Sometimes I just cannot believe how douchebag-y some people can be.
There is this small population of the world that truly believe they are the only important people on the planet. They have no regard for the feelings or even opinions of others, as long as they themselves are happy and get a laugh out of things.
Just because you feel a certain way about something, doesn't make you superior to anyone else. Sometimes it can make you an outsider.
Which is what you are.
Enjoy.
Friday, October 30, 2009
Thursday, October 29, 2009
Review & Summary of Special Topics: Tourism & the Media
This semester of Tourism and the Media has been really enjoyable. I think I was especially interested in it because my major research project on film-induced tourism is very closely related.
It was a good insight into the more 'behind the scenes' issues of filming and destinations, and will probably make me think a lot more when I watch movies now, especially about locations of filming and the image of the destination that I'm left with at the end of the film. Already when watching movies, I see locations and wonder if they're really where the story says it is, and often will watch through the credits to see if the filmed locations are mentioned. This is probably something that the film companies don't really want people doing, but I can't help it now!
It's also been interesting to learn more about destination image and the many different ways that it can be communicated in the media, through guidebooks, travel writing, film, television, music, literature, art, even theme parks.
I'm not really sure what else to write... Seems I've covered everything already in my other quite long journals (oops), so I think all there is left to say is thanks for an enjoyable and informative semester!
xox
It was a good insight into the more 'behind the scenes' issues of filming and destinations, and will probably make me think a lot more when I watch movies now, especially about locations of filming and the image of the destination that I'm left with at the end of the film. Already when watching movies, I see locations and wonder if they're really where the story says it is, and often will watch through the credits to see if the filmed locations are mentioned. This is probably something that the film companies don't really want people doing, but I can't help it now!
It's also been interesting to learn more about destination image and the many different ways that it can be communicated in the media, through guidebooks, travel writing, film, television, music, literature, art, even theme parks.
I'm not really sure what else to write... Seems I've covered everything already in my other quite long journals (oops), so I think all there is left to say is thanks for an enjoyable and informative semester!
xox
Thursday, October 22, 2009
Authenticity as the Holy Grail of Film Tourism
This week we had a guest speaker, Anne Buchmann, to talk about authenticity in film tourism, specifically relating to Lord of the Rings tours in New Zealand. This was a really interesting class, especially hearing from someone who has spent so much time researching in the one country, and also someone who is quite young and new(ish) to the research/academic scene.
I liked the fact that Anne identified that film tourists to New Zealand wanted to experience both the 'real' NZ and also the more 'fantastical' Middle-Earth... They expected to see both in the one place. It was also interesting to learn that most people going on the tours had only seen the movies one or two times, if that, and less had read Tolkien's book. Therefore, none of the film tourists saw themselves as film fanatics, even though they have come from far and wide to witness something they've seen in a film. I wonder if there is ever a point where someone believes that they're now a film fanatic...?
Anne also noted that they anticipated an authentic and sincere experience, which is interesting, the notion of someone wanting an 'authentic' experience of an 'imaginary' world. Sorta seems like the two might cancel each other out... It was also interesting hearing what the tour groups considered authentic, from being influenced by the 'making of' videos from the LOTR dvds, and other clips on New Zealand. They enjoyed meeting people that were extras in the films, especially if they were in their 'authentic' costumes, which mostly were just made out of fabric and plastic, so really, weren't real at all.
It was a great insight into the minds of tourists in a tour group, and raised some interesting points about authenticity and people's perceptions and expectations.
This is the second last reflective journal entry that I have to write! The last one is just a summary and final reflections on the subject, then I can hand it in and cross off one more assignment from the to do list! Exciting times!
xox
I liked the fact that Anne identified that film tourists to New Zealand wanted to experience both the 'real' NZ and also the more 'fantastical' Middle-Earth... They expected to see both in the one place. It was also interesting to learn that most people going on the tours had only seen the movies one or two times, if that, and less had read Tolkien's book. Therefore, none of the film tourists saw themselves as film fanatics, even though they have come from far and wide to witness something they've seen in a film. I wonder if there is ever a point where someone believes that they're now a film fanatic...?
