This piece is more polemical in style than those usually published by Futuribles. But it reflects a major trend that, whatever one feels about it, is striking and undoubtedly deserves our attention.
The trend Bernard Vaudour-Faguet criticizes is the “disneyfication” of society, by which the author also means the “leisure boom” and the proliferation of popular events and entertainments, which he describes and tries to analyse.
In addition to his observations, the author does not hide the fact that he thinks this phenomenon is “the wrong solution to the malaise” of our societies, that it arises from a serious breakdown of values and is a worrying symptom of the “decline of our civilization”.
This judgement may be harsh, but nonetheless the phenomenon needs to be highlighted and its motives and consequences should be investigated further.
This article is published in Futuribles journal no.267, septembre 2001
