Representing Place: "Deserted Isles" and the Reproduction of Bikini Atoll Author(s): Jeffrey Sasha Davis Reviewed work(s): Source: Annals of the Association of American Geographers, Vol. 95, No. 3 (Sep., 2005), pp. 607-625 Published by: Taylor & Francis, Ltd. on behalf of the Association of American Geographers Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/3693959 . Accessed: 23/03/2012 00:42

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http://www.jstor.org RepresentingPlace: "DesertedIsles" and the Reproductionof Bikini Atoll JeffreySasha Davis DepartmentofGeography, University ofVermont

BikiniAtoll has beenreshaped through time according to Westernmythologies regarding "deserted" islands. Geographershave increasingly recognized that landscapes are shaped by the ways human agents conceptualize places.Ideals that shape places are not only based on interpretationsofa givenplace, however, but are also formedby the semiotic linking of representations ofsimilar landscapes. Conceptualizations ofBikini Atoll en- abledthe drastic alteration of the landscape by nuclear testing in the1940s and 1950sas wellas subsequent developmentprojects such as thecurrent tourism operation on theatoll. The informationpresented in this articlestems from interview research conducted in the Marshall Islands in 2001 and 2002 as wellas froma review ofhistorical accounts of the atoll from 1945 to thepresent. The conceptualizationsofBikini Atoll held by membersof the Bikinian community, U.S. military and government officials, other people living in the Marshall Islands,and visitors to theatoll explain the transformations ofthe atoll landscape. Going beyond the notion of landscapesas readabletexts, places can be understoodas discursive-materialformations where the semiotic meaningsof places are intrinsically entwined with their reproduction. Key Words: place, landscape, nuclear testing, semiotics,tourism.

Asfor Juda of Bikini and his people, now living on Rongerik synonymouswith nuclear destruction, military colonial- Atoll,they probably will be repatriatedifthey insist on it, ism,and radioactivecontamination. thoughUnited States military authorities say they can't see As the quotesat the beginningof thispaper show, whythey should want to: Bikini and Rongerik look as alike however,radically different views represent Bikini Atoll as twoIdaho potatoes. as an objectof the touristgaze focusedon a small,but -(E. Rooney1946) successful,tourism operation (Urry 1990). Today,in and on the Web BikiniAtoll is a manytourist publications promotional tropicalparadise, unspoiled by develop- the atoll is as the ment,with excellent scuba diving. site,www.bikiniatoll.com, depicted tourist an is- -(TimothyFerris, MSNBC-TV, 30 June1997) quintessential place: unpopulatedtropical land. Althoughthe changein Bikini'sstatus over the Thereare not many places that could look more like the yearsfrom nuclear test site and radioactivewasteland to Gardenof Eden. a tourists'paradise may appear surreal, all thesecon- -(A descriptionofBikini Atoll in Conde Nast Traveler ceptualizationsof the atoll present Bikini as a "deserted Magazine,July 2000) isle."While this representation has been dominantfor thelast nativeBikinians' descriptions of the It is a a sixtyyears, paradise, placewhere you have everything you atoll connectto a differentvision of Bikinias a need.It is a God whereall is within very place putsyou your homelandwith resourcesand intensecultural reach. plentiful Whilethe 3,100 Bikinians remain scattered -(A descriptionofBikini Atoll by a BikiniIslander, June significance. theMarshall Islands and theiratoll remains 2000) throughout uninhabitabledue to radioactivecontamination, many In 1946,the U.S. militaryremoved the people living on hopeto repatriatesoon. As in 1946,there is stilla stark BikiniAtoll in orderto use it as a testsite for nuclear contrastbetween Bikinian visions of the atoll as a weapons(Figure 1). From1946 to 1958,twenty-three homelandand thedeserted isle mythology that underlies nuclearweapons were tested at BikiniAtoll. The largest widelycirculated representations of the atoll espoused bomb,code-named "Bravo," was a fifteen-megatonblast, byothers. detonatedon 1 March1954, that vaporized three of the For the past sixtyyears, agents have producedand atoll'sislands and spread highly radioactive fallout across consumedrepresentations of Bikini Atoll, enabling the mostof thenorthern Marshall Islands. To manypeople reproductionofa particularlandscape. The basisfor such aroundthe world,the name BikiniAtoll has become representationsis rarely the landscape itself, as muchas

Annalsof the Association of American Geographers, 95(3), 2005, pp. 607-625 C 2005 byAssociation of American Geographers Initialsubmission, April 2004; revisedsubmission, July 2004; finalacceptance, February 2005 Publishedby BlackwellPublishing, 350 Main Street,Malden, MA 02148, and 9600 GarsingtonRoad, OxfordOX4 2DQ, U.K. 608 Davis

1N170 E 15 N T-.ngi Taongi . TheRepublic of the . MarshallIslands

BBikar Bikini Enewetak Rongerik Tk Utirik Ailingnae Taka Rongelap 7 Ailuk Figure1. Map ofthe Mar- Wotho Jemo shallIslands. The namesof 10 Mejit Ujelang ,'4 Likiep atollsand islands discussed / t 0Wote .Wotje in the articleare empha- "5, Erikub sized. Erikub Ujae Lae Maloelap ez{KwajaleinLib CNamu Aur4 Jabwot Qo N >1 --7Ailinglap ap Arno 0 100 200km " Majuro 0 100 200miles Jaluit Mili Knox Namorika * Kili 5 Kosrae5 (FederatedStates ofMicronesia) Ebon

165 170 E

"travelingrepresentations" ofother places deemed to be 1993; Casey 2001). Third,meanings of placeschange similarto Bikini.Such traveling representations ofBikini throughtime, sometimesdramatically (Hall 1997; legitimizesome uses of the place while repressing others. McGuirkand Rowe 2001). And lastly,the dialectical This processof place reproductionis not uniqueto interactionbetween spatial and social processes has been BikiniAtoll. It is usedhere as a case studynot because it recognized(Harvey 1996; Soja 1996; Cresswell2004). is exoticor exceptional,but because it depictsa partic- On the lastpoint there has been debateas to whether ularlyfluid and well-documentedcase of how place places are whollyconstructed by social processesor meaningsare contested,shift through time, and affect whetherthe spatialand social are "mutuallyconstitu- the reproductionof thelandscape. On Bikini,dramatic tive"(Cresswell 2004, 29-33). differencesbetween conceptualizations ofplace (nuclear I referto places as discursive-materialformations. wasteland,tourist paradise, and homeland)can be used This approachmerges these four emphases of current to highlightmechanisms of place reproduction occurring discussionsof place production and appliesthem to the aroundthe world. To demonstratethis process, I weave studyof a particularplace. Bikini Atoll is a placethat has the case studyof BikiniAtoll into contemporary theo- beenheavily impacted by external actors and discourses, reticaldiscussions about place. differentinterpretations of place, transformationsof Recent discussionsof place emphasizefour major those interpretationsthrough time, and interactions points.First, scholars have increasingly concentrated on betweenlandscape and social processes.Various con- theimportance of nonlocal processes and eventsaffect- ceptualizationsof the atoll duringthree different time ing places (Massey1994). Second,there has been an periodshave enabledthe productionof certainland- emphasison theways in whichdifferent actors interpret scapeson Bikiniat the expenseof others.This article places,create discourses about them, and therebyaffect examinesrepresentations ofthe atoll produced just prior place reproduction(Jackson 1989; Duncan and Ley to the beginningof nucleartesting in 1946,conceptu- RepresentingPlace: "DesertedIsles" and theReproduction of Bikini Atoll 609 alizationsof the atoll in the 1960s and 1970s during 14). The factthat the reproductionof thelandscape is a failedrepatriation attempt, and contemporaryviews of entwinedwith imagined conceptualizations ofthe place Bikinias a lost homelandand financiallysuccessful leads to multiple,often contradictory, imaginings for a touristdestination. singlephysical landscape that cause conflict and contests The informationpresented in thisarticle stems from overplaces. Each individualhas a differentconceptual- researchI conducted in theMarshall Islands in 2001 and izationof what a givenplace is (orought to be) and the 2002,as wellas froma reviewof previous social science reproductionof the place is a socialprocess. Places, researchand popularmagazine accounts dealing with therefore,are morethan just the amalgamof the local BikiniAtoll. I studiedhistorical conceptualizations of inhabitants'imaginings; they are the resultof spatially BikiniAtoll over the past six decadesand ascertained wide-rangingregimes of power and theability of some to thecurrent attitudes of various groups of people toward legitimizeone imaginingof