Rhetorical Analysis of Suddenly the Magic is in Short Supply

Rhetorical Analysis of Suddenly the Magic is in Short Supply

Article by Geraldine Fabrikant
Paper by Corey Klevansky
ENC 1102

Rhetorical Analysis of Suddenly the Magic is in Short Supply

Article by Geraldine Fabrikant
9/11 used to be just a date. It used to be September 11th, the day before September 12th,
and the day after September 10th. Besides a few personal affiliations with the date, there was no
widespread special meaning to September 11th until the events of 9/11. It was a date that shook
the foundation of western civilization, and made almost every human in the earth question their
safety, their security, their mortality. Geraldine Fabrikant wrote The New York Times article on
September 23, 2001, 12 days after the events of 9/11. Suddenly, the Magic is in Short
Supply provided insight on how the crippling disaster affected one of the biggest business in
America, with an audience of mostly business oriented people who were interested in how 9/11
took its tool on the economy. With its extremely short paragraphs, its clear that the article was
meant for easy reading and a newspaper. At the time, it might have been seen as a valuable piece

Rhetorical Analysis of Suddenly the Magic is in Short Supply

because many thought Disney to be a potential target for the next terrorist attack, hence the
reason why the park was closed the day after 9/11, something which is extremely rare.
While Im not quite sure where it was published, I found the article on the internet. It
seems to be a rather casual article, with an informal title, and no industry specific or overly
pretentious jargon, which is typical of a newspaper article for the masses. While in the beginning
it mainly shows Disneys reaction to the events, it turns out to be a rather informative article,
with lots of numbers and economic reports by the end of it, informing of debt, stocks, purchases,
and expected products. Showing how the tragedy affected more then just the people of America,
Fabrikant mentions that Disney borrowed $1 billion in a bond offering that it used in part to
buy back some of the Bass stake. She goes on to point out that Disney after the transaction was
$16 billion. As worrisome as that information is, it really brings light to the economic situation of
the time, something I hope to be able to expand on with other sources.
Throughout the article, Fabrikant doesnt use any specific strategies that stand out to
make this piece unique amongst others, from a literature standpoint. For sure, the title was a
strategy the Author used to pull in readers. Suddenly, the Magic is in Short Supply makes me
want to read on, it grabs my attentioneven without any mention of Disney in the title. In times
filled with anxiety and worry, the writer describes how Disney has gone solemn. However, the
wording is rather plainsomething to be expected when the audience is a broad group of general
Americans. Despite that, the author was smart to feature an inspirational quote by Walt Disney
which Manhattan Disney stores had in their windows, Tomorrow will be better for as long as
America keeps alive the ideals of freedom and a better life. Its a feel good quote that seeks to
bring hope to America that theres always another day to look forward to, and that as bad as
things get, they must get better eventually.
This article is definitely important to me because terrorism is every parks worst
nightmare, and its scary how much an attack can ruin a parks potential. Fabrikant includes a

Rhetorical Analysis of Suddenly the Magic is in Short Supply

quote from Sidney Sheinberg, president of MCA Inc, The worst horrible nightmare that any
theme park company has is that there will be some acts of violence Violence can destroy your
friendliness to the public. Not only is there a fear of violence in the park, but most of the
visitors to a theme park travels by air, and after 9/11 fear of air travel was prevalent amongst
people. Its in my highest hopes that Ill be able to use this article to provide an example of how
terrorism can be a huge factor in deciding success in the industry. More precisely, how terrorism
can potentially destroy an industry. In fact, there were people in the park on September 11th, and
a Huffington post article created 10 years after the catastrophe includes first hand accounts of
what it was like to be at the Disney parks in Orlando, Florida. It seems as though Disney has a
very well thought out disaster plan in place, because it was used on 9/11. A cast member from
Walt Disney World recalls
Once the guests were forced to the streets of the park because all the rides were closed,
all the cast members were instructed to hold hands and basically form a human wall and
gently (without touching anyone) walk towards the hub of the park and eventually
towards Main Street. That way we could basically force the guests out of the park. Disney
security obviously followed each human wall and made sure no one got past it (Hill)
This same strategy was followed by all four parks in Orlando. Even though Fabrikant included
how officials assumed Disney was a potential target for terrorism, its important to understand
how seriously they took the threat. Besides the quick evacuation of the parks, shortly after the
evacuation there was a military presence in the air with gunships flying all around the parks.

Rhetorical Analysis of Suddenly the Magic is in Short Supply

References
Hill, J. (2011, November 7) What Was It Like at Walt Disney World on 9/11. Retrieved from
from http://www.huffingtonpost.com/jim-hill/what-was-it-like-at-walt-_b_952645.html
Fabrikant, G., & Schiesel, S. (2001, September 23). Suddenly, the magic is in short supply. New
York Times, p. BU. Retrieved from http://bi.galegroup.com/essentials/article/GALE
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