In the field of

sociology Sociology is a social science that focuses on society, human social behavior, patterns of Interpersonal ties, social relationships, social interaction, and aspects of culture associated with everyday life. It uses various methods of Empirical ...

, the term Disneyfication—or Disneyization—describes the commercial transformation of things (e.g. entertainment) or environments into something simplified, controlled, and 'safe'—reminiscent of the

Walt Disney Walter Elias Disney (; December 5, 1901December 15, 1966) was an American animator, film producer and entrepreneur. A pioneer of the American animation industry, he introduced several developments in the production of cartoons. As a film p ...

brand (such as its

media Media may refer to: Communication * Media (communication), tools used to deliver information or data ** Advertising media, various media, content, buying and placement for advertising ** Broadcast media, communications delivered over mass el ...

parks A park is an area of natural, semi-natural or planted space set aside for human enjoyment and recreation or for the protection of wildlife or natural habitats. Urban parks are urban green space, green spaces set aside for recreation inside t ...

, etc.).“

Disneyfication In the field of sociology, the term Disneyfication—or Disneyization—describes the commercial transformation of things (e.g. entertainment) or environments into something simplified, controlled, and 'safe'—reminiscent of the Walt Disney brand ( ...

.” ''

Merriam-Webster Merriam-Webster, Inc. is an American company that publishes reference books and is especially known for its dictionaries. It is the oldest dictionary publisher in the United States. In 1831, George and Charles Merriam founded the company as ...

''. Retrieved 2021 March 20. It broadly describes the processes of stripping a real place or thing of its original character, and representing it in a sanitized format: references to anything negative or inconvenient are removed, and the facts are dumbed down with the intent of rendering the subject more pleasant and easily grasped. In the case of physical places, this involves replacing the real with an idealized, tourist-friendly veneer—resembling the "

Main Street, U.S.A. Main Street, U.S.A. is the first "themed land" inside the main entrance of the many theme parks operated or licensed by The Walt Disney Company around the world. Main Street, U.S.A. is themed to resemble American small towns during the early 20t ...

" attractions at

Disney theme parks Disney Parks, Experiences and Products, Inc., formerly Walt Disney Parks and Resorts Worldwide, Inc. and informally known as Disney Parks, is one of The Walt Disney Company's five major business segments and a subsidiary. It was founded on Apri ...

. Based on rapid Western-style

globalization Globalization, or globalisation (Commonwealth English; see spelling differences), is the process of interaction and integration among people, companies, and governments worldwide. The term ''globalization'' first appeared in the early 20t ...

and

consumerist ''Consumerist'' (also known as ''The Consumerist'') was a non-profit consumer affairs website owned by Consumer Media LLC, a subsidiary of '' Consumer Reports'', with content created by a team of full-time reporters and editors. The site's foc ...

lifestyles, the term ''Disneyfication'' is mostly used derogatorily to imply the social and cultural

homogenization Homogeneity is a sameness of constituent structure. Homogeneity, homogeneous, or homogenization may also refer to: In mathematics *Transcendental law of homogeneity of Leibniz * Homogeneous space for a Lie group G, or more general transformati ...

of things. In this sense, ''to Disneyfy'' "means to translate or transform an object into something superficial and even simplistic."Bryman, Alan E. 2004. ''The Disneyization of Society.'' UK: SAGE Publications.
Chapter one
''Disneyfication'' can also be used to describe the

internationalization In economics, internationalization or internationalisation is the process of increasing involvement of enterprises in international markets, although there is no agreed definition of internationalization. Internationalization is a crucial strateg ...

of American mass culture; the notion of entertainment that is bigger, faster, and better but with worldwide,

Americanized Americanization or Americanisation (see spelling differences) is the influence of American culture and business on other countries outside the United States of America, including their media, cuisine, business practices, popular culture, tec ...

uniformity. More specifically, some may use ''Disneyfication'' to be associated with a statement about the cultural products of the Disney company itself, denoting the general process of rendering material (a fairy tale, novel, historical event) into a standardized format that is recognizable as being a product of the Walt Disney Company.

