Better than the Original by Edoardo Bellando



CTHEORY THEORY, TECHNOLOGY AND CULTURE VOL 23, NO 1-2

"Stroll through Central Park. Ride the kind of rollercoaster

that made Coney Island famous. Shop along Park Avenue. And visit

the Statue of Liberty. All without leaving Las Vegas."

This announcement [1] exemplifies a fast-growing trend -- the Great

Places Replica. This recent contribution to a hassle-free life -- a

basic human need the business world, luckily, is meeting -- cancels

at one stroke vacation annoyances such as long airplane trips, jet

lag, passport and customs headaches, unfamiliar languages and

currencies. Now you can travel without traveling thanks to the two

world Replica capitals, Orlando and Las Vegas.

In Las Vegas, New York is ready for you at its namesake -- a recently

inaugurated hotel-cum-city featuring, says its Internet ad, "twelve

New York-style hotel towers extending 48 stories and 525 feet,

featuring replicas of the Empire State, Chrysler, ATT and Century

Buildings". The copies -- a common characteristic of the Great Places

Replicas -- look much better than the original.

Once you have done New York, you can hail a cab to Venice without

leaving downtown Las Vegas. At the Venetian Hotel, [2] "the world's

most romantic city is now at the heart of the world's best

destination location". The hotel is a faithful replica of the Doge's

Palace, featuring imposing halls, grand corridors, mosaics and

decorations, majestic furniture and thick carpets. Again, it is an

improvement on the original, since its builders could take advantage

of construction techniques unknown in 1309.

You can then go to Paris [3] -- the Paris Hotel -- and "stroll down

the cobblestone sidewalks of the Rue de la Paix shopping district",

with the Eiffel Tower looming in the distance. Luxor, Egypt, [4] is

right around the corner, with a 30-story pyramid and "King Tut's Tomb

and museum."

But Orlando, Florida, has even more to offer. No need, for instance,

to go to Portofino, the romantic fishing village on one of the

Italian Riviera's most beautiful bays, long the playground of the

likes of Aristotle Onassis, the Dukes of Windsor, Liz Taylor and

Richard Burton. Now an improved version is available at Portofino Bay

Hotel, [5] courtesy of the Loews Hotels corporation. "Escape to a

romantic Mediterranean seaside village nestled around a small bay

recreated at the Orlando Vacation Destination for the 21st Century"

says the Internet ad. Just a five-minute ride from the Universal

Studios theme parks, Portofino 2 offers 750 guest rooms -- possibly

more than those available at Portofino 1 -- not to mention "two Bocce

Ball Courts". Again, the immaculate replica looks much better than

the worn-out, weather-battered original.

But the densest, most mind-boggling group of Replicas is the one at

Disneyworld's World Showcase. [6] There, Canada, China, France,

Germany, Italy, Mexico, Morocco, Norway, the United Kingdom, and

"Adventure America" are all gathered in one place. In the last

Replica -- as it happens for Las Vegas's New York -- America is made

available in America. No need to travel there.

In Japan, "the torii gate welcomes you to a beautiful land of finely

manicured landscapes and ancient pagodas". In Mexico, "lush

vegetation grows all about an imposing pyramid that houses a charming

village inside". In China, "the Disney version of Beijing's Temple of

Heaven welcomes you to a land of exotic mysteries". In Morocco,

"magnificent mosaic art and stonework are the hallmarks of this

winding world of courtyards, shops and street markets".

In Norway, the stand-out is a replica of the monumental Stave Church,

built entirely of wood. "This curiously intimate structure," says the

Internet ad, "is styled after the Gol Church of Hallingdal, which was

built around 1250 AD". Not even the sacred escapes Replica-mania.

Paris and Venice seem to be the world's most duplicated cities. In

Disney's Italy, "the Doge's Palace in Venice is the centerpiece of

this incredible reproduction of the sights and sounds of Italy"

(mercifully, not the smells). Next door, "the charming streets of

France are recreated right down to the sidewalk cafes, quaint

boutiques and the Eiffel Tower off in the distance". This makes for

three Doge's Palaces and three Eiffel Towers in the world -- two of

each replicas.

Each Disney country features a specific tour. One leads to the

discovery of "Mexico's architecture and art as you take a guided

walking tour of the Mexican showcase". Another offers "the

inspirational music and stunning panoramic views of France, in

relaxing comfort" (the theme of painlessness is reiterated).

Other Replicas are certainly in the offing, taking advantage of their

Great Places in the collective imagination. But what is the point of

giving a resort the patent of nobility conferred by a world-famous

place thousands of miles away? Why couldn't a hotel be just a hotel?

Why is this collective fiction going on, with both the corporation

and the visitor knowing that this is not the real thing?

What can this tell us about a culture where everything is easy,

painless and transparently smooth? Where even travel comes

only with its rewards, without effort and sweat, sanitized, hygienic,

made familiar and comfortable, and reduced to entertainment?

If travelling is the best way of learning, what can be learned from a

stay at the replica? Isn't this the equivalent of other shortcuts --

like the resumes of Great Books in cassette, for easy listening

during the work commute?

And isn't social class playing a role here, since the well off indeed

are at the real Marrakesh, Portofino and Paris, while the middle

class has to be content with the copy? Perhaps the Replicas have this

to tell us -- that the authentic is for the few, while the many must

make the most of the fictional, and pretend there isn't anything more

to life.

Notes

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[1] <http://www.1stoplasvegas.com/nrb_newyork.htm>

[2] <http://www.1stoplasvegas.com/venetian-open.htm>

[3] <http://www.1stoplasvegas.com/nrb_paris.htm>

[4] <http://www.1stoplasvegas.com/nrb_luxor.htm>

[5] <http://www.loewshotels.com/portofinobayhome.html>

[6] <http://asp.disney.go.com/disneyworld/db/seetheworld/themeparks/

facilities_epcot/index.asp?id=47>

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Edoardo Bellando works as a freelance writer for Italian dailies and

magazines, and since 1985 has worked as an editor for the United

Nations, first in Nairobi, now in New York.

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* CTHEORY is an international journal of theory, technology

* and culture.