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Amusing the Million: Coney Island at the Turn of the Century. By Kasson, John F. (New York: Hill & Wang, 2002. Acknowledgements, contents, tables and figures, introduction, notes, bibliography, index. $17.00 paperback) 1. The traditional "genteel" culture of the time was a conservative culture based on the values of Victorian England such as "moral, integrity, self-control, sober earnestness, [and] industriousness" (4). It placed emphasis on hard work, productivity, and not wasting time. The new "mass culture," in contrast, was "more vigorous, exuberant, daring, sensual, uninhibited, and irreverent" and opened the door to activities that were previously not as widely accepted. Along with muckraking, modernism, feminism, and education, amusement …show more content…
Thompson and Dundy set Luna Park apart by creating "exotic attractions" featuring recreations of foreign locations often with animals and people dressed in costumes matching their respective "locations." Luna was a zoo not only in the sense that it featured various kinds of animals, but also in that it represented noteworthy sights from around the world all in the same location. 10. The technology used in Coney Island's rides allowed the park managers to control crowds while simultaneously giving people the illusion of total autonomy as they navigated the park. This is a parallel to the cultural changes going on at the time, brought about in part by Coney Island. The new "mass culture" gave people a newly found sense of liberation from older, more restrictive values even though part of the reason why people were adopting this new culture was societal pressure. 11. The varied reactions of observers of Coney Island came from different interpretations of the behavior of the crowds. Some had poor expectations for Coney Island and had "sighs of relief" when seeing that the crowds did not appear to have departed from "the traditional values of American middle-class culture" (95). Others, however, were "deeply troubled" at the sight of what they considered to be "barbaric entertainment"
The laboring poor’s leisure activity was brief, casual, and non-commercial. Amusement was and had to be cheap. It mostly consisted of walks, visiting friends, and reading the penny press. The people of the Lower East Side entertained with sights of interest and penny pleasures such as organ grinders and buskers, acrobats performed tricks and vendors and soda dispensers competed for customers.
Victorians values were modeled from British high class society, where their propensity consisted of indulgence and privileges and resonated with the same social class in the americas. Progressive values were adopted by the middle class during the time of the second industrial revolution where the middle class grew and the rich, the top ten as McGerr refers to as, only gets richer from the exploitation of the middle class. The victorian values are contained within the upper-ten who don't embrace nor benefit from the progressive values. McGerr writes “The campaigns against drink, prostitution, and divorce found less support among farmers and still less among urban workers and the upper-class. None of these groups fully embraced middle-class values; none equivocally welcomed government interference in private life.” (87) The separation between middle class and upper class values is shown in the excerpt and applied to fight for prohibition, which progressive support, where the government would enforce and interfere with private life violating victorian ideals. The differences between both values are apparent as each is centralized and purposed for its own class structure making anything idea let alone attitude inherently
Coney Island a neighborhood in Brooklyn, New York City that is well known for the beach amusement park component attached to the moniker. Coney Island is also the setting in two works of literature such as Guillermo Cotto-Thorner’s novel Manhattan Tropics and José Martí’s newspaper article “Coney Island”. Although these two pieces were written in different times, Cotto-Thorner in and Martí in. They have distinctive similarities and difference.
Assumption of the risk is not a blanket defense that can be used against anyone who consciously takes an amusement park ride. Customers must be aware of the risks involved in order to assume them. For example, if Justin didn’t know about a loose screw in a roller coaster, that the ride operator received little or no training, or that the park never conducts safety inspections, the rider cannot have assumed the risks associated with those details. . In this case, it is very clear and evident that the Knott’s Berry amusement
One very interesting point that Peiss makes is that there is now a market for leisure time. This market included such activities as attending shows at a nickelodeon, riding the trolley, and, especially in Manhattan, spending the day at Coney Islan...
Ellis, Edward Robb., and Jeanyee Wong. The Epic of New York City. New York, NY: Carroll & Graf, 2005. Print.
Bradley, Becky . "1950-1959." American Cultural History. Lone Star College- Kingwood Library, 1998. Web. 7 Feb. 2011.
Television and the visual culture are “creating new conceptions of knowledge and how it is acquired” (p. 145). Neil Postman in his book, Amusing Ourselves to Death explains the effects of television and visual culture on the youth education curriculum. Postman believed it necessary to warn society of the consequences of living in a culture dominated by television. As for my opinion on this matter, I do not agree with Neil Postman’s statements in regards to television and our youth’s education. I believe it is not the crisis Neil Postman makes it out to be.
Have you ever thought you were one thing but in reality you're another thing? Well that's how it went in the book Undertow by Michael Buckley. In this sci-fi story Lyric Walker is living her life until she learns a secret that will change her life forever, she is half Alpha. The Alpha are a species loosely based off of the design of normal mermaids the main difference is the spikes and scars all over their body. These people come to Coney Island and take up all of the amusement park. Which most people are annoyed by but Lyric points out that “People talk about Coney Island's pre-Alpha days like they were magical, like we all lived in the Disneyland of Brooklyn. They forget our "Disneyland" was actually a garishly painted slum in a crumbling
The author, John F. Kasson, wrote Amusing the Millions with the purpose to show how the attitude of Coney Island changed the attitudes of Americans from victorian views to more progressional views. The story starts of showing how Chicago and New York created parks in the middle of the city, so that people would have a space in the middle of the city to escape the hustle and bustle of the city. The thought of this is what initialized the amusement parks of Coney Island. During the start of the progressive era people like Frederick Olmstead challenged the standard of living. Victorian ideals included the belief that people needed to give up any fun, entertainment, and luxuries during their lives for the reward of going to heaven. In New York,
During the Victorian Era, society had idealized expectations that all members of their culture were supposedly striving to accomplish. These conditions were partially a result of the development of middle class practices during the “industrial revolution… [which moved] men outside the home… [into] the harsh business and industrial world, [while] women were left in the relatively unvarying and sheltered environments of their homes” (Brannon 161). This division of genders created the ‘Doctrine of Two Spheres’ where men were active in the public Sphere of Influence, and women were limited to the domestic private Sphere of Influence. Both genders endured considerable pressure to conform to the idealized status of becoming either a masculine ‘English Gentleman’ or a feminine ‘True Woman’. The characteristics required women to be “passive, dependent, pure, refined, and delicate; [while] men were active, independent, coarse …strong [and intelligent]” (Brannon 162). Many children's novels utilized these gendere...
1. Kasson, F. John. “Amusing the Million: Coney Island at the Turn of the Century” New York: Hill and Wang, 1978
Everyone lives on the same earth. Everyone has dreams and hopes and fears. In “A Coney Island Life” by James L. Weil, Weil takes us into the mind of a man who doesn’t know how much time he has left. He gives us a wistful interpretation of life where he compares ones dreams and aspirations to the Amusement Park in New York. Weil uses figurative language, imagery, and ultimately the tone of the poem, to express how Coney Island embodies one’s life long journey.
Disneyland marked the onset of theme parks in the nation, which was carved out of a fantasy tale and it has been the leader for 60 years. And, there was virtually no competition to the attraction quotient that attracted people and tourists to visit the theme park.
Without a doubt, Times Square in New York City is a unique experience, but the image created by TV and movies does not show the gloominess that accompanies the euphoria of being in the Big Apple. The atmosphere is so exhilarating and exciting, you don’t even know what to do for a few minutes, but it is tinged with the bitter reality that sadness and melancholy also trail closely behind the positive. With most, if not all, of your senses being stimulated – sometimes all at once – Times Square creates a memory that will surely be cherished, and haunt you for the rest of your life.