a placeover others. theatoll. During stays on BikiniAtoll, Majuro Atoll, and How,then, do peopleinterpret a given landscape in Kili Island,I conductedsemistructured interviews with differentways? There has beena lotof effort on thepart tourists,resort management and workers, Department of of theoriststo demonstratethat different imaginings of Energypersonnel, Republic of the MarshallIslands placefall into distinct categories. In general,geographers governmentofficials, and membersof the Bikinian have tendedto dividethe fieldof humanexperience communityand government to analyzetheir interactions of places into "abstract"and "lived"realms. Entrikin with,and conceptualizationsof, Bikini.' I supplemented (1991) discussesthis dichotomy, using the terminology thisinformation with a reviewof recent tourist-oriented of "subjective"and "objective"approaches to under- periodicalarticles and newspaper stories from the United standingplaces. Some writers carry this division between Statesabout currentdevelopment activities on Bikini abstractand livedconceptualizations to their definitions Atoll.I also studiedlocal representationsofBikini from of space and place, with"space" as the realmof the twoyears (2001 and 2002) ofthe Marshall Islands Journal abstractand "place"the realmof livedexperience and (a newspaperbased in Majuro,Marshall Islands) as well senseof place (Taylor1999; Casey 2001). ForLefebvre, as informationprovided on theWeb page maintained by ratherthan using an abstract/liveddichotomy, the spatial JackNiedenthal, Trust Liaison to the Peopleof Bikini.2 worldcan be brokeninto three categories:"spatial I piecedtogether past conceptualizations ofthe atoll by practice,""representations of space," and "representa- consultingwritten academic accounts and articlesabout tionalspaces." He and EdwardSoja also referto these BikiniAtoll in Americanperiodicals published from withthe moreaccessible terms of "perceivedspace," 1946 to thepresent.3 "conceptualizedspace," and "livedspace" (Soja 1996). Accordingto Soja, "perceivedspace" is the"real" con- ConceptualizingPlace creteworld that exists at a givensite, while "concep- tualizedspace" is "entirelyideational, made up of pro- Representationsof place come in manyforms: post- jectionsinto the empirical world from conceptualized or cards(Dunn 1996;Waitt and Head 2002), monuments imaginedgeographies ... [It is a] symbolicspace ... a (T. Hall 1997),images (Rose 2001; Echtnerand Prasad world of rationallyinterpretable signification" (Soja 2003), writtenaccounts (M. L. Pratt1992; Hutt 1996), 1996,79). "Livedspace" is the domainof people using and verbalstatements (C. Cohen 1995). What all rep- spacesor describingthem without trying to "decipher resentationsshare, however, is thatthey are meansof and activelytransform" the space (Soja 1996,67). To transmittingcertain conceptualizations of a place to Soja, theseare different ways of seeing the same site. As other people. Since these representationsemphasize Soja notes,however, these are epistemologicalspaces. some characteristicsof a place at the expense of others, He correlates"perceived space" with the spatial science they are always incomplete"pictures" of place. These traditionin geography,"conceptualized space" withhu- representationsof place are also political. They "do manistgeographers, and "lived space" as a possiblenew work"by reinforcingconceptualizations of a place that liberatingdirection for geographical study. legitimizecertain uses and prohibitothers. In turn,the While these popular frameworksfracture and cate- new formof the landscape informsnew conceptualiza- gorizethe differentways that places are experienced,I tions.This is the essence ofHenri Lefebvre'swork on the questionwhether this frameworkis reallyuseful for un- relationshipbetween conceptualizationsof places and derstandinghow places are reproduced.At the very landscape. He writes,"In actualityeach of these two least, these categoriesshould not be seen as reifyinga kindsof space [the physicaland the imagined]involves, given space as eitherlived or perceivedor conceptual- underpinsand presupposesthe other" (Lefebvre1991, ized. Not only are places consideredby differentpeople 610 Davis to fallinto different categories but thepeople consider- theoreticiansSaussure and Barthesto demonstratethat ing a place maybe experiencingit in waysthat draw thereis a connectionbetween any material object (ref- uponcombinations of experiences that cross-cut or hy- erent),the concept people have of it (signified),and the bridizenotions of "perceiving,""conceptualizing," and wordor symbol used to describeit (signifier).Baudrillard "livingwithin" a given space. Furthermore,people's stressesthat for any referentthat exists in the world conceptualizationschange over time as theyinteract thereare multiple"signifieds" that are availablefor withplaces and recreatetheir identities through con- linkageto thesignifier. In other words, there are multiple tactswith places. meaningsavailable that link a wordwith the object it is Ratherthan following Lefebvre's (modified by Soja) aimingto represent. tripartiteformula for categorizing space, I arguethat Barthes'sdiscussion of denotations and connotations theprocess that creates all ofthese forms of space is the makesthis process more clear. The idea ofdenotation is same,while the resultingtypes of space are infinite. thatthere is one true"real" meaning and thatthe word AlthoughSoja applies his label of "conceptualized usedto describean objectis a directconnection to that space"to onlyone subsetof the ways of seeing a site,all "real" meaning.The idea of connotation,however, of these spaces are conceptualized.What Soja calls suggeststhat there are multiplemeanings available to "perceivedspace" is a conceptualizationof a sitebased linka wordand an object.Barthes then argues that there on the assumptionsof the "mirror-model"of science. are alwaysmultiple meanings and that"denotation" is The ideathat an observeris relayingthe "real" perceived merelyan ideologicalconstruct that aims to convince site,unfiltered by humanbias, is merelya conceptual- peoplethere is onlyone truemeaning. He statesthat izationof a site informedby positivistepistemologies. "[d]enotationis neveranything more than the most The "livedspace" is the conceptualizationof the site attractiveand subtle of connotations"(quoted in madeby those who have a directcontact with the space. Baudrillard1981, 158). The theoryof the discursive- The underlyingprocess for all of these spaces, however, is materialformation hinges on thisidea thatthere are the same. Sites are not conceptualizedin one typeof multipleconnotations available for an object. reifiedcategory; the factthat some of theseconceptu- This conceptof multipleconnotations relates back alizationsare labeledas "moreabstract" than others is to how placesare experienced.There is no one "true" reallyonly a matterof categorizing preference.4 meaningof a place (denotation)that a personperceives. Rather,a personconstructs a conceptualizationof a place by noticingsome attributesof a place and at- Conceptualizationsof Place and Place tachingto it someof the meaningsavailable (connota- Reproduction tions) and disregardingother potential meanings. In otherwords, the place is not experiencedwholly, but Analyzingplaces as "discursive-materialformations" ratherthrough subsets of its attributes.It is not the drawstogether the previouslydiscussed trends in place "wholebrute presence of place" thatinscribes itself on researchthat recognize places as fluid,permeable, and people but onlythe conceptualizationsof it that last affectedby the ways in whichthey are imagined.While (Casey 2001, 688). When a personinteracts with a LakshmanYapa has used theconcept of discursive-ma- place,through either direct experience or a representa- terialobjects in his discussionsof poverty and scientifi- tion,only a fewof its qualities are noticed;some of the callyengineered seeds, I believethe conceptcan be attributesunnoticed by one personmay make a strong extendedto studiesof place reproduction(Yapa 1996a, impressionon another.People find meaning in a place b). Talkingabout places as discursive-materialforma- not by accessinga "true"denotation but by finding tions highlightsthe role of conceptualizationsand rep- a connotationbased on whatthey are predisposedto resentationsof place in enablingand legitimizingcertain look for. versionsof place over others.In termsof place repro- This is not to say that subjectsfreely choose which- duction, this perspectiveemphasizes that places are ever connotations they desire or that they are pro- known, discussed, and representedthrough language grammedto select connotationsof place based on a legitimizesthe performanceof certainactivities in those packagedidentity. To use examplesfrom this case study, places as well as directsthe social practicesthat actively Bikiniansdo not universallythink of Bikinias a home- shape the