IS THERE A EUROPEAN ACCENT IN EURO DISNEYLAND?

by Barry James

International Herald Tribune

Paris - Does Mickey Mouse have whiskers?

No.

Does this mean that Frenchmen seeking work with the Disney organisation must shave off their moustaches too?

It depends.

5 A labour inspector took the Disney organisation to court, contending that the company’s squeaky clean dress and appearance code - which bans moustaches, beards, excess weight, short skirts and fancy hose - offends individual liberty and contravenes French labour law.

The case is an illustration of some of the tricky cultural issues the company faces as it gets ready to open its theme park in Marne-la-Ville, 20 miles (32 kilometres) east of Paris in five months’ time.

The Disney management, which is assembling what it calls a “cast” of 12,000 to run the theme park, argues that all employees, from bottle washers to the president, are akin to actors who have to obey rules about appearance. Anyway, a company spokesman says, no one has yet put his moustache before a job. As one new “cast member” put it: “You must believe in what you are doing, or you would have a terrible time here”.

For all it concerns about foreign cultural invasion and its rearguard defence against the spread of franglais, France’s government has been complacent about the implantation of such a huge American icon on the doorstep of the capital. It made an extraordinary series of tax and financial concessions to attract the theme park here rather than let it go to sunnier Spain. Disney struck a deal of which Uncle Scrooge could have been proud. It took title to a 1,940-hectare (4,800-acre) expanse of land one-fifth the size of Paris.

Toon Town itself will be only part of a giant complex of housing, office and resort developments stretching far into the next century, including movie and television production facilities. As part of its deal with the Disney organization, the government is laying on and paying for new highways, and extension of Paris’s RER (regional express railway) and even a direct connection for the high speed TGV railway to the Channel Tunnel. The TGV station is being built in front of the main entrance of Euro Disneyland, and it scheduled to come into service soon.

10 If Euro Disneyland succeeds - where theme parks already in France have so far failed - a second and even a third park is likely to be built in the coming decade. Financial analysts say that Euro Disneyland, the first phase of which is costing an estimated $3.6 billion, is essential to Disney’s overall fortunes, which have been hit by competition and declining attendance in the United States.

French intellectuals have not found many kind things to say about the project. In a celebrated comment, Marguerite Duras likened it to a “cultural Chernobyl”. The kids, however, will probably never notice. Sleeping Beauty, Snow White, Peter Pan, Alice in Wonderland or Pinocchio all come from European fairy tales or stories and are as similar to children here as they are in the United States. To a French child Mickey is French. To an Italian kid he is Topolino - and Italian.

The Disney management is stressing their heritage in an apparent response to suggestions that it is culturally imperialistic. Although the conception of the theme park is closely based on the original Magic Kingdom in California and the Walt Disney World in Florida, “Euro Disneyland will be unique in a manner befitting its European home”, the company says. “The legends and fairy tales which originated in Europe figure prominently in the creative development of the theme park”. Officials point out, for example, that Sleeping Beauty’s turreted castle in Fantasyland, the central feature of the theme park, id based not on Hollywood, as some might think, but on the illustrations in the medieval book of hours, “Les Tres Riches Heurs du Duc de Berry”.

The company experimented with 27 different kinds of paint, however, before it came up with the exact hue to make the castle look Florida pink even when it is raining in Paris.

The old world fairground horses on “Lancelot’s carousel” were carved by hand after what Disney calls “a quest for that elusive artisan: the old-time craftsman”. Geppeto? No. The artisans were found in the United States.

15 The 360-degree movie that will be shown in the “visionarium”, based on the adventures of Jules Verne, features well-known European actors such as Michel Piccoli, Gerard Depardieu and Natalie Baye.

Asked to describe other aspects of Europeanization, a spokesman mentioned that direction signs in the theme park will be in French as well as English, and that buccaneers in the pirate’s lair will banter in French, Spanish and English. “The challenge is telling things people already know - and at the same time making it different”, the spokesman said.

On the other hand, Europeanization is not being taken too far. Nicholas de Schonen, another Disney spokesman, said earlier that the aim of the theme park is to provide a basically American experience for those who seek it. In this way, he said, who might otherwise have contemplated a vacation in the United States will be happy to stay on this side of the Atlantic.

To this end, the company is building a resort area with “themed” hotels - turn-of-the-century Gothic and New York-style opulence for the well-heeled; the Newport Bay Club and Sequoia for the less affluent; the Hotel Cheyenne and Hotel Santa Fe for those of “moderate” means and Camp Davy Crockett for the hoi polloi.