Anne also noted that they anticipated an authentic and sincere experience, which is interesting, the notion of someone wanting an 'authentic' experience of an 'imaginary' world. Sorta seems like the two might cancel each other out... It was also interesting hearing what the tour groups considered authentic, from being influenced by the 'making of' videos from the LOTR dvds, and other clips on New Zealand. They enjoyed meeting people that were extras in the films, especially if they were in their 'authentic' costumes, which mostly were just made out of fabric and plastic, so really, weren't real at all.
It was a great insight into the minds of tourists in a tour group, and raised some interesting points about authenticity and people's perceptions and expectations.
This is the second last reflective journal entry that I have to write! The last one is just a summary and final reflections on the subject, then I can hand it in and cross off one more assignment from the to do list! Exciting times!
xox
Tuesday, October 20, 2009
The One You Knew
I'm leaving but don't worry
I'll be back again
You're always right here
And you're grieving but don't hurry to your pack of friends
I'll stay
It's clear
The one you knew from your love
I grew into complete and whole
And the way I justify
It's my way to control love everlasting
I see your sweater rests upon your bed
Reminds me of home
It can't be any better than it is in my head
I'm blinded by roam
The one you knew from your love
I grew into complete and whole
And the way I justify
It's my way to control
There's only one way I know how to do this
Stay here and help me live through this and I'll always be
The one you knew from your love
I grew into complete and whole
And the way I justify
It's my way to control love everlasting.
Wednesday, October 14, 2009
The Outback and Westerns
Today's seminar was taken by a different lecturer - Warwick Frost. He's a really interesting lecturer and I found myself concentrating nearly the whole seminar!
Anyway, we spoke firstly about the Australian Outback and it's use and portrayal in films. The main theme was the fact that there is really no definition for what the Outback actually is. As Warwick said, it's a very subjective concept, and can probably be interpreted in many ways. I'm really glad that we talked about the fact that the Outback is not the same as 'The Bush'... because I sometimes get annoyed when people think they are the same thing. Mostly because they are total opposites in environmental terms. Maybe the only thing similar they have in common is the distance from urban areas.
I also thought it was amazing that so many films set in the outback had such a similar premise: a visitor to the outback (though generally not just a tourist, and usually someone foreign than Australian) comes in search of something/someone etc, had adventures/gets into some danger in the Outback, and then leaves a different person/transformed from their bad habits. This type of film must be popular if so many have used basically the same structure to the movie.
The idea of the Outback being an experience that could be 'life changing' is another concept that seems a little bit silly at first, but the more you think about it, the more potential it has to conjure those feelings in people. Through many of the films that are set in the Outback, it seems as though there is almost a guarantee that you will have a life changing experience if you travel out there. In his book on his Australian travels, Bill Bryson talks about Uluru, and how connected he felt with the rock when he finally saw it with his own eyes. The feeling that he describes isn't quite as extreme as 'life changing', but it still shows a certain gain from being there.
I think, maybe instead of being life changing, the Outback might fit more into the category of 'the sublime', just from what I've read in Alain De Botton's The Art of Travel. It sorta seems as if the vast, empty, but oddly beautiful landscape would fit well within the category of the sublime, though I don't know enough about the concept to be sure.
In regards to Western films: they're not really the type of films that I'm attracted to or would enjoy too much. I also think that it's interesting that many of the westerns have very similar recurring themes... Sometimes I wonder if fans ever get sick of the same types of scenes or scenery shown. Although I guess when you think of romantic comedies or dramas, they tend to also have recurring themes, or structures, and have a few main locations that they are set in, and I continuously enjoy watching them.
