This writing by Dean MacCannell has made me aware at how much movies, TV & the media really plays a roll in the places we decide to vacation at, when we are choosing the cities where we would like to go. When he writes about the people who chose to visit Rome because they saw the movie with Audrey Hepburn and Cary Hepburn in it, and it was based in Rome. I know that when I think of the place I want to visit on my next vacation (Hawaii), I think of the movies that portray Hawaii as a wonderful place with white sandy beaches and clear blue water.
All of these tourist "attractions" bank on pictures, movies, ads & tv shows to bring in tourists. They charge out the nose for a plastic hula girl that shakes her hips as she sits on the dash of your car when you are back at home reminiscing about your vacation. A lot of tourist cities need this money that tourists bring in, for the majority of it is their highest source of income. You can buy mini-Eiffel towers from practically any little store in Paris, at an exorbent rate of cash.
Most of these cities don't care if you really have come to see their rare finds, but they want to make sure that you can take home a piece of something to show your friends where you went this past summer...
I will say that it is a "requirement" of being a tourist, to find something out of the ordinary. To find something that you can appreciate and take home (even if it is just a memory), to remember the trip that you have taken. That is when you will really appreciate the trip that you have taken. It will make being a tourist, worth while. Find the "Fisherman's Wharf" when it was just fisherman's wharf, in the next vacation spot you choose.
Tuesday, March 24, 2009
"The Loss of the Creature" by Walker Percy
I am going to have to agree with Walker Percy and his article regarding our trips and what we look and see when we go. When describing the Grand Canyon, there really is no way that you can grasp in a picture the entire awe that you feel, just standing there and looking out at the vast canyon, that just seems to stretch on forever. So many of us, are so eager to take a snap shot and try to keep that bit of our trip on paper, so that we can maybe remember a bit of what we felt when we actually LOOKED out at what was surrounding us. We are so interested in trying to capture what we can to show others, that we forget to actually just stand that and really enjoy what is standing right before us.
So many of us are sheep, and follow others on where they went on vacation, and the things that they have seen. Don't we really want to see something that no one has every seen before? Don't we want to see something that we can only see when we go out of the safety of the boundaries set for us? I know that if I choose to go to Hawaii on vacation, there will be snorkeling and surfing and boats with glass bottoms for me to do. There is a part of me however, that wants to see something out of the ordinary. Part of me that does not want to stay on the straight and narrow (minded) path, where someone tells me what I am seeing. I want to be that couple that Walker Percy talked about; the ones that got lost in Mexico and accidentally found a village that they never would've found otherwise.
Wouldn't it be fun to know that by letting go just a bit, we could see something that we never thought possible? Wouldn't it be worth it, just to sit the camera down or the map down, and become part of our surroundings and truly admire the world for what it is?
So many of us are sheep, and follow others on where they went on vacation, and the things that they have seen. Don't we really want to see something that no one has every seen before? Don't we want to see something that we can only see when we go out of the safety of the boundaries set for us? I know that if I choose to go to Hawaii on vacation, there will be snorkeling and surfing and boats with glass bottoms for me to do. There is a part of me however, that wants to see something out of the ordinary. Part of me that does not want to stay on the straight and narrow (minded) path, where someone tells me what I am seeing. I want to be that couple that Walker Percy talked about; the ones that got lost in Mexico and accidentally found a village that they never would've found otherwise.
Wouldn't it be fun to know that by letting go just a bit, we could see something that we never thought possible? Wouldn't it be worth it, just to sit the camera down or the map down, and become part of our surroundings and truly admire the world for what it is?
Monday, March 2, 2009
Track #1 - "Town-Building is No Mickey-Mouse Operation"
Imagine, the perfect little town, row after row of aesthetically perfect houses, one no more special than the one sitting next to it. If ever you could find a place like this, it would probably be Celebration, Florida; a town own and run by Disney. Michael Pollan, a New York Times writer tells us of the everyday runnings of the town.
There is no separation of classes in Celebration, there are million dollar homes boardered with homes selling at a 1/5 of that cost. Each home has a strict policy to be adheared to. There are no changes that can be made to any house, or even the lawn, without the approval of Disney.
This town was derived from Walt Disney's idea of utopia. The actual place that Mr. Disney wanted to create this "perfect" town was Epcot, which stands for Experimental Prototype Community of Tomorrow. His idea of this town would be a high-tech model city of about 20,000 residents. Not wanting to dump any funds into a place that might suck more money than earn it; Disney company executives shelved Walt Disney's project. It wasn't until 1984, when Michael Eisner took the reigns at Disney, that this project actually started being developed.
