[Congressional Record Volume 160, Number 106 (Wednesday, July 9, 2014)]
[Senate]
[Pages S4325-S4326]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                         THE FUTURE OF LEISURE

  Mr. LEAHY. Mr. President, my daughter Alicia works for the Motion 
Picture Association of America and sent me a report from the Wall 
Street Journal written by Robert Iger.
  My wife Marcelle and I, as well as Alicia, have been to Mr. Iger's 
home and spent time with him, his highly talented wife Willow Bay, and 
their children. We have all been impressed with the enthusiasm and 
direction he brings to the Walt Disney Company, and some of my most 
interesting times have been with him talking about it.
  Mr. President, I wanted to share with others his report, and I ask 
consent that it be printed in the Record.
  There being no objection, the material was ordered to be printed in 
the Record, as follows:

              [From the Wall Street Journal, July 7, 2014]

      Disney's Iger on the Future of Leisure: Technology Built on 
                              Storytelling

                          (By Robert A. Iger)

       In 1956, the year after Disneyland opened, Walt Disney was 
     asked to imagine what entertainment would be like a half-
     century into the future.
       As one of the world's great innovators, Walt had just 
     introduced people to a new form of leisure entertainment--the 
     theme park. But when it came to predicting the future, Walt 
     said that was beyond his powers, given the rapid pace of 
     change in the entertainment industry.
       One thing was certain, Walt said: The centuries-old human 
     need for great storytelling would endure for generations to 
     come, enhanced by new technologies that would bring these 
     tales to life in extraordinary ways.
       Walt was better at predicting the future than he realized. 
     Six decades later, technology is lifting the limits of 
     creativity and transforming the possibilities for 
     entertainment and leisure. Today's digital era has unleashed 
     unprecedented innovation, giving rise to an array of new 
     entertainment options competing for our time and attention.
       As Walt also predicted, people's need to be entertained 
     with storytelling has endured: We gravitate to the universal 
     stories that bind us--tales of adventure, heroism and love, 
     tales that provide comfort and escape. Great storytelling 
     still remains the bedrock of great entertainment.
       In the years ahead, this fusion of technology and 
     creativity will allow us to deliver experiences once 
     unimaginable. What will that future look like? Like Walt, I'm 
     hesitant to make predictions. But a few things seem certain 
     to me.
       To start, the 20th-century concept of ``one size fits all'' 
     no longer applies, as innovators around the world create 
     tools that allow us to customize entertainment and leisure 
     experiences to fit our own tastes and schedules and share 
     them instantly with friends, family and an ever-growing 
     digitally connected global community. In short, we are 
     creating what I like to call technology-enabled leisure.
       Mobile storytelling, and mobile entertainment, will 
     dominate our lives, and offer rich, compelling experiences 
     well beyond what is available today. Where someone is will no 
     longer be a barrier to being entertained; the geography of 
     leisure will be limitless. One of the most exciting 
     developments I see on the

[[Page S4326]]

     horizon is technology that will immerse us into entertaining 
     worlds, or project those worlds and experiences into our 
     lives. In essence, entertainment will be immeasurably 
     enhanced with both virtual-reality experiences and augmented-
     reality experiences. Bringing us into created worlds and 
     bringing created worlds into our world will fundamentally 
     explode the boundaries of storytelling, unburdening the 
     storyteller in ways we can't yet imagine.
       The challenges? Technology can be an invasive force, 
     competing for our attention and eroding the time we have for 
     ourselves and our families. Few of us would give up the tech 
     tools that keep us productive and informed; even fewer can 
     remember the last time we completely unplugged on vacation. 
     The more ubiquitous technology becomes in our lives, the more 
     diligent we must be to ensure it doesn't overwhelm or 
     diminish our leisure time.
       Ultimately, technology is about connecting, not cocooning; 
     it's a tool that should empower us to reach more people and 
     bind us closer together, rather than encourage us to 
     disengage from one another. Even as we use technology to 
     create more individualized experiences, social interaction is 
     still a basic need, a fundamental part of our humanity.
       That's why we value entertainment ``events'' that create 
     treasured memories, strengthen personal connections and 
     deliver shared experiences, whether at the movies, in a theme 
     park, or at a sports stadium. This is entertainment that 
     cannot be time-shifted or duplicated; you have to be there, 
     immersed in the moment.
       An experience is enhanced when shared with others, becoming 
     something to be savored and remembered long after it's over. 
     These social events enrich our lives, and our need for them 
     will never change.
       The human love of storytelling, whether individualized or 
     shared, will also be a constant. Although I can't predict the 
     precise future of entertainment, I share Walt Disney's 
     optimism and his belief that whatever lies ahead, it will be 
     defined by great storytelling. Just like it always has been.

                          ____________________