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Middle‐earth Meets New Zealand: Authenticity and Location in the Making of The Lord of the Rings

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  • Deborah Jones
  • Karen Smith

Abstract

abstract In focusing on the making of a specific cultural project, The Lord of the Rings (LOTR) film trilogy, this paper draws out the tensions between two sometimes divergent strands of authenticity: creative authenticity and national authenticity. This study is located in New Zealand, a small post‐colonial country which was the location for LOTR and home to its key film‐makers. The case is based on a discourse analysis of published texts on LOTR and New Zealand's film and tourism industries, exploring the paradoxical concept of ‘fabricating authenticity’ (Peterson, 1997) and its importance to cultural industries. In reviewing the media discourse of the LOTR project we ask: how are creative and national authenticity constructed? Creative authenticity refers to the claims of artistic integrity and merit that are made for the film. National authenticity is predicated on the idea of a national identity. In terms of LOTR, national authenticity is based on claiming the trilogy as a local ‘New Zealand’ product. We highlight the theme of ‘location’ by linking LOTR with a national tourism campaign which has been developed side‐by‐side with the film project, forging connections between the Middle‐earth of the LOTR trilogy, and the New Zealand of the present. We argue that LOTR has both shaped, and been shaped by, ideas of national identity, and that the success of LOTR as a flagship of the ‘new’ creative industries is central to emerging visions of nationhood.

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  • Deborah Jones & Karen Smith, 2005. "Middle‐earth Meets New Zealand: Authenticity and Location in the Making of The Lord of the Rings," Journal of Management Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 42(5), pages 923-945, July.
    • Handle: RePEc:bla:jomstd:v:42:y:2005:i:5:p:923-945
    DOI: 10.1111/j.1467-6486.2005.00527.x
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    3. Nick Lewis, 2011. "Packaging Political Projects in Geographical Imaginaries: The Rise of Nation Branding," Chapters, in: Andy Pike (ed.), Brands and Branding Geographies, chapter 16, Edward Elgar Publishing.
    4. Connell, Joanne, 2012. "Film tourism – Evolution, progress and prospects," Tourism Management, Elsevier, vol. 33(5), pages 1007-1029.
    5. Landoni, Paolo & Dell’era, Claudio & Frattini, Federico & Messeni Petruzzelli, Antonio & Verganti, Roberto & Manelli, Luca, 2020. "Business model innovation in cultural and creative industries: Insights from three leading mobile gaming firms," Technovation, Elsevier, vol. 92.
    6. Craig A. Depken & Tomislav Globan & Ivan Kožić, 2020. "Television-Induced Tourism: Evidence from Croatia," Atlantic Economic Journal, Springer;International Atlantic Economic Society, vol. 48(2), pages 253-262, June.
    7. Giuseppe Delmestri & Fabrizio Montanari & Alessandro Usai, 2005. "Reputation and Strength of Ties in Predicting Commercial Success and Artistic Merit of Independents in the Italian Feature Film Industry," Journal of Management Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 42(5), pages 975-1002, July.
    8. Koornneef, Stephanie, 2021. "It’s about time : Essays on temporal anchoring devices," Other publications TiSEM 91f67ed3-8fde-494f-acf2-7, Tilburg University, School of Economics and Management.
    9. Russell Prince, 2010. "Policy Transfer as Policy Assemblage: Making Policy for the Creative Industries in New Zealand," Environment and Planning A, , vol. 42(1), pages 169-186, January.
    10. Silviya Svejenova, 2005. "‘The Path with the Heart’: Creating the Authentic Career," Journal of Management Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 42(5), pages 947-974, July.
    11. Philip S. Morrison, 2011. "The Creative City and its Distributional Consequences: The Case of Wellington," Chapters, in: David Emanuel Andersson & Åke E. Andersson & Charlotta Mellander (ed.), Handbook of Creative Cities, chapter 24, Edward Elgar Publishing.
    12. Richard A. Peterson, 2005. "In Search of Authenticity," Journal of Management Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 42(5), pages 1083-1098, July.
    13. Li, ShiNa & Li, Hengyun & Song, Haiyan & Lundberg, Christine & Shen, Shujie, 2017. "The economic impact of on-screen tourism: The case of The Lord of the Rings and the Hobbit," Tourism Management, Elsevier, vol. 60(C), pages 177-187.
    14. Joaquim Rius Ulldemolins, 2014. "Culture and authenticity in urban regeneration processes: Place branding in central Barcelona," Urban Studies, Urban Studies Journal Limited, vol. 51(14), pages 3026-3045, November.
    15. Candace Jones & N. Anand & Josè Luis Alvarez, 2005. "Manufactured Authenticity and Creative Voice in Cultural Industries," Journal of Management Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 42(5), pages 893-899, July.
    16. Wadim Strielkowski, 2017. "Promoting Tourism Destination through Film-Induced Tourism: The Case of Japan," Tržište/Market, Faculty of Economics and Business, University of Zagreb, vol. 29(2), pages 193-203.

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