| Abstract: | The amusement park is solidly part of the national experience as a pleasure of the multitudes, and has been many things to many people— escape, fantasy, otherworldliness, illusion, drama, total theater, spectacle; a safety zone of enjoyment, absurdity and release from the habits, norms and rules of everyday life. The dangerous, the absurd, the erotic, the hilarious and the weird invite the participant into a world of role-playing and the glories of play in its purest form, in modes both ancient and futuristic. Perhaps no single subject affordsso many aspects and approaches for study as the amusement park; from the most avant-garde technological problems of engineering attractions to the manifold psychological impact of those attractions and their ambience on the mood and motivation of the patron. The variety of departure-points is as dazzling and overwhelming as those to be found within the magic territory of the parks themselves. In exploring the possibilities of subject and theme for the study of the amusement park, Russel Nye provides a broad spectrum of park history and a generous taste of the many delights parks have provided to millions since their beginnings in the last century. |
