The refrain 'it's just a movie' always worries me somewhat
given that it tends to ignore the politico-cultural
configurations of contemporary capitalism within which
such commodities are 'produced' and 'consumed'. Of course
this doesn't mean to say that there should not be room for
pure entertainment value, yet we cannot ignore the fact
that films, leisure pursuits, the media etc constitute an
ideological terrain upon which the dominant values of
consumer capitalism are subtley yet powerfully reinforced.
To paraphrase Stuart Hall here, the media (cinema) are key
actors in the production of consent - they regulate the
context within which think about the world around us. Thus,
we are talking about power rather than 'authenticity'.
Films are important, the more we say they are not only
reflects the conservative currents flowing through our
times and the success of the 'culture industries' in
appropriating the terrain of autonomous/radical cultural
expression. The film tells us more about the production
and exchange of audiences than it does about tourism in
Thailand - should we be surprised at that?
Ironically however, it is probably only thanks to the media
coverage of the film that the press reported the success of
local pressure groups in Goa to crack down on the
rave-scene (Mon 7th Feb)!
Incidentally, I would be more concerned about the portrayal
of war than I would back-packers in the context of cinema.
One only has look at the centrality of war films in
western, particularly American, cinema to see how they
serve reproduce the prevailing configurations of power and
values of militarism/conquest in recent history.
regards,
Raoul
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Dr. Raoul Bianchi
Research Fellow Tourism, Culture & Development
Centre for Leisure & Tourism Studies
Stapleton House
University of North London
277 Holloway Road
London N7 8HN
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[log in to unmask]
On Tue, 08 Feb 2000 11:54:45 -0500 Tim Wallace
<[log in to unmask]> wrote:
>
> >Date: Tue, 08 Feb 2000 10:35:40 EST
> >Sender: [log in to unmask]
> >From: "Shawn Ellis Murphy" <[log in to unmask]>
> >To: [log in to unmask]
> >Subject: The movie "The Beach"
> >
> >Ok I have to say this. It is just a movie. It is meant to entertain. I
> >doubt if the reputation of respectable Back-packers will be in any way
> >affected by this film. Lets talk about the film "Three Kings". I am a Gulf
> >War Veteran and I can tell you that Film was a joke, but I can survive the
> >misrepresentation. Lets not forget writers are allowed some poetic
> >freedom. They can't all be good ethnographers.
>
> Shawn Murphy
>
>
>
>
> >______________________________________________________
> >Get Your Private, Free Email at http://www.hotmail.com
>
> Tim Wallace
> Box 8107, Dept. of Sociology & Anthropology
> North Carolina State University
> Raleigh, NC 27695-8107
> 919-515-9025; fax: 919-515-2610
>
Tel. 0207 607 2789 Ext.3308
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