Wednesday, October 08, 2008

Meet Me on Main Street

Disneyland's Main Street is the embodiment of theming to America just before World War 1. Walt Disney World's Main Street is very beautiful, but much more urban. I expect to see the slums and factories down the street. Disneyland on the other hand has the idealized Midwestern town feel and look. These 1968 photographs show Main Street at a perfect time. Once again I am struck by the activity in the images. In addition, there is very little jarring modern stuck into the scene, unlike today with corporate synergy requiring the advertising of every animated film, new tween property and blockbuster film the Walt Disney Company is producing. The advertising is of the time period, even if it is corporate advertising.

I am awaiting the comments on the shirt the couple on the lower right are wearing. Women's lib still was not in full swing!

4 comments:

TokyoMagic! said...

And DL security let them walk around in those shirts? I thought security was pretty picky about what people wore back then!

outsidetheberm said...

It's always nice to see close-ups on those Santa Fe Railroad signs in the depot. Thank you very much, sir.

Major Pepperidge said...

Wow, "Slave" and "Master", jeez! Nice essay about the way Main Street has changed, I couldn't agree more.

Katella Gate said...

You see "Master" and "Slave" tee shirts in Palm Springs all the time -- but in a different context.

The punchline is, of course, that the boyfriend-girlfriend pairing means it humorously. The boy-boy Palm Springs couple mean it seriously (and in fact as advertising).