landscape. land, and touristsdo not all see Bikinias a paradise.I do The concept of the discursive-materialformation is not mean to implythat conceptualizationof places is similarto JeanBaudrillard's (1981) conceptof the "sign- that mechanistic;there is not a universalimpression object." Baudrillarddraws upon the work of semiotic made by places on people. Instead, there are multiple RepresentingPlace: "DesertedIsles" and theReproduction of Bikini Atoll 611 experiencesof place,and observersare drivenand fo- place-mythscan existfor the same place at the same cusedtoward certain aspects of place in relationto prior time and that these mythscan shiftthrough time. experiencesand differencesin the observer'sposition Shields(1991, 61) writes,"Opposed groups may succeed and positionality.Edward Casey's (2001) discussionof in generatingantithetical place-myths (as opposedto PierreBourdieu's concept of habitusis informativein justvariations in place-images)reflecting different class describinghow past social trajectories produce a habitus experiencesor the culturalremembrance of a defeat that informsan individual'sconceptualization of the whereconquerors see onlyglory." The place of Bikini placesthey encounter.5 The waysthat previous life ex- Atollhas been shapedby actorswho have conceptual- periencesand exposureto representationsaffects the ized the place based on verydifferent attributes than productionof meaning in tourismplaces have also been thoseemphasized by many of the Bikinian people. As a examinedby Chris Rojek (1997). result,conflicts occur over which physical attributes and Furthermore,it is notjust that subjects passively ob- socialpractices on Bikiniare to be celebratedand en- serveplaces and absorbmeaning. Instead, there is an hancedand whichare to be vilifiedand erased. activeand reciprocalprocess between place reproduc- This discussionof place conceptualizationstill leaves tionand identityformation. Some of the literatureon open the questionof how thesevaried imaginings en- tourismis particularlyuseful for examining the waysin twinewith social practicesto reproducethe material whichpeople do notjust "read" landscapes but actively landscape.It is importantnot to see the discursive- seekplaces that can be arenasfor the reproduction and materialconcept as suggestingthat words build houses or transformationof their identities. The tourist,for in- discoursesdrop bombs. Using the language of discursive- stance,needs a placeconceptualized as a touristplace to materialformations does notimply that discourses tele- performcertain activities that reaffirm their identities kineticallytransform reality or thatthe landscapedoes notas "a tourist,"but as "a successful(modern) person," not existprior to ourviews of it. What it does demon- forwhom one ofthe markers of success is to be thekind strateis that the conceptsenabling and legitimizing of personwho travelsand vacations(E. Cohen 1979; the materialreproduction of place originatenot from Urry1990; Rojek 1997; Burns1999). In thisrespect, a perception(denotation) of a materiallandscape, subjectsdo notjust passively "read" places, but, rather, but fromthe variousconceptualizations (connotations) thefluid subjectivity oftourists is reproducedand altered of that landscape,mediated by discoursesthat are along with the place in which theyare performing. oftenquite independentfrom the materialityof that Throughthis process, people develop simplified readings place. ofwhat a placemeans. Rob Shields(1991, 47, emphasis Figure2 expandsupon Lefebvre's contentions about in original)describes this as theconstruction of "place- real and imaginedspaces to depictthe dialecticalrela- images": tionshipbetween the real and the imagined.Place- imagesare preestablished in that the imagined landscape Suchplace-images come about through over-simplification of a placecomes not just from the sensory experience of reductionto one of (i.e., trait),stereotyping (amplification that particularenvironment, but fromthe semiotic oneor more and a isdeemed to traits) labeling(where place linkingof thatexperience to previouslyknown words, be ofa certainnature). Places and spaces are hypostatized culturalnarratives, and meanings.So, the imagined fromthe world of real space relations toa symbolicrealm of culturalsignifications. ... These images connected with a placemay even come to be heldas signifiersofits essential character. Pre-established Shieldsgoes on to arguethat sets of place-images that Place-images have particularcoherence and longevitycoalesce into what he refersto as place-myths.The use of the term mythhere is not meant to implythat the conceptual- Material Imagined ization of place is somehowopposed to the "real facts" Landscape Landscape about a but ratherthat there is a coherenceto the place, Power: a certain theme. imaginingsalong culturallysignificant Capital Place-myths,while shiftingwith changes in the land- Institutions, scape of a place, have a permanenceand inertiathat are Legitimac oftenslow to change. What is more importantfor my purposesin thisarticle is thatmultiple and contradictory Figure2. Placereproduction. 612 Davis landscapeis not onlya productof the materialland- worldby attempting to fixa meaningof a place and le- scape, it is a meldingof the materiallandscape with gitimizingthe production of a certainkind of place. The imagesof otherplaces. The sensoryexperience in the practicalconsequences affect both the agentsstriving landscapeis not thesource for the meaningof a place, to changethe placeswith which they interact as well butonly one of thesources. The "preestablishedplace- as researchersconsidering place reproduction.Groups images"mesh with sensory experiences of place to create workingto makechanges to places need to recognize floatingsignifiers: culturally available traveling concep- thatthe social practices affecting place reproduction can tualizationsof places that do not arisefrom a particular be redirectedby changing the discursive construction of place as muchas theyare appliedto it. whata placeis and whatcan legitimatelybe doneto it. In otherwords, discourses and place-imagesthat In otherwords, changing the acceptedplace-myth can emanatefrom far outside the physical place affect how a lead to tangiblechanges in the landscapeof places. placeis conceptualized.The place-mythgenerated for a Researchershave noted this effectnot only in the givensite may have muchmore to do withstories and "paradise"of the Island Pacific, but also in placessuch as imagesof other places deemed to be "like"it thanwith the "timeless"Kimberley Mountains in Australia,and the landscapeof the place itself.The IslandPacific is the"post-industrial" landscapes of Newcastle, Australia, certainlyone regionwhere Western place-myths have and Birmingham,England (Hall 1997; McGuirkand been consistentlyconstructed throughout history based Rowe 2001; Waittand Head 2002). For researchers on the islands'antipodal position to Europe,biblical lookingat theway places are produced and reproduced, searchesfor Eden, and Rousseau'sromanticism (Jolly thisperspective highlights the need to seriouslyengage 1997; Howe 2000).6 Such travelingplace-myths then withthe wayplaces are conceptualizedby the people land on specificislands and are appliedwith little con- interactingwith them. cernfor the specificmateriality or socialconditions of How,though, do place-mythsaffect the reproduction thatplace. The place-mythof the deserted isle has been of the physicallandscape? Given that a particularma- applieddespite the factthat the Bikinianpeople have teriallandscape gives rise to multipleconceptualizations, livedthere (and stilldesire to live there).Bikini Atoll thereare almostinevitably different opinions about how has "become"a "desertedisle" by linkingBikini's ma- the materiallandscape should be maintained,changed, terialenvironment with narratives that have been con- andgoverned. On thebottom of the diagram in Figure2, structedin Westernculture over thousands of years in a between the imaginedlandscape and the material widevariety of geographic contexts. landscape,is power.While everyone may have a unique In turn,place-myths enable and legitimizesocial versionof whata place oughtto be, thereis onlyone practicesthat alter the materiallandscape and attempt site.Power then dictates which version of place getsto to bringit moreinto line with a conceptualizationthat be produced.In the diagram,I have subdividedpower was neverbased on the materiallandscape in the first intocapital, institutions, and legitimacyto representthe place. Linksbetween the materialand the discursive powerinherent in economicprocesses, political sover- occurimmediately, at the level of the semiotic,when eignty,and discourses.In therest of this article, I dem- a placeis encountered.Division of the world into sepa- onstratehow powerful agents have attemptedto remake raterealms of the purelymaterial or discursiveis thus BikiniAtoll through social practices enabled