Alan Bryman
SAGE Publishers
London • Thousand Oaks • New Delhi

In this book, I seek to make a case that more and more aspects of our society are
exhibiting features that are associated with the Disney theme parks. The idea of
Disneyization springs from a conviction that there are changes to our social world
that the Disney theme parks exemplify. Disneyization thus becomes a lens
through which the nature of modern society can be viewed, as well as a way of
thinking about issues to do with consumption and globalization.
I am by no means the first person to suggest that modern society is increasingly
taking on the characteristics of the Disney theme parks, but I discuss this issue in
a systematic way rather than make general allusions to the influence of the Disney
theme parks. In addition to drawing attention to ways in which the Disney parks
may have been influential on a variety of social institutions and practices, I also
argue that they exemplify certain developments that were in train before the first
park opened (Disneyland in 1955). In other words, the Disney theme parks are
emblematic of certain trends that I identify in this book while simultaneously
having been influential in their own right.