Analysis Of Amusing The Million: Amusing The Million

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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"

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