and legiti- essentiallyproblematic, because places are hybridsor mizedby the place-myth of thedeserted isle. The atoll "quasi-objects,"a mesh of naturaland socialprocesses has been reproducedin theways it has,not necessarily (Latour1993; Haraway 1997). ErikSwyngedouw (2003, becauseof its location, its endogenousattributes, or its 96) notesthat, " 'Things'are hybridsor quasi-objects positionin a globalpolitical economic system, but ac- (subjects and objects, materialand discursive,natural cordingto the way it has been conceptualized.Con- and social) fromthe verybeginning. Everybody and ceptualizationsof BikiniAtoll are rootednot onlyin the every thing is a mediator,a 'hybrid,'....part social, part landscape itself,but in a semioticsystem of codes that natural (but withoutdiscrete boundaries), which inter- relateswhat people see on Bikiniwith signs theyhave nalizes the multiplecontradictory relations that redefine previouslyencountered in otherplaces. People then act everybody and everything." Landscapes, like all things, to reproducethe atoll accordingto these conceptual- are also "hybrids." izationsof place. Have politicaleconomy, military power, Differentgroups of people, who have verydifferent and nuclearradiation affected Bikini? Absolutely, but all conceptualizationsof what kind of place Bikini Atoll ofthese thingsare also entwinedwith the discoursesand shouldbe, have all producedrepresentations of the place practicesthat legitimatethe ways that capitalism,mili- that are used in political ways. They do work in the tarism,and nuclear testinghave been applied there. RepresentingPlace: "Deserted Isles" and the Reproduction ofBikini Atoll 613

Bikinias Home and Ideal TestSite prominentlyin the underlyingrationale for the tests, code-named Crossroads as the ad- The "holein themap" was a pre-conditionfora nuclear Operation because, holein theground; it alonecreated the necessary mar- miralin chargeof the testsnoted, "seapower, airpower, ginalityfor experimentation tobe deemedacceptable. and perhapshumanity itself are at the crossroads" -(Cosgrove1998, 264) (quotedin Weisgall1994, 32). The planwas to anchoran armadaof captured Ger- Bikinihad been, after all, a placeof human habitation, a manand Japanesenaval vessels, as wellas olderAmer- homeland.When the atoll was acquired by the U.S. Navy, ican ships,in a lagoonand thenexplode atomic bombs it hadabout 150 inhabitants. It had, however, something nearthem. The firsttest was to be an air-droppedbomb, evenmore The lifeof the important:geography. trifling thesecond bomb was to be explodedunderwater, and a littleisland could not reasonably share in a transcendental thirdtest was to involvean even underwater that whenall deeper experience was, wassaid and done, dedicated detonation.The firsttwo tests were carried out in the todeath. The whole function ofBikini was to be remote, far summerof 1946,but the deep underwaterdetonation away,as inaccessibleas possiblefrom anything valued by was cancelled.In the end, the "contest"between the man,because it was to be destroyed....A placehad to be and was seen as a draw.Most of the foundwhere the principle of overkill could be examined, Navy Army ships usedin thetests were sunk or unusableafter the wherenuclear bombs could be testedin theatmosphere tests.8 withoutinconveniencing anyone, at leastanyone much. The Navy-deliveredunderwater bomb blast, however, The Micronesianpeople of the central Pacific are by defi- was creditedwith doing much more damage to thefleet nitionnobody much. thanthe Army's air-dropped bomb. -(Cameron1970, 24) So howwas it that Bikini, an inhabitedisland, became the sitefor these tests? Since the testsrequired a site Severalscholars have examinedhow the experimen- thataccommodated the anchorageof largeships, con- tal spacesof ProjectPlowshare, a 1960s programthat tinentalsites imagined as remoteby the U.S. govern- was to use nuclearweapons for "peaceful" excavation ment,such as New Mexicoand Nevada,could not be projects,constructed the test areas as geographicallyand considered.While the firstatomic bomb test had oc- sociallymarginal (Frenkel 1998; Kirsch1998; Krygier curredin New Mexicoin 1945,the discovery of serious 1998; Millarand Mitchell1998). Similarly,Bikini Atoll radioactivecontamination following the bombingof was not "found"as an ideal testsite in 1946; it was Hiroshimaand Nagasakicaused the U.S governmentto made.In 1946,Bikini was considereda healthyhome- be cautiousabout conducting further atomic tests in, or land by its inhabitants,who had livedon the atollfor near,the continental United States. The AtomicEnergy generations(Niedenthal 2002). It was a place with Commissiontherefore suggested that the Operation ampleland and adequatefishing resources. It was the Crossroadstests be performed"overseas" (Weisgall 1994, locationof the gravesof the Bikinians'ancestors. The 31). In October1945, two officers in theNavy's OP-06 U.S. military,however, emphasized a verydifferent sub- officeof specialweapons, Frederick Ashworth and Ho- set ofattributes. racioRivero stated, "We just tookout dozensof maps The firstatomic tests at Bikiniin 1946served several and startedlooking for remote sites. After checking the purposesfor the U.S. military.On a geopoliticallevel, the Atlantic,we moved to the west coast and just kept testingacted as a theaterin whichthe UnitedStates looking"(Weisgall 1994, 32). In December1945, Ash- couldopenly demonstrate the power of its atomic arse- worthsaid, referringto the searchfor the site, "We nal. In contrastto the secrecysurrounding atomic ex- haven'tcome to anyparticular conclusion. It lookslike perimentationduring World War II, the testsat Bikini prettyfar away is goingto be theanswer" (Weisgall 1994, were highly publicized; representativesfrom many 32, emphasisadded). It was soondeemed that the only countrieswere invitedto witnessthe testsas a demon- places "prettyfar away" were located in the Pacific.Bi- stration of American militarypower.7 The military's kini was selected over other islands in the Marshall Is- primarystated purposefor the firstset of atomic bomb lands,Caroline Islands,and even the Galapagos Islands. testsat Bikiniin 1946, however,was morepractical. The WilliamPratt, a retiredU.S. navyofficer, summed up the testswere designedto determinewhether naval vessels requirementsin his short article "How Bikini Became could withstand atomic attack and were conducted the Bomb-TestingGround" (1946). He characterizes jointly by the Army and Navy amid debate in the Bikini as "the ideal place" because of its location in a American militaryover whetheratomic weapons had part of the world controlledby the United States, its made the Navy obsolete (Weisgall 1994). This rivalry relativefreedom from tropical storms, its shelteredla- betweenthe two branchesof the armedservices figured goon sizableenough to hold a naval fleet,and because of 614 Davis thesmall population on Bikiniand itsneighboring atolls nonplace,the atoll had to be portrayedas unhealthyand (W Pratt1946, 60). In addition,the atoll itself could be the peoplethat inhabited the atollhad to be seen as used as a stagingarea for the tests, as couldthe nearby removable.A U.S. Navy admiralproclaimed that "the Americanbase at KwajaleinAtoll 240 kilometersto atollitself is unhealthy"because it "produceslittle food thesouth. besidescoconuts and fish"(W Pratt1946, 60). This Bikinibecame the ideal location for a testsite due to commentserved to delegitimizethe existenceof the itsremoteness from parts of the world deemed important Bikinianson theatoll and to suggestthat the Bikinians to the U.S. military.Once selected,however, the atoll wouldbe betteroff somewhere else. needed to be characterizedas marginalin otherways Earlyin 1946,the Bikinianswere moved to nearby so that it could be conceptualizedas an ideal locale RongerikAtoll (Figure1). While the decisionto use foratomic explosions. The dominantplace-myth that Bikinias a testsite had alreadybeen made by the United guidedrepresentations of the atollwas thatof the de- Statesmonths earlier, representatives of the Navy,in sertedisle. Two similar,but distinct,kinds of represen- frontof newsreelcameras, made a ceremonyof asking tationswere used to portrayBikini Atoll as a place the Bikiniansto leave theiratoll. The Navyknew that worthyof nuclear destruction. In one sense,it was rep- theBikinians had beenChristianized in theearly 1900s, resentedas a nonplace.In otherinstances, Bikini was and the militarygovernor of the Marshallspersuaded portrayedas a placethat represented backwardness, the theBikinians to leaveby comparing the Bikinians to the antithesisof the Americans'technological modernity. childrenof Israel (Kiste 1974, 27). Accordingto an- No doubt,both of these representations draw heavily on thropologistLeonard Mason (quoted in Niedenthal the mythologyof the desertedisle and bothserved to 1997,30), legitimizethe use of Bikini as a testsite. I think,however, mil- it