Posts tagged "Tourism"
Angsty Tourists and Walker Percy (Part 2 of 3)
Film / Identity / Law

Angsty Tourists and Walker Percy (Part 2 of 3)

by WB on Jun 27, 2011 • 2 Comments

We left off last time with an American couple watching an Amerindian maize-dance in a remote Mexican village. Lucky enough to stumble upon a truly rare event, they’re still frightened that an American will suddenly walk out of a nearby hut, or that the chief will walk over afterwards and ask them–in immaculate English–how they like his Sears catalogue. Bottom line: they’re beholding something unique and amazing, and they’re scared to death that it’ll turn out to be somehow inauthentic.

Percy explores this thread of the sightseer’s alienation from good touristy experiences. In summary from last week, we sightseers expect ourselves…

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Angsty Tourists and Walker Percy (Part 1 of 3)
Books / Law / Psychology

Angsty Tourists and Walker Percy (Part 1 of 3)

by WB on Jun 21, 2011 • 2 Comments

I’ve been reading some Walker Percy lately and stumbled onto his essay “The Loss of the Creature,” which more than measured up to my expectations (…) as a reader. The work reveals the devastating effect of the Law on the simplest of tasks–sightseeing.

Percy opens with the example of the Grand Canyon, among America’s most awe-inspiring and famous sights. He imagines that the discoverer of the canyon, a Spanish explorer, must have been utterly staggered when he stumbled out of the brush onto its crest. The modern tourist, in contrast, fails to have the same experience as the first explorer, and Percy…

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