Anyway, that's not what I'm here to talk about. For the tourism and the media class this semester, one of the assessment pieces is to write a reflective journal each week. It's worth 40% of our overall mark, which is kind of awesome, because I tend to be good at writing reflective things. As long as I pay attention in classes and actually have something to think about.
So I will start with today, which was the first class, and probably more brief than other seminars will be. I'm just going over the slides now, to refresh my memory (even though the class was only this morning!)
We started out with a discussion of media, and how some of the world's greatest pilgrimage and tourism sites were established through the written, illustrated and oral media. I guess this makes sense, especially in the ancient times, before there were advertisements and TV and the internet to let people know what was out there. All people had to inspire them were the stories and experiences that were shared upon the return of travellers. I guess no one really knew what was outside their own cities, until someone else went to find out, and then came back to tell of what they'd seen.
I think the quote about popular culture is also an interesting one:
"Popular culture is a dangerous category as it implies the existence of another culture which is either unpopular, or elitist, or both"
We wondered whether mass media might be a better term for popular culture, instead. Whenever I hear the term popular culture, I always think of really big brands, for some reason, it's always Nike... I know there is so much more that the term refers to, but I just always think of the 'popular kids', going around, drinking coke, and wearing their Nike shoes... Actually, looking at that sort of seems more like something that would fit the late '80s or early '90s! I guess nowadays, they'd be walking around with their iPhones on Facebook wearing scarves and vests and stuff and drinking Red Bull... I dunno.
Other things we talked about were the aspects of 'Beauty, Wellbeing, Aesthetics & Art', and how, maybe not so much today, but in the 18th and 19th centuries, people would travel to a destination just because they saw a beautiful painting or read a lovely poem that represented that place. I think it seems amazing that people were so trusting of the author or painter, who may have had their own style of writing or painting that represented the place incorrectly, or enhanced what would have been an ordinary scene, into one that promotes travel.
I think now that photographs exist, it's a bit easier to tell what a destination looks like for real... Although that does prompt me to think that it might not be true... especially with the existence of photo altering programs like PhotoShop, where people can digitally enhance a photo that might be a bit bland in colour, to the brightest and happiest looking scene possible. Perhaps the truest representations of scenes were from authors and painters, who probably wouldn't have thought to change the entire feel and look of the scene they are influenced by...
I must admit, though, I am one to look at a photo and immediately be attracted to a destination, even if I'm certain it's been doctored or enhanced for that very reason. Most of the time I think that if a photo is worth taking of a place, then it's probably worth me visiting it, although some people take photos of the strangest things while on holiday, so maybe not...
Okay, well I think that's enough for this week's journal. I'm not sure if we have to comment on everything covered in the seminar, though I'm guessing not. Sorry to the one person who actually sometimes reads these, but this post is pretty much only for me (well, and my lecturer when I post it in the actual part we're supposed to).
I'll write again next week, I guess!
xox