wouldbe a mistakeanalytically to completelyfuse In Februaryof1946, Commodore Ben H. Wyatt,the thetwo. itarygovernor ofthe Marshalls, traveled to Bikini and, in a after assembledthe Bikinians toask if In regardto emptynonplaces, Lefebvre (1991, 190) Sunday church, they wouldbe to leavetheir atoll so that writes, willing temporarily theUnited States could begin testing atomic bombs for of and to endall worldwars." The notionof a spacewhich is at firstempty, but is later "thegood mankind King thenthe leader of the Bikinian stood after filledby a sociallife and modified byit, also depends on this Juda, people, up his hypotheticalinitial "purity," identified as "nature" and as a muchconfused and sorrowful deliberation among peo- and "If UnitedStates and sortof ground zero of human reality. Empty space in the ple, announced, the government senseof a mentaland social void which facilitates the so- thescientists ofthe world want to use our island and atoll whichwith God's will cializationof a not-yet-socialrealm is actuallymerely a forfurthering development, blessing representationofspace. resultin kindnessand benefit to all mankind,my people willbe pleasedto go elsewhere." This mentalconceptualization of Bikinias an empty nonplaceis rootedin priorU.S. conceptualizationsofthe The wordthat best describes the timebetween this Micronesianregion as a nonplace(Steinberg 2001). The decisionand the actual relocationof the Bikiniansis atollwas assumed to be buta minorblemish on an ocean "spectacle."A NationalGeographic article published in surfaceregarded by Americansin WorldWar II as a 1946 describeshow the last monthof the people on nonplace.This portrayalof atollsis demonstratedby Bikiniwas one long stagedphoto opportunity for re- referenceto theislands as mere"anchored aircraft car- portersand filmmakers.10 The finalBikinian church riers."9One U.S. officialdescribed the atolls of the servicewas performedthree times so camerascould Marshallsthis way: "Livingon an atoll is like livingon a get differentangles, and the Bikinians were often ship,except that the ship will get to port,but the atoll repositionedfor effector to cover microphones.The will never go anywhere"(quoted in Weisgall1994, 35). articlesand newsreelscreated fromthis period helped This portrayalof Bikinias terranullius presaged the se- cementthe idea in the imaginationof the worldthat the lection of futureplaces consideredfor nuclear testing Bikini Islanders were primitive,Christianized, loyal sitesfrom Maralinga, Australia, to CentralPennsylvania subjects,sacrificing themselves to the greatergood of the (Pilger 1989; Krygier1998). United States. Of course, one difficultywith portrayingBikini as a The imaginedcultural inferiority of the Bikiniansand desertedisle was thatthe Bikinianslived there. This fact, theirsupposed weak attachmentto Bikiniwere used by however,only necessitated a differentstrategy of repre- the U.S. militaryas legitimizationfor their removal from sentation.To showthat the inhabitedatoll was actuallya their atoll. It is here that we see another place-myth RepresentingPlace: "DesertedIsles" and theReproduction of Bikini Atoll 615 emergeregarding Bikini. Here, rather than a focuson portrayit as a formof hellwhere a demonnamed Lit- its nonplace attributes,Bikini was representedas a oboraleft the fish, coconuts, and pandanuspoisoned. marginalizedplace. Marginalization, as the word implies, Twomonths after the Bikinians' arrival on Rongerik, suggeststhat Bikini was a place of some sort,but an waterand foodsupplies were found to be inadequate, antitheticalone in comparisonto what existsin the and the peoplebegan requesting repatriation to Bikini imaginedcenter. Shields (1991, 276) contends, (Time1946). Theirrequests were largely ignored by the U.S. Navy.The navywas apparentlyunaware that the To be "on themargin" has impliedexclusion from "the Bikinianswere suffering from starvation and symptoms center."But social, political, and economic relations which matchingCiguatera poisoning until anthropologist Leo- bindperipheries tocenters, keep them together in a series nardMason visitedthe atollin 1948 (Kiste 1985; Ni- ofbinary relationships, rather than allowing disconnection. edenthal1997). At the urgingof Mason, the U.S. In thisway, "margins" become signifiers of everything governmentmoved the Bikiniansfrom Rongerik to a centersdeny or repress; margins as "the other," become the campnext to an airstripon Kwajalein.A yearlater, they conditionof possibility ofall social and cultural entities. weremoved to KiliIsland (see Figure1) in thesouthern MarshallsIslands (Kiste 1974). Kili is a single,isolated The portrayalof Bikiniand the Bikiniansas the island,approximately 200 acresin sizewith no lagoon.It backwardopposite of the progressiveAmericans is il- is approximatelyone-ninth of the land area of Bikini lustratedby the title of an articlein theNew York Times Atoll and over 1,000 Bikinianslive theretoday. One Magazinein 1946: "The StrangePeople fromBikini: Bikiniandescribed Kili Island this way: Primitivethey are, but theylove one anotherand the Americanvisitors who took their home" (Rooney 1946). AtBikini, one could always go to anotherisland, but here The view of the Bikiniansas "simpleprimitives" is it'salways the same. Sleep, wake up, Kili. Sleep, wake up, echoed in a NationalGeographic article that opens, Kili.Again, sleep, wake up, Kili. Kili is a prison. "Aboutthe middle of February, 1946, modern civilization -(quoted inWeisgall 1980, 83) suddenlyovertook the nativesof BikiniAtoll," and closeswith the thought,"Civilization and the Atomic In 1946, BikiniAtoll was conceptualizedin many Age had come to Bikini,and they[the Bikinians] had differentways. While it is reasonablyobvious that there beenin theway" (Markwith 1946, 97, 116). A newsreel is a cleardivide between American and Bikiniancon- informedAmerican viewers about the Bikinians're- ceptualizationsof Bikini,setting up a dichotomybe- movalfrom their island by claiming, "The islandersare a tweenthe two is toosimplistic. It should not be forgotten nomadicgroup, and are wellpleased that the Yanks are that therewere differencesin the way the atoll was goingto add a littlevariety to theirlives" (quotedin conceptualizedwithin each ofthese groups. Most nota- Weisgall1994, 162). Furthermore,many Americans in- bly,there was widespreaddisapproval in the United volvedwith the tests viewed the removal of the Bikini- Statesover using Bikini as an atomictest site as wellas ans to nearbyRongerik Atoll as an eventrade, if not an lamentationon thepart of Americans on Bikinithat the improvementin thecondition of the Bikinians. In their atollwas going to be damagedby testing (Weisgall 1994). imagination,the peripherywas the peripheryand an In theend, however, the conceptualization ofBikini as a atollwas an atoll;E. J.Rooney, quoted at thebeginning marginaldeserted isle enabledthe U.S. militaryto le- ofthis article, wrote, "Bikini and Rongeriklook as alike gitimizethe explosion not only of the initial two atomic as twoIdaho potatoes"(Rooney 1946, 25).11 bombson Bikiniin 1946, but of anothertwenty-one On Bikini,as in mostplaces, one group'simagined muchlarger hydrogen bomb blasts over the next twelve peripheryis anothergroup's imagined center. As would years.12 be expected froma groupof people withgenerations of experiencein a place, mostBikinians held verydifferent RadioactiveWasteland or Safe Home? place-mythsthan the Americanmilitary regarding both theirhome atoll and RongerikAtoll where they were Afterthe initialtests at Bikini,the island faded from forcedto relocate.Many Bikiniansregarded Bikini Atoll the world'sconsciousness, while the bathingsuit that as a homeland rich in resources,the site of theirlived bears its name became the mostpopular connotation of experiences,and a cultural landscape saturated with the word.Introduced in 1946 by Frenchdesigner, Louis meanings, deities, and the graves of their ancestors Reard, the bikinibathing suit was named afterthe atoll (Niedenthal 2002). The traditionalBikinian stories re- due to the intensemedia attentionthat Bikinireceived gardingRongerik, which is one-sixththe size of Bikini, during Operation Crossroads. Allegedly,the "effects 616 Davis wroughtby the scantily clad woman" in a bikiniswimsuit were comparedto the impactof the atomicbomb (Cameron1970, 26)13 While the popularityof the swimsuitcaused worldwideidentification of the word "bikini"with the swimsuitand not the atoll,the atoll itselfonce again made news in the mid 1950s when the testingof hydrogenbombs expanded from nearby EnewetakAtoll to Bikini. Of thetwenty-one hydrogen bomb tests performed on Bikinifrom 1954 to 1958,test shot Bravo, on 1 March 1954,was the mostdestructive. A hydrogenbomb test over 750 timesas explosiveas the bombdropped on Hiroshima,Bravo vaporized some of theislands on the northernrim of the atoll and lefta largecrater through the atoll reef.The pulverizedbits of coral landed as