As 2020 draws to a close，Oriental Land Company, which operates Tokyo Disney Resort, announced at a press conference that it is expected to lose approximately 51.1 billion yen that year。Affected by the new coronavirus epidemic raging around the world，Tokyo Disney has been closed for a long time since the end of February。Although the park will gradually reopen after July，But in the face of strict requirements from industry associations to control the number of tourists to less than half before the epidemic，The company was ultimately unable to turn the situation around。

It can be said from another perspective，This first loss since Oriental Land went public in 1996 also proves Disney’s long-standing popularity in Japan。In fact，As early as when the park announced its closure, the good media made calculations: Even if it is in a state of no tourists from now on，Tokyo Disney can still continue to support for about 2 years before it finally collapses。The then global president of Disney also said at the 10th anniversary event of the park's opening that the parent company's failure to directly operate "Dondi" may be the biggest decision-making mistake in history。His joke actually revealed the biggest difference between "Dondi" and other Disneys。Of the six existing Disney theme parks in the world，Only "Dondi" does not have any proportion of shares held by the headquarters。In addition to paying a certain copyright fee to Disney every year，Oriental Paradise is fully responsible for the construction and operation of the park。This kind of "localization" must be one of the reasons why Tokyo Disney has become one of the most successful theme parks in the world。But the concern of this article is not “Dondi” as a business model，It is a series of speeches developed by the Japanese around it。As a composite space, Tokyo Disney has provided endless inspiration to Japanese researchers in the nearly 40 years since its birth。And their analysis not only turned "Dondi" into a new window for us to observe Japanese society，It can help us rethink power now that globalization is still advancing、The complex relationship between capital and culture。

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The Japanese Disney Resort, commonly known as "Tokyo Disney", is actually located in Urayasu City, Chiba Prefecture。"Dondi", which can be reached in just 15 minutes by ordinary train from Tokyo Station, should be the closest to the city among all Disney parks。The entire resort is divided into Tokyo Disneyland, which covers an area of ​​510,000 square kilometers, and Tokyo Disney Sea, which covers an area of ​​490,000 square kilometers。Based on 2019 data，The former welcomed 18 million tourists throughout the year，The latter number reaches 14.6 million。If the number of visitors is simply superimposed without counting the duplicates，The total number of visitors to Tokyo Disney Resort even exceeds that of Florida 188bet sports betting app download Disney, the "home" in the United States，Become the number one in the world。

To review the history of "Dondi"，An inevitable topic is the presence of the United States in post-war Japanese society。Japanese scholar Yoshimi Toshiya dedicated a chapter in his book "Geopolitics of the Visual City" to start with this。Yoshimi pointed out，In the early postwar period, the Japanese people’s impression of the United States was overwhelmingly dominated by the occupying forces。Since the 1950s，This direct power inequality was gradually replaced by a softer cultural image。And Disney’s business empire played an important role。As early as 1957，The famous department store Mitsukoshi has set up a small amusement park called "Happy Kingdom Disney" on the top floor of its main store in Nihombashi。Play equipment including rotating teacups authorized by Disney have become the favorites of middle-class children who come shopping with their parents。Next year，A program called "Disneyland" officially started to be broadcast on NTV TV station。

This 14-year-old column not only broadcasts the latest animations but also introduces Disneyland in California, which opened in 1955。For the Japanese who were still "embracing defeat" at that time, these dream contents undoubtedly only existed in the imaginary world。Interesting thing，Yoshimi pointed out that the program was originally broadcast in the same time slot as the live broadcast of professional wrestling matches every other week。One of the main contents of the latter is that Japanese rikishi use traditional martial arts skills to defeat physically superior American players。Therefore，Japan’s two mentalities of “inferiority” and “arrogance” appear alternately on television when facing the United States。

Entering the 1960s and 1970s，With the gradual recovery of Japan’s economy，Japan-US relations and Disney’s role in Japan have undergone new changes。On the one hand, it relies on the media industry that grew up in Japan，American Culture in Magazine、Books、Movies and other forms of output are more intense。On the other hand，If the arrival of Commodore Perry’s black ships before the war promoted Japan’s modernization from a macro-structural perspective，Then postwar American popular culture changed Japanese society at the micro and daily levels。1971，McDonald’s opened its first branch in Japan。This kind of standardized restaurant represented by hygiene and efficiency has begun to make the American lifestyle a practical material choice for Japanese people。These changes have laid a solid foundation for the final landing of Disneyland。Since 1972，Japanese representatives frequently visit the United States to strive for the settlement of Disneyland。But at that time, Disney’s headquarters in Florida, which had devoted all its efforts to the newly completed Florida Disneyland, had a completely negative attitude towards entering overseas。Therefore，The method mentioned at the beginning of only providing image copyright without regard to business operations became the compromise finally reached by the two parties。

