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558 strangeness
diversity in their portrayals of Native Americans
�O'Connor 1980). Two reciprocally titled articles,
`How ``they'' see ``us''' �Evans-Pritchard 1989) and
`How ``we'' see ``them''' �Laxson 1991), emphasise
the negative and oppressive stereotypes of American
Indians held by tourists, but also the
empowering character of Indians' stereotypes of
obnoxious tourists in preserving local privacy even
as they leave, thinking that they really know the
indigenous people.
Stereotypes tend to be negative attributions, but
they may also be positive. The transient character
of tourism dictates that long-term, in-depth
relationship-building between tourists and hosts is
rare. The research mentioned above suggests that
in the relative absence of such relationships,
stereotypes help to guide fleeting encounters by
injecting some predictability into interactions, with
each attempting to meet the expected needs of the
other. To a certain extent, hosts and guests alter
their behaviour to fit the stereotypes assigned to
them.
References
Brewer, J.D. �1984) `Tourism and ethnic stereotypes:
variations in a Mexican town', Annals of
Tourism Research 11�3): 487±501.
Evans-Pritchard, D. �1989) `How ``they'' see ``us'':
Native American images of tourists', Annals of
Tourism Research 16�1): 89±105.
Laxson, J.D. �1991) `How ``we'' see ``them'':
tourism and Native Americans', Annals of Tourism
Research 18�3): 365±91.
O'Connor, J.E. �1980) The Hollywood Indian:Stereotypes
of Native Americans in Films, Trenton, NJ: New
Jersey State Museum.
strangeness
ROLAND S. MOORE, USA
Strangeness is the opposite of familiarity. It signifies
that which is unknown, or even incomprehensible,
in terms of the accustomed categories of one's
`thinking as usual'. Moderate strangeness in
another society can be overcome since a newcomer
can be socialised into it. Radical type, on the other
hand, is beyond human intelligibility, and hence
cannot be overcome. Such strangeness is experienced
as profoundly ambivalent; whereas it is
uncanny, threatening and dangerous, it is also ± in
contrast to the familiar ± exciting, alluring and
fascinating. This ambivalence is expressed in the
contrasting symbols through which radical strangeness
is frequently represented �the demonic and the
divine). In the cosmological imagination of many,
particularly premodern peoples, the familiar,
ordered `cosmos' is surrounded by primal `chaos',
a strange, uncreated and hence incomprehensible
expanse, inspiring fear. It is populated by threatening,
uncategorizable beings, such as demons and
monsters. However, within or beyond these chaotic
surroundings is hidden the numerous, divine
Other, the source of all creation. Wilderness,
such as primeval forests and deserts, these concrete
symbols of the chaotic surroundings of the ordered,
inhabited world, therefore attract mystics and
hermits, who seek in them an encounter with the
divine.
Exposure to moderate strangeness may also
provoke some ambivalence. However, the extent to
which it attracts or repels individuals depends on
the intensity of their exposure to it, and the degree
of their prior preparation and experience with
similar encounters. For an unprepared, inexperienced
person, exposure to even a low degree of
strangeness may be threatening: for example,
travelling alone in a strange modern city without
the knowledge of the local language. By contrast, a
well-prepared, experienced individual may find a
solo unassisted crossing of Antarctica an attractive
challenge.
Unmitigated exposure to strangeness can cause
a disorienting and incapacitating culture shock.
The force of this shock may be lessened by the
intervention of such factors as adherence to a
group, professional assistance, of the shelter of an
`environmental bubble' in which individuals are
provided with some familiar aspects of their home
environment. This bubble offers a level of protection
and security which enables them to function
in strange surroundings.
Tourists generally desire to experience some
degree of novelty and strangeness on their trips: to
see people and landscapes differing from those at
home, to smell and taste other cuisine and enjoy