falloutover the Pacificand on nearbyRongelap Atoll, Figure3. Replantedpalm trees on Bikini. and a radioactivewave washed over Bikini, "killing off all animallife except one hardy variety of rats" (Trumball one articlereferred to Bikinias a "renovatedparadise" 1982, 49). The damagefrom Bravo was so greatthat (MacDougall 1974). The BikinianCouncil, the local thereare reportsthat the top Americanofficial in the governmentfor the Bikinians, voted not to returndue to Marshalls,Maynard Neas, warnedMarshallese leaders, distrustof the reports that the atollwas safe.They also "Ifanyone breathes a wordof this, they'll be shotbefore said, though,that they would not preventindividuals sunrise"(Johnson 1980, 58). fromgoing on theirown if theydecided to go (Nied- Therewas also a humancost to theBravo detonation. enthal2002). In the early1970s, some Bikinians went Manyresidents of Rongelapreceived massive doses of back to the atoll.Tommy McCraw, a scientistwith the radiationfrom Bravo and have continued to havehealth Americangovernment, went with the Bikiniansand problems,particularly thyroid abnormalities, to the pre- triedto convincethe Bikinians the atollwas not radio- sent day (Simon 1997). The Rongelapeseclaim they activelyhazardous. Life magazine reported on the Biki- wereintentionally contaminated as partof a U.S. ex- nians'return, as wellas theirdistrust: periment.The Japanesefishing boat FukuryuMaru, whichsailed into the area duringthe test,was also af- Fartherdown the beach we cameupon a single,stunted fectedby fallout from Bravo. One personon boarddied coconutpalm bearing stunted fruit. Two Bikinians were fromradiation poisoning, and thetuna the crew caught alreadythere and had harvested some of the nuts and cut them On ourarrival heldthem out and asked if enteredthe market in Japan,creating a panicover "Bi- open. they weresafe to drink. said kini tuna" (Weideman1954). The effectsof the test they "Sure," McCraw,"they"re andhe madea motionfor them to drink. But wereso that1 Marchis now a nationalhol- good," they significant hesitated.One of them held his coconut out and made the idayin theMarshall Islands (Nuclear Victims' Day). samemotion to McCraw.Laughing, he tookthe nut and In 1958,the last nuclear test occurred at and Bikini, drankfrom it tillit was empty. The Bikinianslaughed too in the 1960s,discourses about Bikini shifted from dis- anddrank with confidence. cussionsof it as an idealtest site to discussionsover how -(Mydans1968, 33) dangerousthe atoll had become.Not onlywas theatoll radioactive,but it was litteredwith equipmentand Five yearslater, medical doctors discovered that the damaged facilities,and most of the coconut palms were bodiesof the atoll's residents had tentimes the safe level gone (Diggs 1969). The U.S. governmentpromised the of radioactiveCesium and fourtimes the safelevel of Bikiniansthat afterthe atoll was declared safe,people Strontium(Simon 1997). Scientistsfound the radioac- could move back. The United States triedto make the tive contaminationresulted largely from eating the atollhabitable by clearing off debris and plantingclose to coconuts.In 1978, those livingon Bikiniwere once 100,000 new palm trees in the high moderniststyle of againexpelled from their atoll. A Bikiniansaid of the eerilyperfect rows across the island (Figure3). experience: By the late 1960s, the U.S. governmentdecided that the atoll was safe and repatriationcould indeed begin. [W]e reallydidn't have any worries until those scientists The scientificrepresentations of Bikini had changed; startedtalking about the island being poisoned again. ... RepresentingPlace: "DesertedIsles" and theReproduction of Bikini Atoll 617

Wewere so heartbrokenthat we did not know what to do. Currently,most people consider the atollsafe for short ...We weresad, but we didn't want to make a problemfor visits,but longer stays and eating local food resources are theAmericans. Ifthey say move, we move. bothtoo riskyto be attempted.This designation,along -(Pero Joelquoted in Niedenthal 2002, 72) withthe materialremnants in the landscapefrom nu- cleartesting and theworldwide name recognition of the This tragicepisode in Bikini'shistory raises questions atoll, has made possiblea new conceptualizationof aboutthe limitsof the abilityfor discourses to remake Bikinibased on the deserted-isleplace-myth: tourist places.While peopleare compelledto understandthe paradise. materiallandscape only through the ways in whichthey conceptualizeit, it is importantto see thelimits of any The Productionof a PostnuclearParadise approachwhere conceptualizations and representations are viewedas drivingplace productioncompletely sep- In a neo-colonialprocess, itis often imagined that it is the arate fromthe materialenvironment. As is painfully rightof thewealthy contemporary tourist to travelthe obvious,all the scientificdiscourse in the worldcould worldin searchof difference-parts ofthe world are col- not washthe Cesium-137out of the foodchain or re- onizedby tourists (with their enclaves and colonies) and touristinfrastructures and constitutethe three vaporizedislands. This is not, theirdistinctive technologies. 1998, however,to say thatthe scientificdiscourses produced -(Edensor 22) aboutBikini did not enable social practices to producea Needlessto thetransformation of "a nucleargrave- certainkind of place. say, yard"into a touristsite that might generate revenues for Justas theculturally biased proclamation of Admiral the Bikiniansseems both symbolicallyand materially Prattthat the atoll was "unhealthy"in 1946 enabled bankrupt. certainuses of the the scientificdeclaration of atoll, -(Teaiwa 2000,109) "healthy,"however mistaken, allowed the repatriation ofBikini in the1970s to takeplace. When new evidence- It is whatyou picture in yourmind. .... It's a remote, the contaminationof the Bikinians-cameto light,it beautifulSouth Pacific island. Beautiful beaches. There's was the changeof designation of the healthfulness of the nothingto do. No television.No phones.It's what you want atollthat then drove the policy of removal.Once again, it tobe. Weall wonderwhy the Bikinians aren't here. It's itwas the conceptualizations ofthe atoll's material attributes, sucha beautifulplace. in thiscase radioactiveor not,that informed the usesof -(BikiniAtoll tourist, 2002) theatoll. Understandably,the past experiences of the Bikinian Tourismhas been recognized as a categoryof practices communityaffect their decisions regarding repatriation that can privilegethe needs and desiresof nonlocal today.At present,there are conflictingviews regarding visitors,usually from wealthier countries, over the needs the safetyof Bikini,and manyBikinians remain dis- and desiresof local people. Many geographershave trustfulof scientific proclamations regarding the safety of shown that tourismproduces "other-directed" land- theatoll (J. S. Davis 2005). Duringmy discussions with scapes that can sever the connectionbetween local membersof the Bikiniancommunity, people often ex- conceptualizationsofplace and the resulting fabric of the pressedfrustration over the mixedmessages they had physicallandscape and its associatedsocial activities receivedfrom different scientific reports. In particular, (Urry1990; DeOliver 1996; Hoelscher1998; Oakes therewas a strongreaction when the Bikinians recently 1999; Chang 2000; Cheongand Miller2000; D'Arcus discoveredthat the U.S. EPA standardfor radiation in 2000). Fromthis perspective, itwould seem that tourism the United States is 15 milliremsabove background on Bikini,like militarycolonialism in the past, will lead level, while 100 milliremsabove backgroundlevel is to the Bikiniansagain being denied the abilityto re- consideredsafe forthe MarshallIslands (personalcom- fashionBikini Atoll accordingto theirdesires. Tourist munication2001). The existenceof this double standard conceptualizationsof the atoll,however, are onlyone set forradiation exposure, regardless of the scientificmerits of currentimaginings for the atoll. Many Bikiniansstill of the 100 milliremstandard, has furthereroded the view the atoll as a potentialhomeland. Also, the Biki- Bikinians' trust of scientificstudies on safe levels of nians may have an advantage over other tourismhost radiation. groupsin that they own and operate the resortthem- The place-myththat has developed in the mindsof selves. The Bikinianexperience with tourism highlights many Bikinians and non-Bikiniansis that Bikini is a the fact that there are always multipleconceptualiza- contaminated place that ought to remain deserted. tions of a place and that the reproductionof place is a 618 Davis