Celebration, has not been without its problems. There were some disagreements with some parents regarding the way the school was run, as well as neighbors disagreeing with neighbors. Disney, being new to the whole running of the city, has been at a loss as how to handle these type of situations.
Can a town, actually be run without the politics of every other city in the nation? You tell me.
There is no separation of classes in Celebration, there are million dollar homes boardered with homes selling at a 1/5 of that cost. Each home has a strict policy to be adheared to. There are no changes that can be made to any house, or even the lawn, without the approval of Disney.
This town was derived from Walt Disney's idea of utopia. The actual place that Mr. Disney wanted to create this "perfect" town was Epcot, which stands for Experimental Prototype Community of Tomorrow. His idea of this town would be a high-tech model city of about 20,000 residents. Not wanting to dump any funds into a place that might suck more money than earn it; Disney company executives shelved Walt Disney's project. It wasn't until 1984, when Michael Eisner took the reigns at Disney, that this project actually started being developed.
Celebration, has not been without its problems. There were some disagreements with some parents regarding the way the school was run, as well as neighbors disagreeing with neighbors. Disney, being new to the whole running of the city, has been at a loss as how to handle these type of situations.
Can a town, actually be run without the politics of every other city in the nation? You tell me.
Track #1 - "A Home Sweet Home Nestled Amid Junkyards"
If you were to find Starlite Mobile Home Park, you would probably either be lost, or in search of one of the many junkyards that line Branford Street in Pacoima, CA. Looking from the outside in, you would definitely feel that this place is right where it belongs. There is no grass to be seen, and across the street there is a dump.
Michael Krikorian tells us of the life of these 41 trailers that make up this park. Each individual trailer is amazingly neatly kept, with residents that probably know one another by name. Children can be found playing games and ride bikes along the main road, while Dads wash their cars.
This is a community that sticks together, and really gives all its residents a feeling of "home." There are no gangs to worry about unlike other sections of the San Fernando Valley. Kids are allowed to go out and play, without making the parents ill-at-ease. Everyone sticks together, and gives a real meaning of a community.
Funny enough this "eyesore" has caught the eye of Hollywood, being featured in the movie, "Pulp Fiction."
Michael Krikorian tells us of the life of these 41 trailers that make up this park. Each individual trailer is amazingly neatly kept, with residents that probably know one another by name. Children can be found playing games and ride bikes along the main road, while Dads wash their cars.
This is a community that sticks together, and really gives all its residents a feeling of "home." There are no gangs to worry about unlike other sections of the San Fernando Valley. Kids are allowed to go out and play, without making the parents ill-at-ease. Everyone sticks together, and gives a real meaning of a community.
Funny enough this "eyesore" has caught the eye of Hollywood, being featured in the movie, "Pulp Fiction."
Track #1 - "Pottery Barn Gazing: Who Are Those Apparitions in the Fall Catalogue?"
Have you sat down and opened a catalog looking at items that you probably would never own? Seeing yourself on the pages enjoying the beautiful furnishings around you, just imagining enjoying that recliner? Hank Stuever brings forth a tale of a company that usually never uses human models in their ads. The place is the Pottery Barn.
The Pottery Barn feels that their potential clients can see themselves better in those surroundings if there is not a model there to mess it up. We, as clients might not the look of the picture with someone in it and therefore would just bypass the page. Additionally, models are harder to work with. The lighting has to make them and the furnishings look good, which just ads complications to each photo shoot.
Hank Stuever gives us ideas that maybe the company wants us to think that the people that live in these aesthetically perfect homes are out, being busy families in the community, or at the park or beach. It gives us the thoughts of a perfect family in a perfect house.
Myself, I enjoy opening a magazine and whether or not there are human models in the ads or not, whatever catches my eye, catches my eye. As a matter of fact, I usually find the "empty" space around furniture to be cold and not really attractive. So, for this consumer, the non-populated catalog does not interest me very much at all.
The Pottery Barn feels that their potential clients can see themselves better in those surroundings if there is not a model there to mess it up. We, as clients might not the look of the picture with someone in it and therefore would just bypass the page. Additionally, models are harder to work with. The lighting has to make them and the furnishings look good, which just ads complications to each photo shoot.
Hank Stuever gives us ideas that maybe the company wants us to think that the people that live in these aesthetically perfect homes are out, being busy families in the community, or at the park or beach. It gives us the thoughts of a perfect family in a perfect house.
Myself, I enjoy opening a magazine and whether or not there are human models in the ads or not, whatever catches my eye, catches my eye. As a matter of fact, I usually find the "empty" space around furniture to be cold and not really attractive. So, for this consumer, the non-populated catalog does not interest me very much at all.
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