Disneyland Decolonization

Choi, K. (2010). “Constructing a decolonized world city for consumption: discourses on Hong Kong Disneyland and their implications,” Social Semiotics, 20, 573-592

1. Introduction

As is known to all, Hong Kong is one of the most famous tourist destinations in the world. Among various tourist spots, Hong Kong Disneyland and Ocean Park are considered as most attractive ones. Almost every tourist would go to Disneyland during the time in Hong Kong. However, we may know little about the story behind Disneyland, containing when and why it was constructed.

In fact, Hong Kong Disneyland (HKDL) contributed extraordinarily to the globalization and decolonization tasks of Hong Kong. It plays an indispensable role not only in tourism development but also in economic revitalization in Hong Kong. The author Kimberley W. Choi elaborated and discussed the events related to Disneyland in the research article entitled Constructing a decolonized world city for consumption: discourses on Hong Kong Disneyland and their implications.

2. Summary

The paper is divided into four parts. First one is discussion on previous literature about relationship between Disneyland and city development. Second one

The dilemmas of transition include the choice between democracy and conservatism, the proper relationship between Hong Kong and China after 1997 and the conflict as to whom the politicians represent: the Hong Kong people or the Chinese leaders (Lam, 1996). These dilemmas still exist nowadays. They were serious because the choice of any two polarized positions in the dilemmas will result in devastating consequences for Hong Kong (Lam, 1996). This is not an alarmist talk. Therefore, the task of politicians is to keep balance between different political forces by using a cooperative and compromising method in resolving conflicts and dealing with China (Lam,