Mike of Modernity (or post?)

Eco's ideas concerning Disneyland and its procession of "perfect imitation" brought back strange memories from my childhood. Once while on "Pirates of the Caribbean", I believe i was about twelve or thirteen, the ride broke down, repeatedly. It was then I realized how amazing and creepy the Audioanimatronics really are. They do imitate live people so well that when they repeat the same thing over and over it becomes almost torturous. You want to talk back to them, which I am sure I did at the time, simply because they keep talking to you. You begin to memorize every movement, and the illusion is completely stripped from the experience. While it is still a convincing fake, its utter absurdity becomes apparent. It is part of a larger skein of marketing and economics. A piece of fascinating entertainment used to create an illusion that what you are seeing is indeed so real that reality pales in comparison. Here before you is a singular thing, A pirate, who will be a pirate now and the next time you visit the attraction. He is a perfect employee, never forgets his lines, and doesn't even take a coffee break. He may breakdown once in a while, but he is certainly more efficient than flesh and bone. He knows nothing else but to be a pirate, and only a pirate in that frozen moment where he is put. No more idyllic a life seems possible. No more idyllic life is possible than here in this happy, clean and well-ordered little world. Or so the illusion tells us. And what could be more wonderful than to take a piece of this perfection home with you? An irrestible urge for a kid in the grips of a fantasy rush. An urge that our friends at Disney are all too good at exploiting. "That will $75.00 Please! Welcome to the Happiest Place on Earth!"