From another perspective

The Colonnade Staff visited Orlando, Fla. for the National College Media Convention.

While we were in Orlando, we attended sessions to learn more about the mass media and how to obtain jobs in this field of business, and, of course, we ventured into the “happiest place on Earth,” Disney World.

While my colleagues were attending sessions or going out to dinner, I took the opportunity to visit my grandparents. My grandparents are what a northerner would refer to as ‘snowbirds.’ They live in Connecticut, but ‘fly south for the winter.’ They recently bought a new house in Orlando.

On Thursday, we went sightseeing in Orlando. They took me on a personal tour of Celebration. Celebration is an ‘All-American’ town that Disney built. Disney has provided the residents of Celebration with everything they need, such as a university, grade schools, shopping centers, a movie theater, parks and restaurants; however, the residents now have no need to leave the area.

The official website for Celebration, www.celebrationfl.com, advertises the city as one of “the best ideas from the most successful towns of yesterday and the technology of the new millennium and a close-knit community that meets the needs of today’s families.” According to this website, “the founders of Celebration started down a path of research, study, discovery and enlightenment that resulted in one of the most innovative communities of the 20th century.” The website also advertises it as “a place where memories of a lifetime are made. It’s more than a home; it’s a community rich with old-fashioned appeal and an eye on the future. Homes are a blend of traditional southeastern exteriors with welcoming front porches and interiors that enhance today’s lifestyles.”

Celebration is obviously a town built on the idea of convenience, but Disney has placed such large amount of emphasis on this idea that residents will end up spending most of their time inside the city’s limits. This idea leaves little left to a child’s sense of adventure. Children thrive on their ability to imagine; however, why imagine when everything one needs is within walking distance? Why venture out into the world and visit places, when everything one needs is right around the corner?

The world outside of this town is extremely different. The residents will
lead sheltered lives. Once their children grow up and attempt to leave the only world they know, will they be ready for the world, and what is in store for them outside of the city? Along with the convenience of this city comes the fear of what the outside world holds.

Now, what I find ironic about this city is that it was built off the set for the Truman Show, yet as many of you know from the movie, The Truman Show (with Jim Carrey as the main character), Truman Burbank suffered greatly because his whole life was invented and controlled.

I hope that these residents do not become consumed with the idea of convenience and lose their sense of adventure. One should be allowed to view the world with his or her own eyes and interpret it for him or herself.

I would like to leave you with this thought. According to the website, www.transparencynow.com/truman, a site featuring studies on the Truman Show, “ultimately, the only illusions we have to escape are the ones we create ourselves.”

Posted by Colonnade Archives on Nov 15 2002. Filed under Opinion. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry