{"id":1159,"date":"2014-10-26T22:50:43","date_gmt":"2014-10-27T03:50:43","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.richmond.edu\/livesofmaps\/?p=1159"},"modified":"2014-10-27T13:11:23","modified_gmt":"2014-10-27T18:11:23","slug":"map-of-the-week-its-a-small-world","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog.richmond.edu\/livesofmaps\/2014\/10\/26\/map-of-the-week-its-a-small-world\/","title":{"rendered":"Map of the Week: It’s a Small World"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>Since its introduction in Disneyland in 1966, It\u2019s a Small World After All<\/em> has been one of the most well known rides with a catchy, and often annoying, theme song.\u00a0\u00a0 From the first reindeer on a hilltop in Scandinavia to the final \u201cAu revoir,\u201d this lighthearted boat ride takes many children on their first global adventure in a unique way that, while bright, colorful, and lively, may not be so accurate.<\/p>\n

Due to the space available and the implications that come with a children\u2019s boat ride at a theme park, the journey takes place along a cartographically inaccurate route.\u00a0\u00a0 The audience travels along an extensive, winding river that travels the \u201cworld\u201d with the postcard-perfect pictures of various countries with mechanical dolls dancing and the prominent architecture and stereotypical clich\u00e9s associated with that country appearing on either side.\u00a0\u00a0 Disney focused on the prominent memorable features of each country and displayed what the audience would be familiar and happy with, instead of anything about the country or its culture. \u00a0While these icons, such as the Taj Mahal in India or the pyramids in Egypt, are not inaccurate, they minimize the experience of the world to a few main symbols when, in reality, there is much more depth to each country through the culture, the food, and the daily lives of the people.\u00a0 This same approach was present in the route and layout of the world throughout the ride.\u00a0\u00a0 However, Disney\u2019s ideology is crucial because it provides the basis for the \u201cgeographical imagination,\u201d or the cultural and geographical understanding, of the world for the majority of people who board this ride and may not have the opportunity to visit all of the countries around the world.<\/p>\n

The map \u201cIt\u2019s a Small World\u201d by Jonah M. Adkins captures Disney\u2019s ideological viewpoint perfectly. \u00a0\u00a0It displays the journey on a fun, colorful map of the route the boat takes around the world.\u00a0\u00a0 On the map, the individual countries are labeled, but there are no lines or barriers to portray a distinct separation; instead, the countries all connect together in one continuous strip. \u00a0\u00a0While it makes sense that a ride appealing to children would present the world as a harmonious, fluid place, this portrayal conceals the reality of the world we live in where borders and wars over territory exist. \u00a0\u00a0Not only is there little distinction between countries on the map, but also the groups of countries that represent the assorted continents and regions flow into each other seamlessly, making it appear as if it really is just one small world after all.<\/p>\n

The only tactic that does, however, separate these regions is the color-coding by the cartographer.\u00a0\u00a0 The ride may link the entire world together into one, but the cartographic choice to color different regions different colors enables the audience to see the distinction between various areas around the world.\u00a0\u00a0 It also gives the viewer a more concrete idea of the order the ride progresses through the world and which regions are put next to one another.\u00a0\u00a0 This choice by the cartographer is a political one because he felt the need to distinguish between regions even though that distinction wasn\u2019t present on the ride he is portraying.\u00a0\u00a0 This grouping indicates some relationship or similarity between the countries included in each color, which is an inaccurate assumption that ignores the diversity present within each continent.\u00a0\u00a0 Conversely, Disney chose not to specifically identify the various continents, even though it did conform to the idea of continents through the order the ride progresses.<\/p>\n

The order itself is an interesting component brought out by the map that, while not a choice of the cartographer\u2019s, reveals more about the identity and viewpoint of Disney.\u00a0\u00a0 The world is travelled in a circular way, starting in Europe and proceeding to Asia, Africa, South America, and the South Pacific, and ending in North America. \u00a0\u00a0There is a unique contrast between the commencement in Europe, the origin of American colonization and the continent that shaped many of America\u2019s core values, and the conclusion in North America, creating a feeling of returning \u201chome\u201d after a long journey around the world.\u00a0 \u00a0These ideological decisions made by Disney show the origin of the ride and the company itself by making its familiar homeland the grand finale.<\/p>\n

The other curiosity apparent from this map is Disney\u2019s decision on the location and inclusion of certain countries.\u00a0\u00a0 Holland is located next to Spain, Thailand is across the water from Japan, and Hawaii borders Australia.\u00a0\u00a0 The image of one small world and the inclusion of visually appealing buildings and dancing machines take priority over global accuracy, which is a curious choice for a ride that introduces many young children to the entire world for the first time. \u00a0\u00a0Given that this may be their first \u201cexperience\u201d with the world, Disney\u2019s choices may influence the idealizations or stereotypes of its younger audience. \u00a0\u00a0Along with the inaccurate location of the countries, the choice to make the second-to-last region the South Pacific instead of the final continent of Australia again reveals the ideological nature of the map.\u00a0\u00a0 The most efficient method would have been to organize the boat ride through the continents.\u00a0\u00a0 Since, however, the continent of Australia only includes one country, it would have paled in comparison to the other continents, so the next-to-last section is the greater South Pacific area instead.\u00a0\u00a0 Along with this breaking of the continent theme, certain countries are in questionable locations, such as the inclusion of Hawaii in the South Pacific instead of North America and the placement of Mexico next to Central America in the South American section of the map.<\/p>\n

Overall, this map is an excellent portrayal of Disney\u2019s It\u2019s a Small World After All <\/em>with its bright colors and journey through various countries on the fun boat ride around the world.\u00a0\u00a0 However, the map highlights some ideological choices made by Disney that speak to Disney\u2019s identity and the impression it leaves on na\u00efve children.\u00a0\u00a0 The themes and d\u00e9cor and the inclusion of stereotypes, along with the general flow of the ride, put the educational value of the ride at risk.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Since its introduction in Disneyland in 1966, It\u2019s a Small World After All has been one of the most well known rides with a catchy, and often annoying, theme song.\u00a0\u00a0 From the first reindeer on a hilltop in Scandinavia to … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2096,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[21024],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1159","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-maps-of-the-week"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.richmond.edu\/livesofmaps\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1159","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.richmond.edu\/livesofmaps\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.richmond.edu\/livesofmaps\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.richmond.edu\/livesofmaps\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2096"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.richmond.edu\/livesofmaps\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1159"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/blog.richmond.edu\/livesofmaps\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1159\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.richmond.edu\/livesofmaps\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1159"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.richmond.edu\/livesofmaps\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1159"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.richmond.edu\/livesofmaps\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1159"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}