2. Statement I am going to explore
Brief synopsis of The Beach
Theories I have applied
Case studies to support my argument
Questions my research has stimulated
Other areas for further research
Structure and approach for my essay
Questions from the floor
Overview
3. “Discuss film tourism in
relation to authenticity and
Danny Boyle’s screen
adaptation of The Beach.”
Statement to Explore
4. AIM – To explore if tourists were given an authentic
representation of Phi Phi Leh, Thailand.
OBJECTIVES –
i) Research appropriate theories surrounding film
tourism and authenticity
ii) Extract relevant data about filming of The Beach
(2000)
iii) Synthesise data from theories and and filming
iv) Ascertain further research
Aims and Objectives
5. Beeton (2005) – Film Induced Tourism
“ Through it’s image-creating potential, film can also
provide strong motivation to actually visit places”
MacCannell (1999) – The Tourist
i) Theory of Authenticity
Ii) Front and back regions
Tzanelli (2006) – Reel Western Fantasies: Portrait of a Tourist
Imagination in The Beach
Law, Bunnell and Ong (2007) – The Beach the gaze and film
tourism
Macions (2011) – How can the film – induced tourism
phenomenon be sustainably managed?
The Beach (2000)
Research
6. Phi Phi Leh natural environment manipulated to look
more idyllic for viewers and future tourists.
Clever Camera angles and CGI were used to create the
look of an inland lagoon and hide the inlet of the sea.
Case Studies
Still image taken from The
Beach (2000)
7. In reality this is what Maya Bay on Phi Phi Leh looks
like.
Case Studies
(flikr.com, 2009)
8. The main storyline through the film is for Richard to
have an authentic travel experience away from the
other tourists.
Case studies
9. Again the reality is somewhat different.
Case Studies
(aroundthisworld.co
m, 2013)
10. Was there a need to change the environment, the novel
specifies an island in the South China Sea not the Andaman
Sea where Phi Phi Leh is located (see map on handout).
Depiction of Thai people, is it a true representation?
Is Hollywood giving people an idealised or colonial
representation of tropical islands? An unobtainable
paradise?
Us vs. the savage other, Cannibal Tours (O’Rouke, 1988)
Highlights the debate of Tourist vs. Traveller
Costs and benefits of tourism to the area.
Reflections
12. Urry and Larson (2011) – The Tourist Gaze 3.0
Bourdieu’s theory of cultural capital
Further Reading
Above left an image taken
from the film The Beach,
2000. Right and above
right travellers recreating
the scene.
(freeandeasytraveller.
com, 2013)
(etramping.com,
2013)
13. Manipulation and destruction of natural
environment
Depiction of Thai people, colonial
representation. Us and the savage other
Solitary gaze and collective
gaze. Plogg’s tourist continuum
Costs and benefits of
filming The Beach
Structure of Essay and Approach
15. I invite you to ask any questions concerning the
presentation and and to offer up and comments or
improvements I could make to help me fulfill my aim.
Thank you for listening.
Questions
