Tennassie, Anabel2013-07-252013-07-252013-07-25http://hdl.handle.net/10539/12904This study analyses how lost civilisations are represented on screen using thematic, film and multimodal analyses as the methodology. Screen texts from the archaeology-adventure genre from three decades: the 1980s, 1990s and 2000s, are explored in order to analyse how Eurocentric notions have persisted throughout filmic representations in these decades. In order to understand how the concepts of Othering and Eurocentrism have been established and extended over the years, they are contextualised by scholarly literature on popular culture and its relationship with filmic representations; and the voyeuristic gaze of the tourist into archaeological landscapes. Key theorists informing the conceptual and analytical framework for this study are: Shohat and Stam (1994), Mark Hall (2004), Stuart Hall (1993, 1997), Bhabha (1990) and Said (1979, 1980, 1993). The research identifies aspects of nine films that have been produced by western cultural industries over the past three decades that are considered popular based on their box office success and wide distribution. These films include, Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981), Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom (1984), Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (1989), The Mummy (1999), The Mummy Returns (2001), Lara Croft: Tomb Raider (2001), Lara Croft Tomb Raider: The Cradle of Life (2003), Digging for the Truth (2005), Egypt (2005). This corpus of films reinforces particular stereotypes of the Other and perpetuate a Eurocentric bias based on binary oppositions between the West and non-Western societies. The analysis examines themes such as how the Other is voiced; the power of knowledge of various ancient artefacts/languages; the depiction of foreign landscapes; how fashion is styled; how both male and female bodies are sexualised and fetishized; and how indigenous food and weaponry is portrayed. This analysis contributes to debates about ‘otherisation’ in film studies, popular culture and cultural anthropology. By deconstructing Eurocentric forms of representation, the study also aims to contribute to the development of filmic representations of non-western societies and forms a conclusion of how binary oppositions may be avoided in favour of a “third space” where hybridity and multiculturalism is promoted.enEurocentrismThe 'Other'Third spaceRepresentationCivilisationFilmArchaeologyThesis