Romancing the Stones

Archaeology in Popular Cinema

Datos Bibliográficos

ID7175382
AutoresMark A Hall (0000-0001-6118-5609, autor de correspondencia)
Año2004
Volumen7
Número2
Páginas159-176
Fecha de publicación2004-01-01
Peer ReviewedSí
Open AccessSí
TipoARTICLE
RevistaEuropean Journal of Archaeology (JOURNAL)
Identificadores de la revistaISSN: 1461-9571 • E-ISSN: 1741-2722
EditorialCambridge University Press (CUP) (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.1177/1461957104053713
OpenAlexW2126951540
IdiomaEN
Citas recibidas18
Referencias citadas12

This article looks at the depiction of archaeology and archaeologists in popular cinema. A number of key films are discussed to address the article's main themes of cultural appropriation and contested ground (encompassing treasure, the public, politics and gender). Archaeology in film cannot be divorced from the wider cultural contexts in which it operates and, though portrayals of archaeology and archaeologists are frequently unsatisfactory, a positive conclusion is attempted which seeks to understand the narrative drive of popular fiction and a long history of public exclusion from archaeology. Most of the films considered do not warrant labelling as great works of art, but they are part of a cultural form with perceptions to offer, able to stimulate debate within a vital framework of cultural practices by which identity – individual and social – is constructed and evolved

Aesthetics · Appropriation · Archaeology · Art · Art history · Depiction · Historical archaeology · Identity (music · Literature · Movie theater · Narrative · Political science · Politics · Situated · Sociology · Treasure · Warrant · Wilderness · Aesthetic Perception and Analysis · Anthropology · Archaeology and Rock Art Studies · History · Museums and Cultural Heritage