Consuming the “world”: reflexivity, aesthetics, and authenticity at Disney World’s EPCOT Center

The postmodern marketplace has been marked by the increasing popularity of the past and a contemporary quest for history that are celebrated through consumption. This trend points to the recurring motivational theme of escape from the perceived fragmentation, instability, and inauthenticity of postmodern life. This theme of escape subsequently leads to a search for an “authentic” world of the past. In the process of constructing this “authentic” past, producers of themed attractions, as well as scholars of tourism and consumer research, have begun to recognize the important role of aesthetics. However, much of our understanding about aesthetics and authenticity as they relate to each other, as well as the role their relationship plays in the consumption of themed attractions, remains unexplored. It is also true that there is a relative paucity of consumer research that examines the specific role of aesthetics as it impacts and shapes experiential forms of consumption. Through a reflexive account, the authors explore the role and importance of aesthetics, broadly defined, in the social construction of an “authentic” past at Disney World’s EPCOT World Showcase. The authors find that the aesthetic details found in the historicized and sanitized hyperreality of the experience are central to the construction of an “authentic” world of the past.