gioia_z

Fascinating, short book detailing social history of Coney Island at the turn of the last century. By locating Coney Island in the Victorian contexts of mass immigration, turn-of-the-century progressive reform and urban planning (especially contrasted to the "uplifting" urban and recreational ideals of Olmsted and Vaugh's urban parks and Chicago's Columbian Exposition), and the rise of a new consumer class, Amusing the Million allows the the reader to really understand the radical new forms of mass social expression that would eventually become dominant over the highbrow and middle class genteel culture of the Victorians. The author presents great insights into Coney's past. The most unexpected for me was that Coney Island was both a place for working people to release the pent-up emotions caused by their participation in cities designed for the maximization of profit with little concern for recreation, and therefore fulfilled a "need" that accounted for it's booming popularity, while at the same time, paradoxically, Coney Island was a highly regulated social environment, a successful experiment in social engineering for the ultimate goal of maximizing the profit of the parks' owners. A fascinating look at Coney Island for all Coney fans and anyone interested in amusement parks, socially engineered places, spectacle, suspension of disbelief, carnival and the psychology of crowds.

2022-09-05 05:17