Selling the past/co-opting history: Colonial Williamsburg as republican Disneyland

Abstract

According the Wall Street Journal, Colonial Williamsburg has recently initiated a $3 million advertising campaign boost its declining in the face of stepped up competition from razzle-dazzle theme parks. One of the new advertisements depicts a large tricorner hat flanked by the headline, would you visit if we put big round ears on it? Building on the theme, Williamsburg has also adopted a number of Disney-style innovations, such as theatrical closing ceremonies, Revolutionary Fun packages, and piped in sound, in an effort to persuade families swallow a dose of American history. Attendance at Colonial Williamsburg has declined almost 25 percent in the last decade, while the number one tourist attraction in Virginia is Potomac Mills shopping mall, and reported attendance at Disney World has reached record highs. In response, the foundation is attempting bridge the gap between contemporary and colonial by positioning Williamsburg as a historical and educational theme park.' In a world of mass leisure and mass multimedia, government cutbacks, decreased funding, history standards, and culture wars, in a society where Disney World looms large, promising a sanitized America filled with adventure, entertainment, and escape from the mundane and unpleasant realities of modem life, history museums-all museums for that matter-