American Experience: Coney Island

The emergence of American mass culture is intimately connected to the history of Coney Island. From the mid-1800s, New York's Coney Island emerged as a playland where the fabulous and fantastic met. Coney Island is Ric Burns' loving documentary about a unique time and place in American history where both the hot dog and the roller coaster were invented. The largest herd of show elephants, a miniature village of hundreds of midgets, and many fantastic sideshows were all the unique properties of this resort district. An elegant documentary, Coney Island tells the story of the rise and eventual decline of a slice of modern life.