Arena Football in a Disneyized World
Ever since the beginning of the 1970s, Disney World has become an influential blueprint that many companies have used do business in society. Disney World has many different techniques and ideas that have allowed them to produce maximum gain in all facets of society. This is known as Disneyization, ' "the process by which the principles of the Disney theme parks are coming to dominate more and more sectors of American society as well as the rest of the world" (Bryman, 1999, p. 26). Disneyization is broken up into five separate principles: spectacularization, theming, dedifferentiation of consumption, merchandising, and emotional labor. These principles have been adopted by companies all around the world and have been thrown into full practice today in our society.
One area where Disneyization has been evident is in the sporting world. Commissioner of the National Basketball Association (NBA), David Stern, is a prime example, stating, "They [Disney] have theme parks and we have theme parks. Only we call them arenas. They have characters: Mickey Mouse, Goofy. Our characters are named Magic and Michael [Jordan], etc" (Andrews, 2006, p. 15). However, ever since 1987, one professional sports league has adopted every aspect of Disneyization to appeal to the masses, known as the Arena Football League (AFL). Because of the heavy competition in promoting the AFL against other professional sports, the league has been forced to make the most of the five aspects of Disneyization. These aspects of Disneyization are extremely important and prove that the AFL has become the most "Disneyized" professional sports league in the United States today.
Spectacularization is probably the most evident principle of Disneyization. It has been described as the "transformation and manufacturing of cultural element into highly popular forms of entertainment across mass media" (Andrews, 2006, p. 13). Basically, the goal is to create a spectacle providing additional entertainment
One area where Disneyization has been evident is in the sporting world. Commissioner of the National Basketball Association (NBA), David Stern, is a prime example, stating, "They [Disney] have theme parks and we have theme parks. Only we call them arenas. They have characters: Mickey Mouse, Goofy. Our characters are named Magic and Michael [Jordan], etc" (Andrews, 2006, p. 15). However, ever since 1987, one professional sports league has adopted every aspect of Disneyization to appeal to the masses, known as the Arena Football League (AFL). Because of the heavy competition in promoting the AFL against other professional sports, the league has been forced to make the most of the five aspects of Disneyization. These aspects of Disneyization are extremely important and prove that the AFL has become the most "Disneyized" professional sports league in the United States today.
Spectacularization is probably the most evident principle of Disneyization. It has been described as the "transformation and manufacturing of cultural element into highly popular forms of entertainment across mass media" (Andrews, 2006, p. 13). Basically, the goal is to create a spectacle providing additional entertainment
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