History 477

Devine

Spring 2013

 

Study Questions for John Kasson, Amusing the Million

 

  1. According to Kasson, the turn of the twentieth century marked the emergence of a new mass culture that replaced traditional “genteel” or “Victorian” culture.  What was the difference between the two? What factors brought about the transition? How does studying Coney Island help us better understand this transition?

 

  1. What common purpose did Central Park and the Columbia Exposition of 1893 share?

 

  1. What troubled the reformer Frederick Law Olmstead about the crowded city streets?  How were public parks supposed to address the problems that crowded cities had created?

 

  1. According to Kasson, “The early history of Central Park reflected a conflict in conceptions of culture and urban recreation.” (16-17)  What does he mean by this?  What evidence does he introduce to demonstrate his point?

 

  1. What cultural alternative did the White City present to an American society in turmoil? How did its “remedy” for society’s ills differ from that offered by Central Park?

 

  1. What purpose was the grand architecture of the White City intended to serve? How did people respond to it?

 

  1. How did differences between the White City and the Midway shed light on a broader cultural struggle?  What were the cultural legacies of the White City and the Midway?

 

  1. How did West Brighton differ from Manhattan Beach and Brighton Beach?  How did it change with the departure of political boss John Y. McKane?

 

  1. How does Kasson describe the crowds that flocked to Coney at the turn of the century?  Why did they come to Coney in such numbers? What might they have found at Coney that was familiar?  What was new?

 

  1. How did Coney’s “code of conduct” differ from that demanded in other public activities?  How did Coney foster both a sense of community and anonymity?

 

  1. How do photographs of people at turn of the century Coney Island reveal how the new atmosphere was changing codes of behavior and propriety?

 

  1. In what ways was a visit to Coney Island a carnivalesque experience? How did the various attractions heighten the sense of the carnivalesque?

 

  1. According to Kasson, why did the amusements at Steeplechase prove so appealing to turn of the century crowds?  How did they cultivate a sense of “release”?

 

  1. How did the contrast of architecture at Luna Park and the White City emphasize their respective cultural messages?  How could the architecture at Luna seduce its patrons into feeling better about themselves?

 

  1. How did Thompson and Dundy appeal to visitors’ imaginations and satisfy their desire for a “different” experience at Luna Park?  Why does Kasson refer to Luna as a “cultural zoo”? (70)

 

  1. How were the mechanized amusements at Coney both ordinary and extraordinary? Thrilling but safe?

 

  1. In offering an illusion of “anarchic freedom and heedless release” within a larger context of planned control (82), how were the rides a metaphor for the Coney Island’s amusement parks as a whole?

 

  1. Why was Coney an attractive subject for a new generation of artists?  How did their work capture the ambivalence about the new cultural mood?

 

  1. How did critics respond to Coney Island?  Upon seeing the crowds at Coney, why did some “sigh with relief” while others were “deeply troubled”? (95)

 

  1. Why did many turn of the century social scientists see crowds – such as those at Coney – as dangerous and potential “social dynamite”?  Why did progressive reformers also fear the new freedom from constraint that Coney embodied?  What alternatives did they offer?

 

  1. To what extent were Coney’s critics’ fears justified? Was Coney Island “an artificial distraction for an artificial life”? (101)

 

  1. To reformers, what was “proper play” and why was it necessary if democracy was to be preserved?

 

  1. Why does Kasson argue that both progressive reformers and Coney Island entrepreneurs were agents of social control?

 

  1. To what extent did the replacement of the Victorian genteel culture with modern commercial mass culture mark an increase in freedom?  Did the new culture simply make leisure an extension of work or did critics who made this case, like Maxim Gorky, miss the point?

 

  1. Though the crowds continued to increase in number during the 1920s, social critics no longer paid much attention to Coney. Why was it no longer as interesting?