Tourist photographs about the Spanish cultural heritage narrated in Game of Thrones
- Sebastián Sánchez-Castillo University of Valencia. Department of Language Theory and Communication Sciences. Faculty of Philology, Translation and Communication. Blasco Ibáñez Avenue, 32. P.C. 46010 Valencia (Spain) https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3751-6425
- Beatriz Gómez-Morales Lleida University. Catalan Philology and Communication Department. Letters Faculty, Víctor Siurana Square, 1. P.C.25003 Lleida (Spain) https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0557-528X
- Jorge Nieto-Ferrando Lleida University. Catalan Philology and Communication Department. Letters Faculty, Víctor Siurana Square, 1. P.C.25003 Lleida (Spain). https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3075-2636
Abstract
Due to the great success of Game of Thrones, numerous historical and cultural spaces in Spain have gained worldwide recognition. Tourists whose photographs capture unique settings found in the television series, project specific narrative spaces, and attempt to express the affective responses previously induced by their viewing experience. 452 images were projected to 214 spectators on Spanish heritage and cultural spaces that appear in Game of Thrones published on Instagram #juegosdetronosespaña and #juegodetronos. The results show that the affective dimension of the images alone does not explain their success on Instagram, suggesting that these images have a specific connotative structure that conveys messages that evoke feelings and memories at a symbolic level. Also, that the most successful specific visual compositions on Instagram are identified in denotative terms and the image attributes associated with these affective feelings. The concluded data has practical implications for destination management organizations (DMOs) and cultural managers.
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Author Biographies
Sebastián Sánchez-Castillo, PhD in Audiovisual Communication and the History of Art. Is a professor at the University of Valencia (Spain). His research interests include communication and inducement processes between audiovisual creations and tourism, and he specializes in statistical and quantitative methods. Author of numerous investigations on audiovisual discourse in social networks, television and cinema. He has completed research stays in Chile, Argentina, the United Kingdom, Portugal and Italy, and at various Spanish universities. Researcher of the International Project on Cinema and Tourism (www.proyectocitur.es). Since 2005, the Citur Project has focused its research on the analysis of the various interactions between Cinema, Tourism and especially images such as Visual Art and Social Imaginary, paying special attention to the Spanish case. The group is made up of researchers from different academic fields, the University of Valencia (Spain), the Marquette University of Milwaukee (USA), the Dartmouth College of New Hampshire (USA), the University of Lleida (Spain), the Gustave Eiffel University of Paris (France), the University of Seville (Spain) and the Universitat Jaume I (Spain).
Beatriz Gómez-Morales, PhD, is a Professor at the Universitat de Lleida, Spain. Her main line of research is television fiction, particularly related to content, programming and audiences. Her interests also include the potential of television fiction to induce tourism. Her work has been published in various international peer-reviewed journals. Researcher of the International Project on Cinema and Tourism (www.proyectocitur.es).
Jorge Nieto-Ferrando, PhD, is a Professor in Audiovisual Communication at the Universitat de Lleida, Spain. His lines of research focus on the relationship between audiovisual fiction and tourism, audiovisual theory and analysis and film reception. His work has been published in numerous academic journals and books. Principal investigator of the International Project on Cinema and Tourism (www.proyectocitur.es).
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