Development

The term ''Disneyfication'' first appeared in 1959, while ''Disneyization'' was coined by

New York University New York University (NYU) is a private research university in New York City. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded by a group of New Yorkers led by then-Secretary of the Treasury Albert Gallatin. In 1832, the ...

's Peter K. Fallon. The latter was popularized by

Alan Bryman Alan Bryman (1947–2017) was Professor of Organisational and Social research at the University of Leicester, prior to this Bryman spent 31 years at Loughborough University. Academic career He is best known for three main areas of work. Bryman has ...

in ''The Disneyization of Society'' (2004), in which he described it as "the process by which ''the principles'' of the

are coming to dominate more and more sectors of

American society The society of the United States is based on Western culture, and has been developing since long before the United States became a country with its own unique social and cultural characteristics such as dialect, music, arts, social habits, ...

as well as the rest of the world." Though the two are largely used interchangeably, Bryman states his preference of ''Disneyization'' over ''Disneyfication'' because he takes the latter to be accompanied with negative connotations. Bryman described four dimensions of Disneyization in particular: *

Theming Theming refers to "the use of an overarching theme...to create a holistic and integrated spatial organization of a consumer venue.” A theme is “a unifying or dominant idea or motif”, so theming is the process of designing and constructing an ...

– where an institution or object is placed into a narrative that is mostly unrelated to the institution or object to which it is applied. Example: themed restaurants (e.g.

Rainforest Cafe Rainforest Cafe is a jungle-themed restaurant chain owned by Landry's, Inc., of Houston. It was founded by Steven Schussler. The first location opened in the Mall of America in Bloomington, Minnesota, on February 3, 1994. By 1997, the chain co ...

), or themed hotels on the

Las Vegas Strip The Las Vegas Strip is a stretch of Las Vegas Boulevard, Las Vegas Boulevard South in Clark County, Nevada, that is known for its concentration of resort hotels and casinos. The Strip, as it is known, is about long, and is immediately south of ...

. * Hybrid consumption – where multiple forms of

consumption Consumption may refer to: *Resource consumption *Tuberculosis, an infectious disease, historically * Consumption (ecology), receipt of energy by consuming other organisms * Consumption (economics), the purchasing of newly produced goods for curren ...

that are associated with different industries become "interlocked with each other." Example: restaurants at

IKEA IKEA (; ) is a Dutch multinational conglomerate based in the Netherlands that designs and sells , kitchen appliances, decoration, home accessories, and various other goods and home services. Started in 1943 by Ingvar Kamprad, IKEA has been t ...

and

Costco Costco Wholesale Corporation (doing business as Costco Wholesale and also known simply as Costco) is an American multinational corporation which operates a chain of membership-only big-box retail stores (warehouse club). As of 2022, Costco i ...

. *

Merchandising Merchandising is any practice which contributes to the sale of products to a retail consumer. At a retail in-store level, merchandising refers to displaying products that are for sale in a creative way that entices customers to purchase more i ...

– the promotion and sale of goods or services with objects bearing copyright images and/or logos. Example: Clothing, pens, and stationery with New York City branding. * Performative labor – making employees not only providers of services, but also of entertainment; in other words, frontline service work is made a performance. Writer Andre Kehoe describes 'Disneyization' as a "bogus culture imposed hour after hour on the people by the media" that is a serious interference with

free thinking ''Free Thinking'' is a radio programme broadcast on BBC Radio 3 as part of their "After Dark" late night programming. The programme is a rebranded version of ''Night Waves'', "Radio 3's flagship arts and ideas programme". ''Night Waves'' was ...

and therefore free action."

References

External links

A Reader's Guide to Disneyfication

Jean Baudrillard's. ''Disneyworld Company''

European Graduate School The European Graduate School (EGS) is a private graduate school that operates in two locations: Saas-Fee, Switzerland, and Valletta, Malta. History It was founded in 1994 in Saas-Fee, Switzerland by the Swiss scientist, artist, and therapist, Pao ...

{{Consumerism Social change The Walt Disney Company Cultural globalization 1990s neologisms

Development

See also

References

Further reading

External links