Fantasy City: Pleasure and Profit in the Postmodern Metropolis [Paperback]

John Hannigan (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 12, 1998 | ISBN-10: 0415150981 | ISBN-13: 978-0415150989 | Edition: 1

Fantasy City analyses the post-industrialist city as a site of entertainment. By discussing examples from a wide variety of venues, including casinos, malls, heritage developments and theme parks, Hannigan questions urban entertainments economic foundations and historical background. He asks whether such areas of fantasy destroy communities or instead create new groupings of shared identities and experiences. The book is written in a student friendly way with boxed case studies for class discussion.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

In a devastating critique of what he terms the postmodern American city, Hannigan, a sociology professor at the University of Toronto, charts a growing trend: the spreading infrastructure of megaplex cinemas, malls, themed restaurants, casinos, music megastores and other large-scale entertainment complexes. In his skeptical view, such spaces transform the public world into insular commercialized spheres, allowing leisure and conviviality without real social interaction. Hannigan questions the alleged economic benefits these sites hold for local communities, arguing that they threaten the destruction of neighborhoods and local identities while creating a polarized metropolis catering to the overwhelming middle-class desire for predictability and security. He casts a dour eye on the overlap of "eatertainment," "edutainment" and "shopertainment" and examines the alliance of players involved in building the postmodern leisure environment?real estate developers, corporate investors, retail operators and giant entertainment companies such as Disney, Universal, Sony, Warner Bros., Rank and Ogden. Looking back on the "golden age" of popular urban entertainment (1890-1925) when vaudeville halls, baseball stadiums, nightclubs and amusement parks blossomed, Hannigan argues that the captains of leisure maintained tight social control over a public culture that fostered the illusion of a democratic crowd where city dwellers mingled freely, regardless of race, class and gender. His provocative and far-sighted report will engage urban planners and all who care about the fate of U.S. cities. Photos.
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Review

Fantasy City is a fascinating study of what the author calls urban entertainment destinations....This is a well-researched, interesting book that is another important step in correcting the productivist bias in sociology and other social sciences.
–The Annals of the American Academy

...collegiate instructors will find Fantasy City useful classroom fodder for its accessibility to undergraduate students.
–American Journal of Sociology

Well documented and well writeen, this timely book covers a controversial subject. Recommended for academic libraries and an interested general public SUNY Coll. of Technology.
...Hannigan brings a fresh...approach to the issues with his interesting mixture of sociologically-oriented analysis and...righteous indignation....Fantasy City is a valuable addition to the growing bibliography of studies on the role of entertainment in the modern (and postmodern) city.
–Demetri Detsaridis, American Studies International

Hannigan has written a clear and thoughtprovoking explanation of the proliferation of giant stadiums, casinos, themed restaurants, megastores, and the like across the urban landscape.
–ARTS, 3/99

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 256 pages
• Publisher: Routledge; 1 edition (November 12, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0415150981
• ISBN-13: 978-0415150989
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 5.7 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #601,347 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Quite a good book, October 14, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Fantasy City: Pleasure and Profit in the Postmodern Metropolis (Paperback)

Let me start off by saying that I finished this book and couldn't put it down. It's a comprehensive and fascinating look at city development specifically focusing on the "entertainment" aspect of city life. It helped me understand the movement towards the all-in-one suburban entertainment centres.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Alarmingly accurate, June 19, 2003

By A Customer

This review is from: Fantasy City: Pleasure and Profit in the Postmodern Metropolis (Paperback)

Hannigan aptly notes that many an urban renewal or even "new urbanist" design (say, South Street Seaport) resembles a theme park more than a real city. Especially helpful is the list of characteristics shared by entertainment complexes and "fantasy city" redevelopments. The discussion focuses on economic aspects of development (or why the new city won't be gritty) but also makes some mention of cultural impacts (notably making "the urban" a safe experience for the middle class shopper and off-limits to everyone else). If Hannigan's analysis is correct, we could all be living in Westfield malls soon.

3 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars it is not enough, April 19, 2001

By A Customer

This review is from: Fantasy City: Pleasure and Profit in the Postmodern Metropolis (Paperback)

i expeceted somethin different from this work. by this i do not mean that it is not worth it. it is too centred on the business aspect and its economic modus operandi (words as synergy private-publec strategies, etc. are common terms used)of the new UEDs. however i wanted to read something about the cultural and social impact of the new UED and thematized environments, and on this regard it says very little and nothing new or exciting as a matter of fact. this lack of critical perspective on the cultural and social implications of the UEDs is the fact when the author mentions that museums could get better technologies in order to make their exhibitions more attractive by establishing joint-ventures with multinatinal corporatives. the author mentions Epcot as the perfect example of such associations without considering that the realities shown at epcot are no more than the corporative visions on different realities. so, if you want a text business oriented on the Fantasy city, and nothing more, this is the book for you.