lie on thebottom of Bikini's lagoon. The resortattracts high-dollartourists who are qualified to do thedeep and technicaldives, many of which are over55 m (175 ft) deepand involve swimming into the wrecks. In addition, the diversmust do a seriesof decompressionstops un- derwaterwhere they breathe a special blend of air (Nitrox)before surfacing. The pricefor the week is US$2,700,not including the substantial airfare to getto Bikini.Most touristsstay on Bikinifor one week and spendmuch of their time diving. The shipson thebottom of Bikini Atoll's lagoon have a historyalmost as variedas the atollitself, with many datingto theWorld War II era.The mostfamous vessels arethe battleship USS Arkansas,the aircraft carrier USS Saratoga,and theJapanese battleship HIJMS Nagato.14 Figure4. Gazeboon BikiniIsland. The shipswere sunk during the atomictests in 1946 afterwhich they were largely ignored. In the 1970s,they complexweaving of conceptualizations,practices, and ratedmention only as "numerousobstructions" on the power. chartsof Bikini'slagoon (Pincas 1975). In the 1980s, In 1996,the Bikiniangovernment started operation however,title to the shipswas transferredto the Biki- oftheir tourist resort on BikiniAtoll (Figures 4 and 5). niansbecause they viewed the scrap metal as a possible The Bikiniangovernment, which goes by the polylocal sourceof income. monikerof the Kili-Bikini-EjitCouncil, is based on In 1989,the U.S. NationalPark Service's Submerged MajuroAtoll in the southernMarshall Islands and is CulturalResources Unit performed a study to assessthe composedof an electedcouncil and mayorthat repre- tourismpotential of Bikini Atoll. The researchresulted sentBikinians living on Kili Island,Ejit Island,and the in a textthat catalogued the shipsin the lagoon,de- restof Majuro Atoll. The government-runresort on scribedtheir condition, and recommendeda plan of Bikiniis over 400 milesfrom the populationcenter actionto turnBikini Atoll into a nationalpark (Delgado, on Majuroand, as one ofits employees noted, is "modest Lenihan,and Murphy1991).15 The authorsof the park on amenitiesand highon diving"(personal communi- servicedocument wrote in excitedprose about the his- cation2001). toricalimportance of the sunken ships and thepotential Diversfrom around the worldhave convergedon fora scuba-diving-orientedpark. BikiniAtoll to stayin thesimple hotel, stroll the white Whilethe national park status was never realized, the sandbeaches, and dive among the wrecked warships that documentfostered the idea that the sunkenships on Bikiniwere a tourismresource. The Bikinianssent a delegationto Las Vegas to reviewoffers from private corporations,including Club Med, forthe development of tourismon Bikini(J. Davis 1994). The Bikinians, however,opted to foregocorporate involvement in order to maintainfinancial and aestheticcontrol over the operation.While they initially formed a partnershipwith a smalldiving company based out of MajuroAtoll in the MarshallIslands, the Bikiniansnow own and runthe entire business. This strategyhas been successful. The resortcontinues to attract touristsin increasing numbers,and in Decemberof 2001, the Bikiniancouncil distributedover $250,000 in profitsin equal shares to everyBikinian man, woman, and child. While higherprofits for the entirecommunity was a keyfactor in the Bikinians'development strategy, other Figure5. The lagoon beach on BikiniIsland in frontof tourist considerationsalso playeda role. Initially,the Bikinians resort. worriedthat an outside tourismcompany might allow RepresentingPlace: "DesertedIsles" and theReproduction of Bikini Atoll 619 diversto scavengepieces of the ships and other Bikinian be dismissedas nonsenseif it werenot for the fact that I artifactsfrom the age ofnuclear testing, which are seen foundthis kind of portrayal of Bikini to be verycommon. as culturaland economicresources (personal commu- Whetherthe atollis "really"pristine is lessmy con- nication2002). While it mayseem odd to some that cernthan the fact that many people interacting with the thereis a concernfor maintaining the "pristineness" ofa atoll conceptualizeit as pristine.What is importantis set of decayingships that have been underwaterover that,increasingly, the place-mythof the pristine,de- fiftyyears after being pulverized by nuclearweapons, sertedisle paradise has been appliedto Bikiniby travel diversare attractedto Bikinibecause the wreckshave writersand touristsvisiting the atoll, even though most been preserved.A lawyerworking with the Bikinians ofthese people know Bikini's nuclear history. 16The fact commented, that BikiniAtoll is now developinginto a touristat- tractiondemonstrates the malleabilityof conceptual- One of themost important issues was control. And the izationsof place and theirability to be mergedeven controlwas notso muchthe fiscal control as muchas whenthey are not complementary. As Shields (1991, 25) thecultural and diving control. We looked at Truk [a wreck writes,"The meaningof particularplaces is a compen- divingsite in theFederated States of Micronesia] and we diumof intersubjective and culturalinterpretations over sawhow these once pristine ships had been stripped of all time.Thus a placemay go frombeing considered a resort theirinstrument panels and virtuallyanything that is to beingan industrialcentre." He furthercontends that movable.And we realized that if we didn't set this up the in hisresearch, "[i]mages and myths were found to have rightway that was going to happen to Bikini. And we could a complexhistorically-changing relationship with em- signa dealwith the Acme diving company, but we wouldn't piricalfacts and practices.In some cases imagespre- be out we wouldn'tknow what was on.And there, going served past practices,in other cases they followed a diver a $100 to a divemaster would clearly slipping changing'realities' strictly" (Shields 1991, 261). be ableto takea tachometeroff probably a plane,or a Not do these and reinforce trinketoff of movable.And we felt that would only place-images myths something old or withthe butthe new be Andwe felt, OK ifBikini is to itself practices change practices, wrong. going open can comefrom the realm of discourse and inform up to thepublic we wanted to keep it pristine. images new It is not thatnew -(personalcommunication 2002) practices. just conceptualizations of the atoll have come about frompractices on the island,but ratherthat the practiceof tourismon the Whatmay seem even more surprising is that the atoll islandhas beenenabled by the reimagining of theplace itselfis alsospoken about in termsof its pristineness. The as a tourismattraction. Discursively, the Bikiniangov- Web page forBikini displays numerous quotes from ernmenthas been able to unlinkBikini from the image of divingand travelmagazines referring to Bikinias "par- contamination(even though,as discussedabove, the adise,""utopia," "the Garden of Eden"and "unspoiled safetyof the atoll is stillan issueof intense debate) and by development"(http://www.bikiniatoll.com). One of successfullylink BikiniAtoll to place-imagesabout thedivers who led divingtours on theatoll was quoted tropicalparadises on desertedisles that have been cir- as saying,"The lureof the place is thatfor forty years culatingin Westerncivilization for centuries(Howe nobodyhas beenhere" (Kristoff 1997b, 31). In another 2000). article,the samediver says, "This is a wilderness.This Likemany other tourist places, however, the deserted placehasn't been touched in forty years" (Kristoff 1997a, isleplace-myth is one ofseveral for the atoll,and it is a A4). Of course,if the viewinto the past is expanded directedone. These images of Bikini as a tourists'paradise fromforty years to sixtyyears, it maybe one ofthe most areprimarily disseminated through the Bikinians' Web site "touched"places on the face of the planet.It is also and througharticles in tourismmagazines. As shown interestingto note that the conceptualizationof Bikini above,there are stillmany inside and outsidethe Bikinian as untouchedfor forty years ignores the repatriationat- communitywho regardthe atoll as a contaminatedplace. temptin the 1970s,the periodicblasting for construction The Bikiniangovernment also continuesto promotethe materialson the south end of the island, and the De- imageof Bikinias a contaminatedplace to the U.S. gov- partmentof Energyexperiments on Bikinithat involve ernmentduring negotiations for more clean-up money. scrapingoff large areas ofsoil, removing palm fronds, and Anothermajor place-mythprevalent in the Bikinian pumpingseawater through the soil. As one touristsaid in communityis of Bikinias a lost homelandwith intense regardto Bikini, "It's kind of in a precariousbalance culturalsignificance. While some in the communitymay between being undisturbedand completelydisturbed never be convinced Bikiniwill be safe enough forrepa- (personalcommunication 2002). This quote could easily triation,a substantialnumber of people believe it is safe 620 Davis enoughnow or thatit can be madeso soon.One official Theythink of their Bikini [compared] toKili. Kili is a single in theMarshalls stated, islandand they live here [on Bikini] before, the old people. AndI thinkthat's why [they] say that Bikini is paradise.... Likeit is forthem to andit's forthem to Ifyou ask [Bikinian],even if