Homebodies on Vacation

How important is authenticity in our experience of a place we visit?

I feel that there are degrees of authenticity that I can accept in order to create a pleasurable experience. If a place I visit is appropriating from another time or a place in the form of mimicry, it is a tacky experience. For example, if I visit the New York New York Hotel in Las Vegas, I know that it isn’t New York. No matter how painstakingly they’ve attempted to re-create the skyline, iconic neighbourhoods, New York cuisine, and other New York-isms, I know that it’s not New York and that nothing resembling New York should exist in the deserts of Nevada. On the other hand, if I visit New York and buy a slice of pizza that may be inferior by local standards, visit iconic landmarks that no “real” New Yorkers go see, and partake in an illusion of iconic New York, I can more readily accept that inauthentic city experience as the appropriation is coming from within. With an outside source appropriating, I view it as a purely monetary function. In the context of the city re-writing its history from within, it can be an act that is also one of celebration and preservation of past. It can be a source of pride.