Q: A large number of amusement parks and theme parks have appeared in Taiwan in recent years, and visitors now account for 60 percent of all the tourism in the country. Have you noticed this phenomenon? What sort of mass psychology or social psychology does it reflect?

A: There seem to be a bit too many of them, and they're too much alike in contents.

Speaking first of the owners and operators, Taiwan is a small place where business information gets around quickly. When people see somebody making a lot of money running an amusement park somewhere, they want to open one, too. It's hard to come up with a design of your own, and it won't necessarily make money. So now that it's started, a whole pack has sprung up, but they're pretty much the same all over the island. There's no creativity.

As for the visitors, it's all related to their ability to engage in recreation. It's only in the last ten years or so that people in Taiwan have discovered they have the money and leisure for it. We haven't had enough time to cultivate our ability at it.

Leisure and recreation require a certain ability. In overseas travel, for instance, the first problem you meet with is the language barrier; if you can't speak the language, you have no choice but to tag along with a tour group. Scuba diving, rock climbing and white water rafting are dangerous, exciting activities that take skill and training.

Most people aren't seasoned or practiced enough for things like that, so all they can do is passively take in an amusement park.

Recreation, a product of evolution?

Q: In view of the experience in other countries, is the appearance of theme parks a necessary trend in the development of leisure and recreation?

A: So it seems. The process of human development has been pretty much the same. In Europe during the last century, workers had to work 70 hours a week. When they got off, all they could do was drink or gamble at things like cock fighting. It was like that here, too, back when we were an agricultural society, wasn't it?

It was only later, when work hours shrank and incomes rose, that people began to pursue different leisure activities and to associate them with special locations and designs. There didn't used to be any soccer fields, for instance--they used to just play it in the street. After they discovered the ball might hit a pedestrian in the head or break a window, they moved it onto athletic fields.

After being differentiated and located in separate areas, recreational activities acquired a significance of their own, becoming a means to be creative or to infuse leisure time with meaning.

Amusement parks are simply another product of the evolution of leisure and recreation. They were developed in Europe after World War I but really came into their own in the United States, where Disneyland has become the classic model.

The pursuit of happiness

There are good reasons for their appearance. One advantage is they contain a host of recreational attractions, which concentrates the use of resources, making them highly convenient.

In addition, some of the attractions really are perfectly suited for the needs of modern-day people in their pursuit of happiness. Some rides are funny or weird in design and make people laugh. Some are exciting and make people scream and let off energy. It's a wonderful way to spend time for people who have so much on their hands they want to "kill" it, and it's much more wholesome than the cock fights, dog fights or mah-jongg of the past.

Amusement parks are basically for children, who aren't able to engage in higher forms of recreation--Disneyland itself is mostly for children and teenagers. Once they're at high school, their leisure activities become more varied and complex, and they lose interest in amusement parks. They tend to spend vacations going camping or traveling with friends.

If everybody from one to 100 all swarmed into amusement parks, it would be a bit much.

Exacerbating loneliness

Q: You once wrote that the rise of the leisure industry helps people pass time, but it also divides them into isolated individuals, so that amusement parks actually exacerbate people's sense of loneliness.

Yet some experts say that amusement parks give the whole family something to do together and bring it together. Isn't there a contradiction here?

A: I affirm the usefulness of amusement parks in family recreation and leisure. They really can solidify the family and spur parent-child communication.

But some of the drawbacks are apparent now in Europe and North America. They're extremely artificial and manmade, for one thing. It's hard to find any plants or animals or natural surroundings. And even though children can learn a lot by looking at the displays, most of what they learn has little to do with nature or the real world. Many American children can tell you everything about dinosaurs but they don't know anything about the animals and plants around them.

Also, even though visitors are jam packed, there's no interaction. You line up for a ride, have a few minutes' thrill when it's finally your turn, and then you get off and line up for another. It's all very mechanical, which adds to the sense of loneliness and alienation.

"Fast-food" cultural invasion?

Q: Looking at it from the perspective of mass culture, some people say these Disneyland-style parks represent an invasion of popular American fast-food culture, but other people think they will raise the quality of recreation on the island. What's your view?

A: It's a little unfair to call it an "invasion" of fast-food culture. Disneyland culture has its limitations, of course, but it reflects Americans' naivete and innocence and meets basic human needs. I think the people who created Disneyland were quite extraordinary. It took someone with a first-class brain to come up with it.

Intellectuals in Taiwan love to rail at Mc-Donald's, but before they criticize it, they should ask themselves what kind of quality our fast food places used to provide--not even the most elementary sanitation. But now aren't they all on their toes trying on compete? There are always places worth emulating in the cultures of others.

But there's a limit to imitating the products of others. Once you've learned how, the next step is to create things on your own.

Back before there were amusement parks, for instance, people had to go to the zoo or the playground on weekends--there wasn't much of a choice. Now there are a lot of them, but once they've gone to a few and the thrill has passed, people wonder why they're so much the same, so monotonous, so lacking in creativity. That feeling is correct. We need to enter a new stage and try to create something new. If operators can come up with different ideas, won't everyone have more fun?

Timely media coverage is important, too. There have been a number of conferences and seminars on the subject lately, which means that people have begun to reflect on the question and are hoping operators can give us something different. It also tells the public that leisure and recreation can evolve, that we need to train ourselves in th area and let them become more diverse.

Too little creativity

Q: As part of its Six-Year National Development Plan, the government is planning to build a large-scale theme park at Yuehmei, which it has described as "a Disneyland with Chinese characteristics." Do you think we can develop amusement parks with cultural characteristics of our own?

A: In theory, yes--the problem is how. The significance of the Yuehmei theme park lies in the fact that existing amusement parks are too small in scale and not as good as they could be in quality and standards, so we're hoping that a large-scale, quality theme park can raise standards all round. It's a good idea. The problem is how to give it special characteristics.

Amusement parks are a cultural product and also a process of cultural creation. If we really are able to come up with a formula that meets the needs of people here, that will be a more than a simple business--it will be a cultural creation. The people in charge of planning and construction have to be very wise and knowing about human nature. What I'm worried about is that we're still a little weak in cultural creativity.

[Picture Caption]

Try out the thrill of the Ferris wheel: Is this people playing with a machine? Or a machine playing with people?

"You need to study and cultivate your recreational skills," says Nan-fang Shuo

Communing with nature is one experience you can't find in a theme park.

"You need to study and cultivate your recreational skills," says Nan-fang Shuo.

Communing with nature is one experience you can't find in a theme park.