What makes Vowell's piece so funny and intriguing is the realness that is used to describe something that we as the reader have only experienced through a very glorified lens. By taking a preconceived concept of what Disney World is and what it stands for and describing her experience through a very blunt stream of conscious that provides comparisons and metaphors ("Disney World is like the liver of the country where the blood of America gets filtered") that allow the reader to form their own pictures and ideas from Vowell's story that are twisting and conforming away from their current ideas of what the theme park is and stands for. I think creating this contrast, but with humor, allows the reader to feel uncomfortable when they realize the real reality of what Disney might actually be, but in a way that takes the edge off of Vowell's claims without seeming angry and bitter. Vowell does't only do this with Disney itself, but with other seemingly "normal" concepts you may not think about, including "species-on-species abuse," with people feeding birds dead birds; Vowell brings your attention to things you are aware of, and sheds a new comedic light on them so that they don't completely offend, but definitely make you think.
Vowell's writing is funny because it's so relatable. There were times where I connected with this piece that I was scared. Her use of sarcasm, such as "I am wiping a tear from my eye and David has his hand over his heart" makes the writing funny, and shows a realist perspective in paradise. She's very dry with a lot of things, with the presidents line up, or the entire town of Celebration. And all these quips are important, like "I swear Reagan is looking at me." This put me in her view, and I felt as though this could apply to any 20 or 30 something who had to sit through Disney's attractions. And other quips like "doesn't Disney lose money every time a child cracks open a book?" hit issues on the surface, as most people would react, but with a tone that brings it into a full view. She basically tears Disney apart, like any fantasy, and it's hilarious. It's like the tragedy of wonder, and how finite it is. The line "is there anything more American than constructing some squeaky-clean city on a hill looking out across the terrible beauty of this land?" which goes off of a "Great Gatsby" quote, talks about how Disney is attempting to make internal impulses into reality. The cheeky, care-free wonder can't last in reality. Vowell makes the tragedy of it funny, as she details its flaws and almost cliche-like failures as someone from the real world.
To be honest, I didn't find it all that funny at first. Maybe this is because you told us it was supposed to be funny before hand, so I was expecting too much. I don't know. I think it took me the first few pages to settle in to her voice and writing style. By the end though, I found myself giggling.
The entire premise, once she explains it to the reader, was the first thing that loosened me up: the fact that they didn't even want to go to Disney in the first place in favor of a rocket launch.
Also, her style isn't overly descriptive, nor does it have to be since she's describing a place that many-many people are familiar with, which I appreciate.
My favorite thing about the piece is how Vowell takes this megalith of our society, and destroys it. She makes us question all the things wrong with Disney. She makes us think, and ultimately that's the difference between okay writing and great writing.
Some of my favorite parts were when she goes on the ride, and the voice is trembling so everything sounds weird--"we the peephole." Another of my favorites was the titular scene of the birds eating birds (on a side note, I LOVE those giant turkey legs so it was easily relatable). Finally, the ending really brought the whole piece full circle for me, when the cheery lady--who shouldn't really be all that cheery--has been disneyfied and Vowell and David are adamant that they will never return. Basically, it gave the happiest place on earth a very creepy feeling. It seemed like they had just exited a slaughter house. Her biggest strength is using familiar images and phrases and putting a spin on them.
The thing that makes Vowell's piece "Species on Species Abuse" funny is through the point of view of the piece. The first person point of view allows the reader to know exactly what the narrator is thinking. With this point of view we see what the narrator sees Disney World to be like instead of what it was thought to be previously. Creating a difference between what the reader originally thought Disney World was like and what the narrator believes Disney World to be like, in a humorous way, enable the reader to feel a sense of discomfort about how Disney World actually is. This is all done through point of view, and this piece definitely has a funny point of view.
The situation of this piece sets it up for hilarity, two childless adults, a sarcastic author and her gay Manhattanite best friend go to Disney World. Disney World was not made for them so it's bound to be funny.
Along with the situation the commentary is funny. "One wonders if Sam Adam's generation would have fought so hard to build a democratic nation with such despotic liquor laws." Or, "an authoritative voice warns against using flash photography 'to preserve the dignity of the presentation.' But that doesn't inspire the man behind us to remove his mouse ears."
I imagine there is great pressure for perfection at Disney World. Parents who take their children there want to paint them a world of gumdrops and rainbows, so perhaps to them they cannot see the funny. The chaos, cost and candy distract from what a funny place Disney World really is, period costumes with Reebok hightops, toddlers who care more for a beige button on their stroller than The Little Mermaid, a Disney residential town!