Anyway, that'll do for now... Pretty sure I only have 2 more posts to do for this subject. At the moment, it's heads down, bums up trying to get the assignments done in good time. I really don't want to be stressing right up until the last minute, although at the moment I seem to be going at a good pace to have plenty of time for fixing last minute details and everything. I already know the result of one subject this semester, which is 77 overall, one I'm fairly happy with. Hopefully I can do just as well in the rest of them... Fingers crossed!
xox
Anyway, we spoke firstly about the Australian Outback and it's use and portrayal in films. The main theme was the fact that there is really no definition for what the Outback actually is. As Warwick said, it's a very subjective concept, and can probably be interpreted in many ways. I'm really glad that we talked about the fact that the Outback is not the same as 'The Bush'... because I sometimes get annoyed when people think they are the same thing. Mostly because they are total opposites in environmental terms. Maybe the only thing similar they have in common is the distance from urban areas.
I also thought it was amazing that so many films set in the outback had such a similar premise: a visitor to the outback (though generally not just a tourist, and usually someone foreign than Australian) comes in search of something/someone etc, had adventures/gets into some danger in the Outback, and then leaves a different person/transformed from their bad habits. This type of film must be popular if so many have used basically the same structure to the movie.
The idea of the Outback being an experience that could be 'life changing' is another concept that seems a little bit silly at first, but the more you think about it, the more potential it has to conjure those feelings in people. Through many of the films that are set in the Outback, it seems as though there is almost a guarantee that you will have a life changing experience if you travel out there. In his book on his Australian travels, Bill Bryson talks about Uluru, and how connected he felt with the rock when he finally saw it with his own eyes. The feeling that he describes isn't quite as extreme as 'life changing', but it still shows a certain gain from being there.
I think, maybe instead of being life changing, the Outback might fit more into the category of 'the sublime', just from what I've read in Alain De Botton's The Art of Travel. It sorta seems as if the vast, empty, but oddly beautiful landscape would fit well within the category of the sublime, though I don't know enough about the concept to be sure.
In regards to Western films: they're not really the type of films that I'm attracted to or would enjoy too much. I also think that it's interesting that many of the westerns have very similar recurring themes... Sometimes I wonder if fans ever get sick of the same types of scenes or scenery shown. Although I guess when you think of romantic comedies or dramas, they tend to also have recurring themes, or structures, and have a few main locations that they are set in, and I continuously enjoy watching them.
Anyway, that'll do for now... Pretty sure I only have 2 more posts to do for this subject. At the moment, it's heads down, bums up trying to get the assignments done in good time. I really don't want to be stressing right up until the last minute, although at the moment I seem to be going at a good pace to have plenty of time for fixing last minute details and everything. I already know the result of one subject this semester, which is 77 overall, one I'm fairly happy with. Hopefully I can do just as well in the rest of them... Fingers crossed!
xox
Wednesday, October 7, 2009
Travel Writing.
This week I finally bought the text book for this subject, so now can include things from the book in these posts, which I was meant to do for all of them... Oh well. I also had about one minute of excitement when I found out that the bookshop had a massive sale and that text books were going out for around $4.50... Alas, the one I needed was at it's original (ridiculous) price of $66.95. I should probably make sure I delete this part of the post before I send it to the lecturer, though, since it's her book we had to buy and she probably was involved in the price setting! Anyway...
Onto today's topic: Travel Writing. Was a pretty interesting topic, I thought. What was most surprising is that books like travel guides, and blogs by travelers aren't said to be forms of travel writing. I wonder who exactly came up with that rule, and whether it is widely accepted. If it is by Fussel, as on the seminar notes, then the date is nearly 30 years old! I have a feeling a lot has changed in that time, that could possibly change the meaning of 'travel book' to encompass more styles. Personally, I love looking through books like the Lonely Planet guides, especially for the vivid, beautiful photos and pictures they always display. One of my favourite books at home is my copy of The Travel Book, by Lonely Planet, which has sort of like a biography for every country in the world. Just reading through the quick snippets of information and a glancing at the few stunning pictures, and I'm ready to go there. But I guess even though it's they're books of writing about travel, they aren't classified as types of travel writing, because they haven't really got a distinctive narrative: there is no voice to the pieces. Though I think that just because they aren't classed exactly as travel books, does not mean that they can't influence people to go to the places they are about.
