Abstract
“Recycling Death: Post-Apocalyptic Tourism in the American West” examines recycling as a practice of mediating life and death in spaces of dark tourism where death is present as an absence of life. I contend that due to the history of colonization and human intervention beginning with the western frontier, western spaces of post-apocalyptic tourism like the Salton Sea and its surrounding communities have allowed for a movement of the frontier from physical and technological spaces to pataphysical horizons through environmentally conscious practices like recycling, allowing the post-apocalyptic tourist to push their own ontological frontier to new spaces. Examining Bombay Beach and Slab City as macrocosms of the regional post-apocalyptic tourism, I hope to expand the limits of dark tourism to spaces where life coexists with death, as much as the past coexists with the present.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Notes
- 1.
See Erik Cohen, “Thanatourism: A Comparative Approach,” in The Palgrave Handbook of Dark Tourism Studies, ed. Philip R. Stone, 15–71 (London: Palgrave Macmillan, 2018).
- 2.
A. V. Seaton, “Guided by the Dark: From Thanatopsis to Thanatourism,” International Journal of Heritage Studies 2, no. 4 (1996), 240.
- 3.
Philip Stone, “Dark Tourism and Significant Other Death,” Annals of Tourism Research 39, no. 3 (2012): 1565–1587.
- 4.
A. V. Seaton, “Guided by the Dark,” 242.
- 5.
George Kennan, The Salton Sea: An Account of Harriman’s Fight with the Colorado River (London, Forgotten Books, 2015), 16, 23.
- 6.
Ross Brown, “A Tour through Arizona” Harper’s New Monthly Magazine, October 1864.
- 7.
Kennan, The Salton Sea, 24.
- 8.
Rathbun, Russell. The Great Wall of China and the Salton Sea: Monuments, Missteps, and the Audacity of Ambition. 1st ed. Great Rapids, MI: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 2017.
- 9.
Today the area produces 95% of all winter produce consumes in the US.
- 10.
See Denise Goolsby, “Salton Sea Key to Atomic Bombs Dropped 70 Years Ago,” and Jim Bremner “Salton Sea Test Base.”
- 11.
During the 1960s, Yosemite Valley received an average of two million visitors a year. Among these tourists were famous celebrities like the Beach Boys and Sony Bono. Plagues and Pleasures of the Salton Sea.
- 12.
Chris Metzler and Jeff Springer, dir., Plagues and Pleasures on the Salton Sea (New York and Los Angeles: New Video/Docurama, 2007), DVD, 73 min.
- 13.
The ecological catastrophe ignited by the miasma of botulism in the Salton Sea has become part of the yearly cycle of life and death with cases of botulism recurring every year.
- 14.
For more information see The Bombay Beach Biennial festival and the following films: Plagues and Pleasures on the Salton Sea; The Salton Sea; Bombay Beach, A Lifetime of Childlike Faith; Breaking Point; The Salton Sea: A Desert Saga; The Taste of Salt, or “Living Without Laws” (VICE).
- 15.
While they are an integral part of shaping the landscape, a thorough analysis of their involvement in the process of reshaping the landscape is beyond the scope of this project.
- 16.
Highway 111 borders the Salton Sea on both sides.
- 17.
Other towns on the shores of the Salton Sea are: North Shore, Salton City, Niland, Desert Shores.
- 18.
2010 Census. Additional census information is available at http://censusviewer.com/city/CA/Bombay%20Beach.
- 19.
- 20.
“Poetry of Decay,” the title of this section, was the theme of the first Bombay Beach Biennial. More information about the art festival is available at http://www.bombaybeachbiennale.org.
- 21.
Rory Carroll, “In a Forgotten Town by the Salton Sea, Newcomers Build a Bohemian Dream,” The Guardian, April 23, 2018, https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2018/apr/23/salton-sea-bombay-beach-desert-town-artist-influx.
- 22.
For more information see: http://www.bombaybeachbiennale.org.
- 23.
The body of some vehicles in the Drive-In has eroded beyond recognition, calcifying the amalgamation of these objects to the new spaces. These unrecognizable vehicles only maintain an aura of their history.
- 24.
Segrave, Kerry. Drive-In Theaters: A History from Their Inception in 1933. Jefferson: McFarland, 1992, vii.
- 25.
Segrave, Kerry. Drive-In Theaters: A History from Their Inception in 1933. Jefferson: McFarland, 1992, 40–41.
- 26.
Robert Burgoyne, “From Contested to Consensual Memory: The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum,” In Memory, History, Nation: Contested Pasts, ed. Susannah Radstone (New York: Routledge, 2017), 211.
- 27.
Anyone with an accepting attitude and the physical resistance to live in temperatures over 100 degrees Fahrenheit for seven months out of the year with a limited water supply can pack a tent and move to the “slabs.”
- 28.
William DeBuys and Joan Myers, Salt Dreams: Land & Water in Low-down California (Albuquerque: University of New Mexico Press, 1999), 12.
- 29.
Frederick Jackson Turner, “The Frontier in American History” (New York: Open Road Media, 2015), 10.
- 30.
Coined by Alfred Jarry, pataphysics is “the science of imaginary solutions.” See Jarry’s Exploits and Opinions of Dr. Faustroll.
- 31.
Today Slab City has a hostel, a local library, and an internet café.
- 32.
Leonard Knight worked on the project until his dementia took over him and he was hospitalized. Leonard Knight passed away in 2011. For more information, see John Moore, dir. A Lifetime of Childlike Faith: The Leonard Knight Story (Dallas, TX: HeuMoore Productions, 2006), DVD, 35 min; http://www.salvationmountain.us.
