chock-full of embarrassing racial and cultural stereotypes--not that Disney's Tarzan perpetuates any of that, but it's interesting that we still seem to have to dig into that particular past for our adventures. Finally, we've got the small but under-used piece of real estate that sparked this already over-long meditation.
My personal feeling is that, if we absolutely must have an Aladdin-based attraction, Adventureland is the place for it, but that it still stretches the theme uncomfortably. But what else could be done with the space? I'd love to see the Tahitian Terrace return, but I'm quite certain that, for a variety of reasons, I'll never see that wish fulfilled.
So back to the point: What's Adventureland all about? Will anything without a measure of nostalgia ever fit there? (My own negative reaction to Tarzan's Treehouse and anything to do with Aladdin can be partly explained, I suppose, by those stories' absolute lack of the nostalgic element.) Is there any adventure left in the 21st century? I'm happy to let Disneyland stay largely stuck in the past, but I can respect well-articulated dissenting opinions, and I like to at least pretend I still believe in Walt's old "Disneyland will never be complete" philosophy.
What say you? Can Adventureland function in our world as anything more than a museum piece? Is the theme still relevant, let alone vital? Was its vitality only ever predicated on a cultural superiority complex that we're still working on outgrowing? If so, do we have an obligation to change any of it? Into what? (For the record, I'm an old-fashioned, point-the-gun-right-at-the-hippo would-be patron of "Sunkist, I Presume." Here's hoping nobody thinks too much less of me for it.)
Take this thread where you will.
My personal feeling is that, if we absolutely must have an Aladdin-based attraction, Adventureland is the place for it, but that it still stretches the theme uncomfortably. But what else could be done with the space? I'd love to see the Tahitian Terrace return, but I'm quite certain that, for a variety of reasons, I'll never see that wish fulfilled.
So back to the point: What's Adventureland all about? Will anything without a measure of nostalgia ever fit there? (My own negative reaction to Tarzan's Treehouse and anything to do with Aladdin can be partly explained, I suppose, by those stories' absolute lack of the nostalgic element.) Is there any adventure left in the 21st century? I'm happy to let Disneyland stay largely stuck in the past, but I can respect well-articulated dissenting opinions, and I like to at least pretend I still believe in Walt's old "Disneyland will never be complete" philosophy.
What say you? Can Adventureland function in our world as anything more than a museum piece? Is the theme still relevant, let alone vital? Was its vitality only ever predicated on a cultural superiority complex that we're still working on outgrowing? If so, do we have an obligation to change any of it? Into what? (For the record, I'm an old-fashioned, point-the-gun-right-at-the-hippo would-be patron of "Sunkist, I Presume." Here's hoping nobody thinks too much less of me for it.)
Take this thread where you will.
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