1981，The paradise breaks ground。Two years later, April 15, 1983，"Dongdi" officially opens。Although Oriental Paradise Company has great enthusiasm，But at first, Japanese 188bet app society was not optimistic about the prospect of paradise。The area around the park will be completely unable to attract investment from accommodation operators for a period of time。After all, at that time, the goal of having 10 million tourists per year—equivalent to one-tenth of Japan’s population—seemed unrealistic to most people。But these people with negative opinions obviously underestimated the appeal of Disney or the consumption power of the Japanese after the economic boom。On May 23, more than a month after the park opened, "Dondi" welcomed its 1 millionth tourist。April 2, 1984，The target of 10 million people per year is reached about two weeks ahead of schedule。Afterwards，With the opening of high-end hotels such as Hilton near the park and the new construction of JR East Railway Maihama Station, there are many benefits，The operation of "Dondi" is now on the track of success。Disney itself has gradually become an integral part of modern Japanese popular culture。

“Heterotopia” on Tokyo Bay: Tokyo Disney’s Space-Time Strategy

Except for the important “other” the United States，The space and time strategies adopted by Disneyland itself are also an important reason for its success。

According to Yoshimi’s point of view in the book，The two most important characteristics of the paradise space are its airtightness and flatness。First，Different from other amusement parks，Disney strategically only has one entrance。This ensures that tourists will "return" in the park according to the logic set by the administrator in advance。At the same time，External media represented by transportation and money are prohibited from entering the park。The only means of transportation in the park are visitors’ feet and buses with limited coverage wrapped in Disney characters。It was not until 2008 that "Dondi" began to install vending machines that could use cash in the park。Not long ago，The question of whether to bring outside food and drinks into Shanghai Disney has become a controversial topic。In the opinion of researchers such as Yoshimi，The ban on take-out and other measures are not so much for the purpose of profit, but their effect is to exclude all objects that have nothing to do with the dream kingdom so that tourists can immerse themselves more thoroughly in the park。Another powerful example is，In the early stages of location selection, both Japan and the United States considered opening the park at the foot of Mount Fuji。But because this representative of Japanese culture interrupts the closed story inside the park too easily，The current site was finally adopted as it floated on Tokyo Bay, which was approximately "blank"。

Natural，The second characteristic flatness of paradise space also serves the same goal。Yoshimi believes that as a three-dimensional theme park, its ultimate goal is to realize the "two-dimensionalization" like Disney movies。For example，Almost all buildings in the park shrink in proportion as they go up high。This method of making houses appear three-dimensional, which is often used in animation, continues to be enhanced in the real world。What’s more important，He sharply pointed out the absence of the "view" perspective in Disney。Although the symbol of "Dondi" is the "Cinderella Castle" located in the center of the park，But tourists cannot actually 188bet app download climb this tower that is distorted in proportion。Therefore，Visitors who can neither see the real city outside the park nor have a clear view of the various components of the park can only grasp the current play plane and the fairy tale narrative that governs it。

Other side，Coordinated with this spatial strategy is the sense of time hidden behind the Disney park。At the time of writing by Yoshimi，"Dondi" except for the "World Market" at the entrance and the "Dreamland" where you can see Disney's classic animated images，The main amusement facilities are placed in three themed areas from west to east: the "Western Paradise" that recreates the American Great West in the pioneering era，"Adventure Park" with Pirates of the Caribbean，"Tomorrowland" with the theme of space travel。Yoshimi pointed out that these three parts are the United States、The frontline/frontline in the three spatial dimensions of the earth and the universe。Although different Disney parks have different sections and names，However, this distinction, which is basically common around the world, has long been criticized by researchers from all over the world。They believe that as tourists come to the "future" from the first two areas where Indians and pirates roamed，A linear view of time that includes colonialism has also been subtly integrated into people's thinking。Disney’s historical progress model actually has the same effect as the capitalist expositions represented by the Paris and Chicago World’s Fairs in the 19th century。Yoshimi partially agreed with this view in his article，But he also reminds us of Disney’s unique complexity of time。Relate to the overlooking commanding heights missing in the above-mentioned park，The extent to which tourists can understand this progress of time is unknown。Opposite，The dizzying effect brought about by the coexistence of various eras in the same space may be an effective device that allows visitors to further abandon their daily judgments and fall into an intoxicated state。

Disney’s Escape: The Paradise of the City and Its Transformation

Although airtightness is regarded as an important prerequisite for the establishment of Disneyland，But obviously the “Disney-like” space itself does not stop at the amusement park，But gradually began to occupy other urban spaces。As Baudrillard said，The existence of Disneyland is an alibi to cover up the complete Disneyization of society。

