Title: Pavlova Westerns: Film tourism and a changing cultural landscape
Abstract: 'The Lord of the Rings' trilogy (2001-2003) focussed international attention on the landscapes of New Zealand, leading to a major boost in tourism flows. The success of guided tours to key locations in the films has sparked an ongoing debate amongst film tourism researchers. As these tourists are now seeing the cultural landscape in terms of the films, the issue of authenticity has been raised. Over a decade after these films, tourists may still see New Zealand as Middle Earth, but new films are also contributing to how the cultural landscape is imagined. This paper focuses on the influence of the new phenomenon of Pavlova Westerns, films set in the 19th century American West, but filmed in New Zealand. Two films are analysed: 'Good for Nothing' (2011) and 'Slow West' (2015). Our findings are that these films fashion a different image and sense of place for rural New Zealand. Utilising similar natural scenery to The Lord of the Rings, they take advantage of cultural heritage sites from New Zealand's 19th century history, particularly those associated with the gold rushes. Whilst staying true to the conventions of the Western, these films highlight New Zealand's frontier history, creating a new version of the cultural landscape post 'The Lord of the Rings'.
Publication Year: 2017
Publication Date: 2017-01-01
Language: en
Type: article
Access and Citation
AI Researcher Chatbot
Get quick answers to your questions about the article from our AI researcher chatbot