Invited to do a half-day session in 2016, I was invited back in 2017 to do a full-day session on how Scotland as place is conceived in film. (The course did not run in 2018.) My aim in this one-day session is to familiarise students with how Scotland is conceived in film and television, challenging them to think about what they expect Scotland to be based on these conceptions before comparing it to the reality of life in Edinburgh and the history film and television draw upon to create narrative.

The session summary is below.

Having students find camera angles from North & South while in Stockbridge. Students also consider how filming and subsequent tourism would impact different types of neighbourhoods in Edinburgh.

Screening the Past: Heritage & Film

This session explores the idea of place-making through an evaluation of the way heritage, including history and historic environments, is represented in film and television. It will explore issues related to preservation, interpretation, and tourism in order to question how depictions of heritage can shape the meaning and identity of a place. The morning session will draw on various films and television series shot in Scotland, including North & South, Sunshine on Leith, Braveheart, Monty Python, Outlander, and Avengers: Infinitiy War. (Familiarity with each production is not necessary.) The walking tour in the afternoon will utilize Edinburgh as a case study to explore the themes discussed in the morning session, as well as see if and how the cinematic landscape of Edinburgh has influenced the city itself.

Readings

Beeton, Sue. 2008. ‘Location, Location, Location: Film Corporations’ Social Responsibilities.’ Journal of Travel & Tourism Marketing, 24:2-3, pp 107-114.

Beeton, Sue. 2005. Film-Induced Tourism. Toronto: Channel View Publications. Pp 20-39 and 58-60.

McGucken, Stephenie. ‘‘A Love Letter to Scotland:’The Creation & Conception of Heritage in Outlander.’ in Adoring Outlander: Essays on Fandom, Genre, and the Female Audience, ed. Valerie Frankel, pp. 7-22.Jefferson: McFarland,2016.

‘Avengers filming to generate £10m for Edinburgh’ BBC News. March 27, 2017.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-edinburgh-east-fife-39406412.