INTERPRETATION, FILM LANGUAGE AND TOURIST DESTINATIONS: A CASE STUDY OF HIBISCUS TOWN, CHINA

The link between films and destination promotion has been well established. Less well examined is the role of ‘film language’ in the subsequent reconstruction of tourist destinations. This paper suggests that the way a film ‘speaks’ to its audience helps both shape tourists’ imaginaries of place, and the ways a place is reconstructed to meet tourist perceptions. For film tourism, ‘film language’ acts as a guidebook describing first the spaces where the film plots happened, second, shaping images of the places in an audience’s mind, and third, serving as a blueprint for the physical reconstruction of spaces to replicate the place representation shown in the film. This both meets and reinforces the perceptions held by audiences. Therefore, this paper suggests interpretation of ‘film language’ is a key to the promotion of destination image and transformation of a place. Based on the case study of the Chinese film Hibiscus Town (Xie Jin, 1986), some key parts of its ‘film language’ are interpreted with reference to the visual, and a relationship between film language and place reconstruction is discussed.

► Suggests that the way a film ‘speaks’ to its audience helps shape the place image.
► Shows the relationship of film language, tourists’ imaginaries & place reconstruction.
► Introduces film language and its interpretation in a Chinese setting to the literature.