When we talk about traveling, we often talk about the authenticity of a place.
Pam of Nerd's Eye View takes issue with the misuse of this word, and I do too. Just a little bit.
What does authenticity mean in today's globalized, plastic world? Is it merely the absence of chain restaurants and shopping malls? For a short and simple answer, yes.
But there are subtleties surrounding this idea.
If you use this description of authenticity, you eliminate the entire continent of North America. What would New York City or Los Angeles be without chain restaurants and shopping malls? There wouldn't be a whole lot left.
Pam makes a good point when she says that the only place that can't be authentic are actual facsimiles of specific places, like The Venetian in Las Vegas.
I think she's got the right idea, but I don't think we need a new word for the feeling of inauthenticity.
The casual usage of authentic is just fine. It's more of a feeling than an actual description. If I was visiting Tokyo, (probably the most "inauthentic" place on the planet) I think I would feel like I was in the "real Tokyo", no matter how many chain stores and shopping malls were around.
On the other hand, if I found myself in suburban Toronto, with big-box stores and freeways all around, I would feel like I was not in the "real Toronto". I think it's a matter of familiarization. I've been to Toronto more than enough times to know what the city "should" feel like. North York does not "feel" like Toronto.
When I was in Paris, and staying in a suburban hotel, I still felt like I was in Paris, just because it was so foreign to me. There were chain stores and fast food all around. But I'm sure a local Parisian would've felt just as disenchanted as I feel in North York.
And that's my word on the subject of authenticity. What's yours?
What is inauthenticity?
Jun 10 2008, 01:44 PM