5 comments:
What makes Vowell's piece so funny and intriguing is the realness that is used to describe something that we as the reader have only experienced through a very glorified lens. By taking a preconceived concept of what Disney World is and what it stands for and describing her experience through a very blunt stream of conscious that provides comparisons and metaphors ("Disney World is like the liver of the country where the blood of America gets filtered") that allow the reader to form their own pictures and ideas from Vowell's story that are twisting and conforming away from their current ideas of what the theme park is and stands for. I think creating this contrast, but with humor, allows the reader to feel uncomfortable when they realize the real reality of what Disney might actually be, but in a way that takes the edge off of Vowell's claims without seeming angry and bitter. Vowell does't only do this with Disney itself, but with other seemingly "normal" concepts you may not think about, including "species-on-species abuse," with people feeding birds dead birds; Vowell brings your attention to things you are aware of, and sheds a new comedic light on them so that they don't completely offend, but definitely make you think.
Vowell's writing is funny because it's so relatable. There were times where I connected with this piece that I was scared. Her use of sarcasm, such as "I am wiping a tear from my eye and David has his hand over his heart" makes the writing funny, and shows a realist perspective in paradise. She's very dry with a lot of things, with the presidents line up, or the entire town of Celebration. And all these quips are important, like "I swear Reagan is looking at me." This put me in her view, and I felt as though this could apply to any 20 or 30 something who had to sit through Disney's attractions. And other quips like "doesn't Disney lose money every time a child cracks open a book?" hit issues on the surface, as most people would react, but with a tone that brings it into a full view. She basically tears Disney apart, like any fantasy, and it's hilarious. It's like the tragedy of wonder, and how finite it is. The line "is there anything more American than constructing some squeaky-clean city on a hill looking out across the terrible beauty of this land?" which goes off of a "Great Gatsby"
quote, talks about how Disney is attempting to make internal impulses into reality. The cheeky, care-free wonder can't last in reality. Vowell makes the tragedy of it funny, as she details its flaws and almost cliche-like failures as someone from the real world.
To be honest, I didn't find it all that funny at first. Maybe this is because you told us it was supposed to be funny before hand, so I was expecting too much. I don't know. I think it took me the first few pages to settle in to her voice and writing style. By the end though, I found myself giggling.
The entire premise, once she explains it to the reader, was the first thing that loosened me up: the fact that they didn't even want to go to Disney in the first place in favor of a rocket launch.
Also, her style isn't overly descriptive, nor does it have to be since she's describing a place that many-many people are familiar with, which I appreciate.
My favorite thing about the piece is how Vowell takes this megalith of our society, and destroys it. She makes us question all the things wrong with Disney. She makes us think, and ultimately that's the difference between okay writing and great writing.
Some of my favorite parts were when she goes on the ride, and the voice is trembling so everything sounds weird--"we the peephole." Another of my favorites was the titular scene of the birds eating birds (on a side note, I LOVE those giant turkey legs so it was easily relatable). Finally, the ending really brought the whole piece full circle for me, when the cheery lady--who shouldn't really be all that cheery--has been disneyfied and Vowell and David are adamant that they will never return. Basically, it gave the happiest place on earth a very creepy feeling. It seemed like they had just exited a slaughter house.
Her biggest strength is using familiar images and phrases and putting a spin on them.
The thing that makes Vowell's piece "Species on Species Abuse" funny is through the point of view of the piece. The first person point of view allows the reader to know exactly what the narrator is thinking. With this point of view we see what the narrator sees Disney World to be like instead of what it was thought to be previously. Creating a difference between what the reader originally thought Disney World was like and what the narrator believes Disney World to be like, in a humorous way, enable the reader to feel a sense of discomfort about how Disney World actually is. This is all done through point of view, and this piece definitely has a funny point of view.
The situation of this piece sets it up for hilarity, two childless adults, a sarcastic author and her gay Manhattanite best friend go to Disney World. Disney World was not made for them so it's bound to be funny.
Along with the situation the commentary is funny. "One wonders if Sam Adam's generation would have fought so hard to build a democratic nation with such despotic liquor laws." Or, "an authoritative voice warns against using flash photography 'to preserve the dignity of the presentation.' But that doesn't inspire the man behind us to remove his mouse ears."
I imagine there is great pressure for perfection at Disney World. Parents who take their children there want to paint them a world of gumdrops and rainbows, so perhaps to them they cannot see the funny. The chaos, cost and candy distract from what a funny place Disney World really is, period costumes with Reebok hightops, toddlers who care more for a beige button on their stroller than The Little Mermaid, a Disney residential town!
Post a Comment