicated, because of the importance of 4D nostalgia. People want to see, touch, smell, and feel the past. They want their childhoods remembered, not through technology, but in real life. The rise of 3D and 4D performances, however, might soon question the essentiality of human elements in nostalgia. Irrationality of Rationality Rationality of goods and services is irrational, because of control imposed on homogenising cultures and experiences. Disney has good intentions of giving splendid and magical experiences for the tourists. But these experiences are not “authentic”, since they are efficient, calculated, and controlled. They are not spontaneous from the hearts of the performers, but designed to be repeated over and over again for mass consumption. They are the fruit of their labours, and no longer human beings with value on their own. They are pawns of the bureaucratic system of Disney that aims to irrationalise independent powers and thinking. That they are subjugated into the system is not a rational form of living, because they are made into tools of capitalism. The main point of the whole Disney experience is concoction of fantasies. Feeding and promoting these fantasies is also irrational, because it promotes nostalgia, instead of moving on to the future. By keeping people in the past, companies can control and dictate the future. It does not mean that companies are malevolent. Instead, they manifest the irrationality of homogenised productions and consumptions that lead to companies controlling important values and themes. Conclusion Disneyland resorts are McDonaldised, because their operations, services, and products are efficient, calculable, controllable, predictable, and irrational. They operate through the bureaucratic system, where it is rational to subjugate human resources for purposes of capitalistic goals. They promote nostalgia to keep people in the past and to promote their own cultural values and concerns. Though Disneyland Hong Kong is different from others, because of its Chinese elements, it remains McDonaldised through the rendition of differences for novelty and profit’s sake. Individual cultures remain secondary to monetary interests. Hence, Disneyland resorts are manifestations of McDonaldisation, where formal social controls are rampant and serve the process of rationalisation. Reference List Carson, C., 2004. ‘Whole new worlds’: music and the Disney theme park experience. Ethnomusicology Forum, 13 (2), 228-235. Keel, R.O., 2010. The McDonaldization of society. Introduction to Sociology. Available from: http://www.umsl.edu/~keelr/010/mcdonsoc.html [Accessed 17 March 2011]. Nooshin, L., 2004. Circumnavigation with a difference? music, representation and the Disney experience: it's a small, small world. Ethnomusicology Forum, 13 (2), 236-251. O’Toole, L., 2009. McDonald’s at the gym? a tale of two Curves®. Qualitative Sociology, 32 (1), 75-91. Thompson, C.J., 2006. The McDonaldization of enchantment and consumers practices of re-enchantment: a dialectic view of transformative consumption. Advances in Consumer Research, 33 (1), 352-354. Read More