History
477
Devine
Spring
2013
Study
Questions for John Kasson, Amusing the
Million
- 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?
- What
common purpose did Central Park and the
Columbia Exposition of 1893 share?
- 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?
- 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?
- 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?
- What
purpose was the grand architecture of the White City
intended to serve? How did people respond to it?
- 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?
- How did
West Brighton differ from Manhattan Beach
and Brighton
Beach? How did it change with the departure of
political boss John Y. McKane?
- 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?
- 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?
- How do
photographs of people at turn of the century Coney
Island reveal how the new atmosphere was changing codes of
behavior and propriety?
- In what
ways was a visit to Coney Island a
carnivalesque experience? How did the various attractions heighten the
sense of the carnivalesque?
- 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”?
- 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?
- 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)
- How were
the mechanized amusements at Coney both ordinary and extraordinary?
Thrilling but safe?
- 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?
- Why was
Coney an attractive subject for a new generation of artists? How did their work capture the
ambivalence about the new cultural mood?
- 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)
- 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?
- To what
extent were Coney’s critics’ fears justified? Was Coney
Island “an artificial distraction for an artificial life”?
(101)
- To
reformers, what was “proper play” and why was it necessary if democracy
was to be preserved?
- Why does
Kasson argue that both progressive reformers and Coney
Island entrepreneurs were agents of social control?
- 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?
- 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?