Circumnavigation with a difference? music, representation and the disney experience:It's a small, small world

Abstract

In the Fantasyland section of the Disneyland Paris theme park is a ride called It's a Small World. Hop aboard the boat and you'll be taken on a leisurely voyage around the world and treated to an aural and visual spectacle of global harmony. Dolls representing people from different countries are dressed in local costume, perform local dances and play local instruments. But the music which accompanies the ride is firmly rooted in Euro-America. This article explores the relationships of power embedded within the Small World ride and addresses a number of questions relating to the politics of cultural representation and specifically to the role of music in the ride: to what extent does the apparent vision of global harmony in Small World (“we all sing the same song”) mask the realities of exploitation and domination (“you all sing my song”) in the activities of global corporations such as Disney? And what role does the music play in normalizing a highly political agenda?

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