So these theories, etc., should include the material that Alexis described in the original blog post; i.e., looking for examples of the three un-myths perpetuated in tourism-media: the myth of the unchanged, the myth of the unrestrained, and the myth of the uncivilized (From Echtner and Prasad (2003)*: *see full citation below
- The Unchanged: destinations as firmly fixed in the past; built structures are characterized as extravagant and exotic, and are surrounded by mysterious legends...the people...are characterized by their enduring peasant simplicity. Never allowed to change, they remain relics for the pleasure of tourists” (Echtner & Prasad, 699); [this myth] polarizes the West and the Rest into changed–unchanged, modern–ancient, and advancing–decaying” (Caton, 194)
- >> Look for: “either ancient or historic structures or ruins or pristine landscapes featuring few, if any, human-made structures” and “....hosts either wearing traditional, ethnically distinct clothing and accessories or bearing props that clearly mark them as “ethnic” and “traditional.” In addition, hosts are frequently shown participating in traditional, ethnically distinct activities.,,” (Caton, 201, 198)
- The Unrestrained: presentation of [primarily island] destinations “as luxuriant natural paradises, where sensuous, exotic, and entertaining people were happily waiting to cater to every tourist need...the presentation of hosts...as submissive and servitude, ‘resurrects...relationships between former colonizers and colonized,...between master and servant’ (Echtner, p. 674).” (Caton, 194)
- >> Look for: “[individuals who] look happy, pleasant, and welcoming. They are smiling, laughing, or making a gesture of greeting.” (Caton, 199) Also any guest–host interactions that suggest providing a service, reinforcing the master–servant binary.
- The Uncivilized: “untouched and untamed”...landscapes portrayed [as] savage, covered with inhospitable and bizarre vegetation that harbors rare, often dangerous animals” (Echtner & Prasad p. 675). Such representations of the uncivilized allow for discourses that feature those “inhabiting these areas [to be] distinguished by their tribal features and unpredictable dispositions”....such depictions echo a “highly nostalgic version of the era of colonial exploration” (Echtner & Prasad, p. 675), by presenting destinations as exotic, primordial, and untamed, awaiting “discovery” by Western tourists. Thus, such un- myths reinforce binaries of advanced–primitive, civilized–uncivilized, controlled–untamed, and self-reliant–dependent on others for advancement. (Caton, 194)
- >> Look for: “beyond the furthest frontiers of civilization (untouched and untamed). . . . The landscapes portrayed [were] supposedly savage, covered with inhospitable and bizarre vegetation that harbors rare, often dangerous animals NOTE: I think you are less likely to find examples of this category in this ad, but I might include any e.g.’s of encounters with wildlife and side trips to jungle-like settings (see related images from the brochures).
To keep things to a reasonable length, I would probably suggest choosing only one or two examples from the video of each of the "un-myth" categories, and doing an analysis of those. How to do that? Here's some specifics from the same article by Caton, about how they analyzed some brochure images:
- As Barthes (1972) argues, images have a denotative and a connotative component. Denotation involves interpreting the basic, widely shared, descriptive (or “manifest”) meaning of a sign. For example, the denotative meaning of an image in the SAS brochure might be something like this: two Vietnamese women wearing cotton clothing, non la hats, and no shoes transport two white, female SAS students wearing shorts and t-shirts across a river in a wooden rowboat.
- Alternatively, connotation involves interpreting the sign that has been identified through denotation within a larger language of cultural symbolism (which Barthes refers to as a “metalanguage”). Thus, we can infer one or more of several potential denotative (or “latent”) meanings in a given image. In the case of the photo mentioned above, one latent meaning is that SAS students (the subjects, who are central in the photo’s frame) are exploring the world, having novel cultural experiences such as riding in a simple, low-tech Vietnamese rowboat, a service that is provided by peripheral Vietnamese transportation providers (who do not actually qualify as full subjects in the photo, as one’s face is shaded by her non la hat, and the other is shown from the back and is only halfway visible in the frame)." (Caton, 198)
- "In this study, identifying the manifest and latent meaning of each image was done by asking questions such as the following: What is going on in this picture on a literal level? What is the subject of the picture? What does the subject look like? What is the subject doing? What are the activities being undertaken? What sort of reality does the picture construct and how does it do so? How does it seek to naturalize its perspectives? What assumptions does it make about its readers?" (Caton, 197)
TTFN,
Jane
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