- 33.
Moore, John, director. A Lifetime of Childlike Faith: The Leonard Knight Story. Dallas, TX: Heumoore Productions, 2006. DVD. 35 min.
- 34.
More information available at http://www.salvationmountain.us.
- 35.
Stone, Philip, and Richard Sharpley, “Consuming Dark Tourism: A Thanatological Perspective” (Annals of Tourism Research, 2008), 584.
- 36.
Stone, Philip R., “Dark Tourism and Significant Other Death” (Annals of Tourism Research, 2012), 1574.
- 37.
Vincent, Alice, “Kesha’s Comeback: A Timeline of Her Bitter Legal Feud with Sony and Producer Dr Luke.” The Telegraph. July 7, 2017. Accessed January 10, 2019.
- 38.
Transcribed online music video “Praying (Official Video).” Uploaded by Kesha on July 6, 2017.
Bibliography
About. Bombay Beach Biennale. http://www.bombaybeachbiennale.org/. Accessed 24 Sept 2018.
Bremner, Jim. Salton Sea Test Base. Desert USA. https://www.desertusa.com/salton-sea/salton-sea-test-base.html. Accessed 10 Aug 2018.
Brown, Ross J. 1864. A Tour Through Arizona. Harper’s New Monthly Magazine. October.
Burgoyne, Robert. 2017. From Contested to Consensual Memory: The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum. In Memory, History, Nation: Contested Pasts, ed. Susannah Radstone, 208–20. S.l. Routledge.
Carroll, Rory. 2018. In a Forgotten Town by the Salton Sea, Newcomers Build a Bohemian Dream. The Guardian. April 23. https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2018/apr/23/salton-sea-bombay-beach-desert-town-artist-influx. Accessed 3 Sept 2018.
Cohen, Erik. 2018. Thanatourism: A Comparative Approach. In The Palgrave Handbook of Dark Tourism Studies, ed. Philip R. Stone, 15–71. London: Palgrave Macmillan.
DeBuys, William, and Joan Myers. 1999. Salt Dreams: Land & Water in Low-down California. Albuquerque: University of New Mexico Press.
Fitzgerald, Craig. 2005. 1961 Nash Metropolitan Convertible. Hemmings.com, October. https://www.hemmings.com/magazine/hcc/2005/10/1961-Nash-Metropolitan-Convertible/1281764.html. Accessed 24 Sept 2018.
Goolsbey, Denise. 2015. Salton Sea Key to Atomic Bombs Dropped 70 Years Ago. The Desert Sun. August 5. https://www.desertsun.com/story/news/veterans/2015/08/05/storyteller-hiroshima-th-anniversary/31193807/. Accessed 10 Aug 2018.
Jarry, Alfred. 1996. Exploits & Opinions of Dr Faustroll, Pataphysician. Exact Change.
Kennan, George. 2015. The Salton Sea: An Account of Harriman’s Fight with the Colorado River. London: Forgotten Books.
Kesha. 2017. Kesha – Praying (Official Video). YouTube. July 6. Accessed 10 Jan 2019. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v-Dur3uXXCQ.
Kesha Praying Chart History. Billboard. https://www.billboard.com/music/kesha/chart-history/digital-song-sales/song/1033598. Accessed 10 Jan 2019.
Metzler, Chris and Jeff Springer, Directors. 2007. Plagues and Pleasures on the Salton Sea. New York and Los Angeles: New Video/Docurama, DVD. 73 min.
Moore, John, Director. 2006. A Lifetime of Childlike Faith: The Leonard Knight Story. Dallas, TX: Heumoore Productions. DVD. 35 min.
Rathbun, Russell. 2017. The Great Wall of China and The Salton Sea: Monuments, Missteps, and the Audacity of Ambition. 1st ed. Great Rapids, MI: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co.
Seaton, A.V. 1996. Guided by the Dark: From Thanatopsis to Thanatourism. International Journal of Heritage Studies 2 (4): 234–244. https://doi.org/10.1080/13527259608722178. Accessed 9 July 2018.
Segrave, Kerry. 1992. Drive-In Theaters: A History from Their Inception in 1933. Jefferson: McFarland.
Stone, Philip R. 2012. Dark Tourism and Significant Other Death. Annals of Tourism Research 39 (3): 1565–1587. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.annals.2012.04.007. Accessed 9 July 2018.
Stone, Philip R., and Richard Sharpley. 2008. Consuming Dark Tourism: A Thanatological Perspective. Annals of Tourism Research 35 (2): 574–595. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.annals.2008.02.003. Accessed 9 July 2018.
Turner, Frederick Jackson. 2015. The Frontier in American History. New York: Open Road Media.
Vincent, Alice. 2017. Kesha’s Comeback: A Timeline of Her Bitter Legal Feud with Sony and Producer Dr Luke. The Telegraph, July 7. https://www.telegraph.co.uk/music/news/comeback-kesha-timeline-bitter-legal-feud-sony-dr-luke/. Accessed 10 Jan 2019.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2020 The Author(s)
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Azar, M.C. (2020). Recycling Death: Post-Apocalyptic Tourism in the American West. In: Dawes, J. (eds) Dark Tourism in the American West. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-21190-5_8
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-21190-5_8
Published:
Publisher Name: Palgrave Macmillan, Cham
Print ISBN: 978-3-030-21189-9
Online ISBN: 978-3-030-21190-5
eBook Packages: Social SciencesSocial Sciences (R0)