The Disney organization does seem to have a bit of the obsession about hirsuteness. “Main Street, USA,” the hub of Euro Disneyland, it promises, will feature an old time “Harmony Barber Shop” to deal with “scraggly hair and stubbly chins” - and perhaps even offending moustaches. One difference from California or Florida: parts of Main Street and waiting areas to get into the attractions will be covered over as a concession to Paris’s quirky area.

20 Euro Disneyland’s proximity to Paris is an undeniable attraction. Anyone tiring of American or ersatz European culture can reach the Louvre by express railway in less than an hour - from Minnie to Mona in a flash.

Communications figured large in the Disney organization’s decision to site its fourth theme park near Paris. The site is within two-hour flight of 320 million Europeans. The opening of Eastern Europe is another bonanza for the company, which thinks that millions of people will put Disneyland top of a list of places to visit on their first trip to the West.

I. Getting the Message

A. After reading the article, indicate if each item is true (T) or false (F).

___ 1. The French government tried to prevent Euro Disney from coming to France.

___ 2. The financial success of Euro Disney is important to Walt Disney company.

___ 3. Disney has very strict rules about the way its employees look.

___ 4. All male employees at Euro Disney are required to have moustaches so that they look French.

___ 5. A visit to Euro Disney is primarily a European experience with a few American touches.

___ 6. Euro Disney aims at attracting people of all economic means.

B. The financial success of Euro Disney was uncertain when it opened.

1. Scan the article for reasons why Euro Disney might succeed. What are two of them?

2. Scan the article for reasons why Euro Disney might fail. What are two of them?

II. Expanding Your Vocabulary

A.Getting Meaning from Context

Use context clues to determine the meaning of each word, found in the paragraph(s) indicated in parentheses. Choose the right definition.

B. Reading for Suggested Meanings

Choose the phrase that completes each sentence correctly.

1. According to paragraph 7, Disney management calls its employees a “cast”. This suggests that they are all

a. very similar in appearance

b. playing a role in a theatrical production

1. In paragraph 11, Euro Disney is compared to a “cultural Chernobyl”. The person quoted believes that Euro Disney will be

a. a good influence on French culture

b. a bad influence on French culture

1. According to paragraph 18, the well-heeled are

a. richer than the hoi polloi

b. poorer than the hoi polloi

1. In paragraph 19, the author says that Disney has “an obsession about hirsuteness”. The word obsession suggests that the author

a. agrees with Disney

b. doesn’t agree with Disney

III. Working with Idioms

Study the meanings of these idioms and expressions

squeaky clean (5) = very clean

put something before something else (7) = give the first thing greater priority or importance

on the doorstep of (8) = near, just outside of

franglais (8) = French (francais) with a lot of English (anglais) in it

strike a deal (8) = make a business agreement

hit by (10) = hurt by

to this end (18) = with this goal in mind, for this purpose

turn-of-the-century (18) = the end of one century and the beginning of the next

in a flash (20) = quickly

It’s put top of the list (21) = It will be done first

Study the meanings and the sources of these famous names

Mickey and Minnie Mouse (1, 20) = Disney cartoon characters

Scrooge (8) = a very stingy character from Charles Dickens’s short novel “A Christmas Carol”

Toon Town (9) = home of cartoon characters (In this article, it refers to the Euro Disney theme park area, not the resorts.)

Chernobyl (11) = a city in the Ukraine (the site of a nuclear plant disaster in 1986)

Geppetto (14) = the man who carved the puppet Pinocchio in the famous Italian children’s story by Collodi)

Mona (Lisa) (20) = the woman in Leonardo Da Vinci’s famous painting which is in the Louvre museum in Paris

Answer these questions.

1. Why wouldn’t a stingy person want to stay at Euro Disney’s opulent turn-of-the century hotel?

2. Is Disneyland put on the top of your list of vacation spots? Why, or why not?

3. How can a tourist go from Minnie to Mona in a flash?

4. In paragraph 7, a Disney spokesman says, “...no one has yet put his moustache before a job”. What does that mean?

5. According to paragraph 8, Euro Disney is on the doorstep of the capital. What does that mean?

Reading a Follow-up Article

Article 15

GLOSS IS OFF AT EURO DISNEY AS PARK

PREDICTS A LOSS

Previewing the Article

The article, printed a few months after the opening of Euro Disneyland, provides short-term answers to some of the questions raised in the first article. The article, which focuses on finances, advantages and some drawbacks of the Euro Disney also raises new questions. No doubt, the story of Euro Disney will be continued in future articles.

Before You Read

Before you read the article, discuss these questions.

1. Did Euro Disney do better or worse than expected?

2. Did the French and other Europeans support it?

As You Read

As you read the follow-up article, about Euro Disney, look for the changes that the Disney organization is planning in order to make the park more profitable.

Date: 2014-12-29; view: 1765