boo boo bear Eco

The City of Robots was a very interesting writing but I not really sure what the point of it was. I enjoyed reading about the different rides and experiences from Disney World, such as Pirates of the Caribbean and the Haunted Mansion. I can see how Pirates of the Caribbean is an example of verisimilitude, as they copy pirates from the 1600 and 1700s. But is the Haunted Mansion an example of verisimilitude? The Haunted Mansion doesn’t have any fake people, they are all fake ghosts. I think most people would agree that ghosts like you see on the ride don’t exist (if you think they do that could bring on a whole new argument that we should avoid). If ghosts aren’t real, then how can that be verisimilitude? Verisimilitude is basically being a copy of reality, so how can a copy of something that isn’t real be Verisimilitude?

Umberto Eco states, “The Main Street facades are presented to us as toy houses and invite us to enter them, but their interior is always a disguised supermarket, where you buy obsessively, believing that you are still playing.”

This makes perfect sense and is actually a genius marketing idea. I wonder if this is why they make all the people on the rides, such as Pirates of the Caribbean or It’s a Small World, fake robots. This probably gives people the sense that they are in a fantasy world, absent of reality. This would give people the sense that all their troubles are gone and nothing else matters. I think this is why people, specifically older people, still enjoy Disney World. The rides aren’t that much fun, if your looking for a great ride you would go to Islands of Adventure. These rides at Disney World give the allusion that your in a different place, free from all the troubles and problems of the real world.