{"id":910,"date":"2008-06-04T09:56:43","date_gmt":"2008-06-04T16:56:43","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.nerdseyeview.com\/blog\/?p=910"},"modified":"2008-10-17T07:57:50","modified_gmt":"2008-10-17T14:57:50","slug":"on-writing-about-place-and-authenticity","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.nerdseyeview.com\/blog\/2008\/06\/04\/on-writing-about-place-and-authenticity\/","title":{"rendered":"On Writing About Place and Authenticity"},"content":{"rendered":"

For some time now, I’ve been meaning to write to the editors of my favorite magazine, National Geographic Traveler to say this: I love you, but could you quit throwing the word “authentic” around? Nitpicky, obsessively literal, and probably very annoying, I know. But stick with me.<\/p>\n

Here’s the definition of authentic from Webster’s via Dictionary<\/a>, trimmed for the etymology and pronunciation details):<\/p>\n

1. Having a genuine original or authority, in opposition to that which is false, fictitious, counterfeit, or apocryphal; being what it purports to be; genuine; not of doubtful origin; real; as, an authentic paper or register.<\/p>\n

To be avenged On him who had stole Jove’s authentic fire. –Milton.<\/p>\n

2. Authoritative. [Obs.] –Milton.<\/p>\n

3. Of approved authority; true; trustworthy; credible; as, an authentic writer; an authentic portrait; authentic information.<\/p>\n

4. (Law) Vested with all due formalities, and legally attested.<\/p>\n

5. (Mus.) Having as immediate relation to the tonic, in distinction from plagal, which has a correspondent relation to the dominant in the octave below the tonic.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

This is my deal: I don’t think you can describe a place as authentic as though it could be real or fake unless you’re talking about an actually facsimile of place, like the Venetian in Vegas or the Polynesian Cultural Center on Oahu. These are reproductions of places that exist in the real world as real places. The Venetian and the Cultural Center are freaky fake. The “authentic” places aren’t so scrubbed; the canals of Venice are stinky, Oahu has crazy traffic. There’s no Starbuck’s in Venice, but seven bucks for a cappucino? And the real Hawaii is covered with food chains, they’re everywhere.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

I suppose that when we talk about “authentic places” we are talking about places where there are no fast food restaurants or mall stores. We are looking at places that don’t show the influence of globalization – no GAP stores, no Starbuck’s, no Burger King. But I think we’re mistaking the presence (or lack) of those things for an indicator of what’s authentic.<\/p>\n

For the record, I object to the use of the word “unspoiled” too. Unless we’re talking about wilderness, spoiled is a value judgment in the eye of the beholder. And I’ve heard more than one traveler decry the presence of the chain joints and then, cave in, saying “F*ck it, I just want pizza.” I was in a Pizza Hut in New Delhi once, and in a Starbuck’s in Singapore, grateful at the time for air conditioning and a frappucino. Both experiences were weird disconnects, but I wouldn’t call them inauthentic, surreal is a better choice of adjective.<\/p>\n

I guess I think tossing around the word “authentic” is a lazy way to describe a place. I want more. I want to know what, exactly, we mean. Do we mean that there’s no indoor plumbing? Do we mean that the locals wear traditional dress? Or do we just mean that we can’t get Tevas there?<\/p>\n

This morning, I was reading a post on Metroblogging Seattle<\/a> about Georgetown. The writer describes Georgetown as “authentic.” You won’t be surprised to learn that it didn’t fly with me. [I probably owe the writer an apology for my response. It’s a fine post, but I’m bogged down in semantics.]<\/p>\n

\"Blue<\/a>I like Georgetown a lot. I go there regularly to meet with an editor friend to hash over the niceties and not so niceties of freelance life. We go to All City Coffee<\/a>, a place that serves up some strong brew. All City is cool because of the diversity of the population in there – the tattooed scooter drivers, the suits, the Georgetown working guys and gals… last time we were there, a pilot in full uniform stood behind me in line. The old brewery across the street – all that still stands after the recent demolition – is made from stunning brick. The neighborhood is all over the place – there’s a little tiny naturopathic clinic in a triangular building across the street from the car parts place and there’s that classic old Seattle bar, Jules Maes. Georgetown has loads of character; the sound of diesel trucks and low flying airplanes, the tough looking inked up young women in tank tops, red lipstick, and Bettie Page haircuts, the lines of Vespas on the sidewalk.<\/p>\n

All those things add up to make a neighborhood that isn’t like any other neighborhood in our city, but I’d don’t think using the word authenticity is enough to capture what Georgetown is. I’m not saying that Georgetown is fake, it’s a fabulously real place. I guess what I’m saying is that almost everywhere is authentic in the true meaning of the word, it’s ALL real.<\/p>\n

But it’s also so much more. To call a place authentic, for me, just isn’t enough.<\/p>\n

Photo: Rusting truck in a Georgetown parking lot. <\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

For some time now, I’ve been meaning to write to the editors of my favorite magazine, National Geographic Traveler to say this: I love you, but could you quit throwing the word “authentic” around? Nitpicky, obsessively literal, and probably very annoying, I know. But stick with me. Here’s the definition of authentic from Webster’s via … <\/p>\n


…read more.<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5,3,14],"tags":[92,93,94,91,776,90],"class_list":["post-910","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-op-ed","category-seattle","category-elsewhere","tag-authenicity","tag-authentic","tag-georgetown","tag-place","tag-seattle","tag-writing","masonry-post","generate-columns","tablet-grid-50","mobile-grid-100","grid-parent","grid-50"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nerdseyeview.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/910","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nerdseyeview.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nerdseyeview.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nerdseyeview.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nerdseyeview.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=910"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.nerdseyeview.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/910\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1036,"href":"https:\/\/www.nerdseyeview.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/910\/revisions\/1036"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nerdseyeview.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=910"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nerdseyeview.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=910"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nerdseyeview.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=910"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}