现代人体验异种民族文化风情的渴求,促进民族文化旅游的蓬勃发展。节庆作为民族旅游的主要吸引物,正随着目的地的开发而逐渐被商品化。文章引入角色、认同等相关概念,选取西双版纳傣族园景区泼水广场作为微观研究场所,通过质性研究方法,展现了傣族园“天天泼水节”表演者在旅游场域中的角色认同与管理过程。研究表明,在民族节庆商品化过程中,“天天泼水节”的剧班成员自身具有“东道主(当地居民)”和“表演者”双重角色,表演者自身存在基于物质空间生产和基于展演内容的角色内冲突。同时,表演者与游客之间还存在“表演者”和“观众”的角色间冲突。表演者在表演过程中通过“隐瞒”自己的真实情感以及与游客之间的“协调一致”保证双方互动的顺利进行。同时,表演者角色认同受到经济利益的驱动,表演者的权力话语在与游客、开发商等其他角色互动的过程中处于弱势。表演者基于地方的角色认同随着旅游发展发生改变,在此过程中,表演者主体也有意识地对地方意义进行重塑。
As modernity is generally interpreted as an historical epoch that deprives culture of authenticity, it has become an urge for the modem subject to experience the exotic culture of the other. It explains the flourishing of cultural tourism in rapidly modernizing societies. Ethnic festivals, as main attractions of national tourism, are undergoing commercialization, with deepening exploitation of destination images and cultural exoticism. As a major stage on which ethnic identity and imagined cultural authenticity can be performed, ethnic festivals provide a good lens through which to explore the cultural economy of tourism and the appropriation of cultural meanings. Taking the perspective of symbolic interactionism as a theoretical point of entry and using the water-splashing plaza in Xishuangbanna' s Dai Nationality Gardens as the case study, this paper develops a detailed analysis of the performed social roles which different actors adopt during the staging and performance of allegedly "authentic" ethnic culture. In particular, it focuses on the impression management that the actors in the re-invented "everyday water-splashing festival" need to undertake, in order to satisfy the gaze of the tourists. It fulfills this goal by employing several qualitative research methods. The empirical study shows that to underpin the commercialization of ethnic festivals, the local people have adopted two social roles, namely "local residents" and "actors". Conflict and tension between these two identity positions, therefore, becomes constitutive of the social scene of performance. Meanwhile, actors and tourists are also enmeshed in relations between merchants and customers. In order to enable the tourists to consume ethnic cultures, it is essential for the local performers to abide by strict impression management on the front stage. Performers conceal their true feelings to work in congruence with the tourists' expectation and imagination. Economic interests drive the tactic of adopting temporary social role