I think I'm much more partial to the travel writing of today, rather than that of the Victorian age, where all information was conveyed through scientific facts and blatant observations. Although, back then I suppose that a lot of the world was still 'undiscovered' and needed to be cataloged in that way in order for other, non-scientific people to be able to venture out and create their own perspectives on the new places. But, now that the whole world has been 'discovered' so to speak, it's much more appropriate to write about travel through thoughts, ideas, recommendations, or personal perspectives... At least, they're more enjoyable and interesting to read for non-scientific people.
I can also see a vague distinction between travelers who write and travel writers, where travel writers are probably more likely to write to a wider audience, and include reflections on specific places, and perhaps highlight areas that were of particular importance or relevance to them. If I was someone who was writing while traveling, I think the entries would probably read more like a diary, with accounts of what I'd done that day etc, mostly intended for myself upon return and to remember the trip by. Other than maybe family and friends, no one else would ever read what I'd written.
Lastly, I think Bill Bryson is a very talented writer, from the 2 books I've read of his. It seems that he knows how to connect with his audience through the writing, and I think that is very necessary if the end result is to convince people to visit the same places. If not, then people have read an interesting and humorous book about a foreign (or not so well-known) land that might just get them thinking.
Anyway, that'll do again. I can't publish this post til I've written about the previous seminar, cause I skipped one... So hopefully it shouldn't be too long. I'd better get my act together! Hermit-ville starts now!
xox
Onto today's topic: Travel Writing. Was a pretty interesting topic, I thought. What was most surprising is that books like travel guides, and blogs by travelers aren't said to be forms of travel writing. I wonder who exactly came up with that rule, and whether it is widely accepted. If it is by Fussel, as on the seminar notes, then the date is nearly 30 years old! I have a feeling a lot has changed in that time, that could possibly change the meaning of 'travel book' to encompass more styles. Personally, I love looking through books like the Lonely Planet guides, especially for the vivid, beautiful photos and pictures they always display. One of my favourite books at home is my copy of The Travel Book, by Lonely Planet, which has sort of like a biography for every country in the world. Just reading through the quick snippets of information and a glancing at the few stunning pictures, and I'm ready to go there. But I guess even though it's they're books of writing about travel, they aren't classified as types of travel writing, because they haven't really got a distinctive narrative: there is no voice to the pieces. Though I think that just because they aren't classed exactly as travel books, does not mean that they can't influence people to go to the places they are about.
I think I'm much more partial to the travel writing of today, rather than that of the Victorian age, where all information was conveyed through scientific facts and blatant observations. Although, back then I suppose that a lot of the world was still 'undiscovered' and needed to be cataloged in that way in order for other, non-scientific people to be able to venture out and create their own perspectives on the new places. But, now that the whole world has been 'discovered' so to speak, it's much more appropriate to write about travel through thoughts, ideas, recommendations, or personal perspectives... At least, they're more enjoyable and interesting to read for non-scientific people.
I can also see a vague distinction between travelers who write and travel writers, where travel writers are probably more likely to write to a wider audience, and include reflections on specific places, and perhaps highlight areas that were of particular importance or relevance to them. If I was someone who was writing while traveling, I think the entries would probably read more like a diary, with accounts of what I'd done that day etc, mostly intended for myself upon return and to remember the trip by. Other than maybe family and friends, no one else would ever read what I'd written.
Lastly, I think Bill Bryson is a very talented writer, from the 2 books I've read of his. It seems that he knows how to connect with his audience through the writing, and I think that is very necessary if the end result is to convince people to visit the same places. If not, then people have read an interesting and humorous book about a foreign (or not so well-known) land that might just get them thinking.
Anyway, that'll do again. I can't publish this post til I've written about the previous seminar, cause I skipped one... So hopefully it shouldn't be too long. I'd better get my act together! Hermit-ville starts now!
xox
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