Angkor Meets Tomb Raider
Setting the Scene
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 5884987 |
|---|---|
| Authors | T Winter (0000-0002-5825-6012, corresponding author) |
| Year | 2002 |
| Volume | 8 |
| Issue | 4 |
| Pages | 323-336 |
| Publication date | 2002-01-01 |
| Open Access | No |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | International Journal of Heritage Studies (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 1352-7258 • E-ISSN: 1470-3610 |
| Publisher | Informa UK Limited (PUBLISHER • GB) |
| DOI | 10.1080/1352725022000037218 |
| OpenAlex | W2027437782 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 14 |
| References cited | 5 |
The World Heritage Site of Angkor, in Cambodia, is currently one of Asia's fastest growing tourist destinations. In response to this new era, Angkor's management authorities are actively attempting to resist the 'detrimental effects of mass tourism' by promoting a desired form of cultural tourism. Yet in November 2000, filming of the ultimate post-modern concoction, 'Tomb Raider - The Movie', took place at Angkor.The temples became one of the key locations for a production firmly rooted in a genre of Hollywood Blockbusters, a film genre that eschews any aspirations to high culture or claims of representational integrity. This paper explores this contradictory clash of imaginary cultures. In so doing, it examines the contextual factors that allowed the project to take place, illuminating the ways in which Angkor is presently conceived and managed by both the Cambodian authorities and the attendant international community. In considering some of the implications for Angkor, understood as a site of touristic production, attention is also given to how 'Tomb Raider' creates new narratives for tourists; ones that undermine the efforts of conservation agencies looking to formalise serious, cultural tourism across the site. Finally, it will be seen that the issues addressed here raise important concerns regarding media representations and World Heritage Sites in an age of increasingly pervasive tourism
Archaeology · Art · Art history · Cultural heritage · Cultural landscape · Dark tourism · Destinations · Heritage tourism · Hollywood · Literature · Media studies · Narrative · Sociology · The Imaginary · Tourism · Tourism geography · Cambodian History and Society · Cultural Heritage Management and Preservation · History · Southeast Asian Sociopolitical Studies
Archaeology on Screen
A Critical Analysis of an Architectural Heritage Site as a Filming Location Through Heritage Impact Assessments
Gazing without risks. How to experience Italy, in the tourism industry interpretation of the film The Great Beauty
The impact of video games on destination image
Towards a visitor taxonomy at (film-induced) heritage attractions
Symbolic and cued immersion
The Buppaesanniwas phenomenon
Film tourism - Evolution, progress and prospects
Braveheart-ed Ned Kelly
Tourists perceptions of World Heritage Site and its designation
Progress in visitor attraction research
Gaze and reflexivity in postcolonial cinema
Making heritage at the Cannes Film Festival
Self-image, the long view and archaeological engagement with film
| Citations per year | 0.7 |
|---|---|
| Citation span | 2006 - 2025 (20) |
| Highly cited | No |