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Quote by Paul Beatty

“If Disneyland was indeed the Happiest Place on Earth, you'd either keep it a secret or the price of admission would be free and not equivalent to the yearly per capita income of a small sub-Saharan African nation like Detroit.”

Quote by Paul Beatty

Work

The Sellout

The book is a satirical and thought-provoking narrative set in a fictional town in the United States, where the protagonist grapples with complex issues of racial identity and societal norms. more

Author

Paul Beatty
Paul Beatty

Paul Beatty, born in 1962 in Los Angeles, California, is an accomplished American author known for his unique humor and satirical style. His works often delve into issues of race, class, and social inequality, carrying profound social significance and literary value. more

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“There was something else amusing about the house: the irony that the most important battle of the American Revolution--the shoot-out at the Old North Bridge--had taken place just outside the residence of the pacifist Ralph Waldo Emerson. True, Emerson was born after the battle in 1803, but his grandfather had been living in the house at the time of the Revolution, and the juxtaposition of such pacifism against such violence struck Paul as a symbol of an eternal truth about American history: Nixon, that goofy Vietnam War mortician, was right: the silent majority ruled (not the rebellious, pacifist fringe); the majority killed for their property; and there was nothing really revolutionary about the minutemen , who won a war and took over the entire country to ultimately build fast-food restaurants and Disneyland while abolitionists, pacifists, hippies, and environmentalists were left to make well-intended flatulent noises--to write poems such as Ginsberg's "Howl"--in books for other defeated noisemakers.”

“Successful people have no fear of failure. But unsuccessful people do. Successful people have the resilience to face up to failure—learn the lessons and adapt from it.”

“Lo que Disney decidió hacer, y es parte de la forma única de Disney de hacer las cosas, fue hacer que todos estos trabajadores se sintieran parte de la familia Disney: hacerlos que se identificaran con Epcot, aun cuando en realidad no formaran parte de la organización Disney. Esto no se había hecho nunca antes. Así es como lo hicieron. Cerraron la obra un domingo al mes durante un año. Hay que tener en mente que se trataba del proyecto de construcción más grande del mundo y que se acercaba una fecha de entrega inamovible, por lo que cerrar la obra un día al mes era muy importante. Disney trajo varias carpas de circo y las colocó en lo que a la larga sería el estacionamiento de Epcot. El servicio de alimentación se encontraba en una de las tiendas. Cocinábamos hot dogs y hamburguesas, y servíamos Coca - Cola, papas fritas, todo eso. En otras palabras, celebrábamos un día de campo.”

“Far from representing a benign cultural force, Disney's theme parks offer prepackaged, sanitized versions of America's past, place a strong emphasis on the virtues of the individual as an essentially consuming subject, trans- form the work of production into the production of play, and ignore the exclusionary dynamics of class and race that permeate Disney culture.”

“Disney's theme parks function like the suburban mall, offering middle-class families an escape from crime, pollution, immigrants, the homeless, transportation problems, and work. Managed exoticism, safety, the packaged tour, and the fantasy of consumption cancel out diversity, innovation, imagination, and the uncharted excursion.”

“Then it would come time for Walt to tell his favorite joke: 'What's a four letter word for what's at the bottom of (his) bird cage?' Everyone would look at each other, wondering if Walt Disney was going to say 'that.' And just when the tension was getting thick, Walt the on-color jokester would say, 'Grit, Grit!”