Scholar Kitada Xiaoda provides us with a very detailed example in his book "Advertising City Tokyo"。In the book，He mainly analyzed how the Japanese retail giant Seibu Group began to carry out Disney-style transformation of the Shibuya area in the 1970s。The Parco shopping mall that the group is trying to build is some distance away from Shibuya Station, so the operator is worried that it will not be able to attract enough customers。The solution that policymakers thought of was to “turn the streets into a theme park”。Beita believes that this strategy can be subdivided into two levels。First，Traditional streets and street markets are actively incorporated into department store interiors。Different floors are given different street themes，The stores on each floor will select and display goods according to these themes。From this，Department stores that are not afraid of the sun or rain, let alone the quality of goods, 188bet app have become a shopping street that is even more perfect than the shopping streets in Japanese cities，Just like the crocodiles seen in "Adventure Park" are more real than the real crocodiles。Secondly，The company has projected its ambitions beyond department stores to the entire city。The roads extending from around Shibuya Station to Parco are also divided according to certain themes。For example, the shops near "Paspa España" give people the illusion of being in Madrid, both in terms of decoration and the food they provide。Regardless of the building exterior wall or the guidance sign，Everywhere a passerby can see is occupied by product advertisements carefully selected by the company to conform to the "Parco aesthetic"。It can be said，As soon as customers get off the station, they enter a theme park that seems open but has long been closed by commercial capital。Like in "Dondi", consumers who cannot overlook the inside and outside can only achieve immersive satisfaction by actively integrating into it and carrying out consumption behaviors consistent with this space。And the clothes they wear，Movies or exhibitions spread by word of mouth have become "secondary advertisements" and continue to reproduce a seamless consumer paradise。

As the whole city is covered with "Little Disney" one by one，Consumers with nowhere to go can only—in fact, more often than not, take the initiative—to plunge into a commercial maze with no exit。But just like the Disney story does not tell the audience what the prince and princess may experience after being together，The seemingly perfect paradise-type consumer city soon ushered in a new transformation。If in the 1970s and 1980s, Disney-style spaces escaped from amusement parks to cities，So since the 1990s we have witnessed the escape and disintegration of the "Dondi" space。

Katsuya Arai, a scholar who once worked part-time at Disney, recorded in detail in the book "The Sociology of Disney" what he called the "De-Disneyization of Tokyo Disney"。Among them，The opening of Tokyo DisneySea in 2001 is the most obvious indicator。First，DisneySea never intended to close its own space from the beginning。Even being able to view Tokyo Bay and the city in the distance from inside the park has become a selling point of the park。Secondly，The park breaks the strict ban on alcohol sales in Disneyland around the world in order to create an atmosphere of family fun。Although various drinks are still given Disney-like dreamy names，But when you are in a restaurant in Disneyland, you will sometimes feel like you have entered an izakaya in an alley in Tokyo。Standing at a higher perspective，Arai commented that the common reason behind these changes is that the theme of "Dondi" has begun to become thinner。A good example is Disney’s representative event—the Happy Parade。Arai pointed out that in the 1980s，The "Dondi" parades all have a very clear theme，And each float and square has a complete story setting。But after the 1990s, a sense of chaos enveloped the performance team。Not only are characters in a story randomly arranged on a float，Some images that have nothing to do with Disney also appear on both performers and audiences。The key to the problem is that this kind of chaos allows the guests to experience a new sense of entertainment。He thus suggests that the traditional theme of self-completion gradually lost its appeal 188bet app after the turn of the century。With the development of new media such as the Internet，The "presence" of tourists' bodies and minds can easily be separated。From this，Trying to trap them in a space covered by a complete story has become an impossible fantasy。The correct solution is to provide as diverse and large amounts of information sources as possible so that individual tourists can find the pieces they want for DIY assembly。For example, people who like "Frozen" have already known on the Internet forum which store in "Dondi" has Elsa peripherals and which float has the reunion scene of the two sisters。

Same，The rupture of the closed "information cocoon" of "Dongdi" can also find its counterpart in the actual urban space。Return to Shibuya written by Akita Kitada。Similarly from the 1990s，Seibu’s “urban advertising” strategy has also begun to show cracks。Although people continue to gather in Shibuya，But their reason is no longer to look for “Shibuya-style” products，But because there are enough products in Shibuya, they can always find what they like。On the way from Shibuya Station to Parco Department Store，The Seibu-style fixed billboards that once filled building exterior walls have been replaced by electronic displays that can reflect fashion trends in real time。But these researchers also reminded us，It would be a bit naive to think that big capital’s efforts to control cities and consumers have failed。In fact，After the self-completion was broken, the operation of "Dondi" seems to be smoother than that of the American family that still insists on the orthodox dream kingdom。The original images successively launched by Tokyo DisneySea continue to be popular and even resold overseas，The return rate and per capita consumption of tourists in the entire park have also been on the rise。

Epilogue

Although due to the epidemic，“Dondi” suffered operating losses for the first time，But the operators and the market obviously have not reduced their optimism about its prospects at all。September 28 after reopening，Across three campuses (breaking integrity again！) The major renovation with an investment of nearly 75 billion yen officially begins to welcome tourists。In addition，New projects with an area of ​​140,000 square kilometers and a total estimated value of 250 billion yen will also be started according to the pre-epidemic plan。If you don’t limit your vision to Disney，Including Nintendo World under Universal Studios，Ghibli Park，Several large-scale themed amusement projects such as Harry Potter Park are currently under construction on the islands。In Japan, which has completed its post-industrial transformation，What new consumption habits and spatial practices will transnational capital and local culture bring？And how will the initiative and even resistance of ordinary people develop differently？The answers to these questions will definitely bring different enlightenment to other societies whether they serve as lessons for others or as a lesson for others。

*Source of this article: WeiboXin Public "Economic Observation Network" (eeojjgcw)，Author: Huang Qiuyuan，Original title:《Japanese Disney: a paradise on the scars of postmodern society》.