are in easy gofishing easy somebody they living onthe other notlike Kili.... is but Arkansasor New York, if askthem where their is go islands, Majuro good, you place it'skind of a lotof overthere. And I thinkthat when they'lltell you it's Bikini. In theirbelief that was to people given werehere sharewhat hadand their life themby God and they have a ofland they everybody they particularpiece up herewas for That's thereor maybeseveral where that is what reallyeasy everybody. whythey say theybelong someof the thinkabout the what to. So maybeyou wouldn'tsee 3100 move peoplethey always past, people up wereon Bikini. theretomorrow but at onepoint or another, most of those they -(personalcommunication 2002) peoplewould go backand at leastvisit if they had the opportunity. Thisquote emphasizes the political nature of Bikinian communication -(personal 2002) representationsofKili and Bikinito me as a researcher fromthe United States. It wouldbe foolishto thinkthat Delvingmore deeply into Bikinian representations of representationsofKili and Bikinipresented to me were Bikiniand KiliIsland, I foundthat, unlike some groups notalso directed and political. This is notto saythat the living in exile (Malkki 1995), the Bikinianshave Bikinianrepresentations to me weredisingenuous, but maintaineda verystrong sense of collectiveidentity ratherthat they must be examinedin thecontext of the based on theirshared historical narrative of disposses- ethnographicencounter. Henry Barnard, reflecting on sion, theircollective confinement to formerlyunin- the workof PierreBourdieu, noted, "Reflexivity is not habited(or verysparsely inhabited) islands, and their achievedby the use of thefirst person or by the expe- politicaldefiance of the traditionalparamount chiefs dientof constructing a text which situates the observer (Iroij)of the MarshallIslands that dates back to before in the act ofobservation. Rather, it is achievedby sub- 1946. jectingthe position of the observerto the samecritical While they have maintaineda coherentethnic analysisas that of the constructedobject at hand" identity,the Bikinian way of life has beeninfluenced by (Barnard1990, emphasis in theoriginal). It is important the inclusionof the MarshallIslands in theworld eco- to notethat, as mystay in theMarshall Islands length- nomicand culturalsystem. Bikinians on bothKili and ened,there appeared to be a changein thenarratives I Ejit have access to consumerproducts such as cars, wastold about the desirability ofBikini. There appears to cannedfood, televisions, and otherimported goods. In be a "stocknarrative" about the desirabilityof Bikini fact,because subsistenceis extremelydifficult on the versusKili or Majuro that is toldfirst to visitors, and that singleisland of Kili,the Bikinianshave becomealmost is thenfollowed by comments that a lifeon Bikinimight totallydependent on importedgoods. To manyBikinians feelisolated and a bitboring (especially among younger on tinyKili and Ejit islands, Bikini is seenas a homeland respondentswho have neverlived on Bikini). witha greateramount of land, an abundanceof sea life, Whileit is unclearwhen repatriation will happen, and anda varietyof edible plants. Like the tourists and travel just how manyBikinians will establishtheir primary writers,many Bikinians refer to Bikinias paradise.There residenceson theatoll, it seemslikely that it willoccur is a cleardifference, however, in thekind of place that is someday.When the returnoccurs, it is likelythat the imaginedunder the label of paradise.While both the "contaminatedplace" conceptualizationof Bikiniwill Bikiniansand touristsuse "paradise"to denote an largelybe overcome.17But how will the two competing Edenicplace of origin,to the tourists,Bikini is repre- place-mythsof homeland and thedeserted-isle, paradise sentedas a generic,deserted, tropical island. It is a purely mix?The kindsof socialpractices encouraged by these symbolicsite and, as Tim Edensor notes in his discus- visionsof place maynot be compatibleon a smallisland. sions of other touristattractions, "symbolic sites are In my research,many touristsstated that theybelieve represented as synedoches or metaphors for larger the returnof Bikinianswould detractfrom the tourism spaces" (Edensor 1998, 19). For tourists,Bikini is a experience. One touriststated that she believed the paradise in comparisonto the everydayspaces of their repatriationof the Bikinianswould "ruin Bikini." She livesin industrializedcountries. Conversely, the Bikinian said, "Well it's goingto be a shantytown about like it is conceptualizationof Bikini as a paradise is rooted in out here [in Majuro]. It would look like Tijuana I think. a historicalexperience on the atoll thatis comparedto a It would change it quite a bit" (personalcommunication lifeof forcedmigration to a small island almost univer- 2002). Some touristsdid supportthe idea of the Biki- sallyreferred to as "the prison."As one Bikiniansaid, nians moving back under certain conditions. Many RepresentingPlace: "DesertedIsles" and theReproduction of Bikini Atoll 621 touristsbrought up theidea thatthe Bikinians could live allow themmore choice over how tourismwill shape separatedfrom the touristsbut close enoughso that theiratoll in theyears to come;however, if the Bikinians touristscould interactwith them in a sortof cultural- hope to keep attractingtourists they will have to re- tourismtype of interaction where they could experience, producethe atoll, or at leastparts of it, in a fashionthat briefly,"island life" and buycrafts. is in symmetrywith tourists' conceptualizations ofwhat a Otherswere also skepticalabout how touristsocial vacationparadise should be. If the Bikinianswant to practicesand Bikiniansocial practices would coexist on competewith other dive operations in a globaltourism Bikini.One Marshalleseworker at thetourism operation marketplace,external pressures will have to be con- said, sideredeven if governmental control over the atoll and touristoperation remains local. I thinkit's better if they [Bikinians] don't come here when While the Bikinianshave so farbeen successfulin thereare customers on theisland. Because once are they attractingtourists, it seemsthere may be dangersin herethey do lots of stuff, like if wantto fishor they go they promotingtheir atoll as a place thatfits Western con- wantto go birds-killingbirds, or something like that, or ceptualizationsof the desertedisle. For example,as I eatingthe turtles. They can do it in front of the customers, have discussed, touristsare not supportive andthat's one thing I'm afraid of. already many of the idea of local inhabitantsin their -(personalcommunication 2002) having spaces (andvice versa). While the income from tourism may be Conversely,some Bikinians have concerns about how welcomed,the potential social problems associated with theymight be offendedby tourist practices. In a twistof tourismneed to be considered.Researchers of tourism incredibleirony, tourists wearing the bathing suit named have documentedthat while tourism may bring needed afterthe atollare consideredby manyBikinians to be incomeinto local economies, it can alsonegatively affect culturallyinappropriate. One Bikinianman workingat local places by spawningcorruption, prostitution, dis- the tourismenterprise said, possessionof land, erosion of traditionalcultures, envi- ronmentaldegradation and greaterincome inequality Our that'sthe custom, problem.Like right now, no family, (Doxey 1976; Erisman1983; E. Cohen 1988; Dogan no Bikinians withus now. are stay right [Whenthey here] 1989; Urry1990; Britton1991; King,Pizam, and Mil- thecustom is different. cannot really They[the tourists] man1993; C. Hall 1994;Pearce 1994; andWall wearthe bikini It Simpson just [bathingsuit]. [would]really destroy Holden ourcustom. 1999; Chang2000; 2000). -(personalcommunication 2002) ContestedMeanings and the Politics of Place Mostof the tourists, tourism managers, and Bikinians I wantto recovera less essential notion of notnec- I spokewith believe that the best solution is to the place keep alliedwith the ofresistance but as an tourists froma Bikiniancommu- essarily geopolitics separated repatriated unstableterrain which in fact not he- Thereare differentideas on howto do problematizes only nity. many this, anddomination, but resistance as well. from both on different of Bikini gemony ranging having parts -(Oakes 1997,525) Island,to havingthe tourists or the Bikinians on another islandof the atoll. RepresentationsofBikini demonstrate the many dif- It appearsthat the deserted-isle, paradise place-myth, ferentconceptualizations of the atoll throughtime. In and the homelandplace-myth may encourage practices addition,this articleis itselfanother representation, and alterationsto thematerial landscape that will be dif- one that conceptualizesthe atoll, throughacademic ficultto reconcilein the sameplace. The Bikiniangov- discourses,selective interviews, and my personalex- ernmentand tourismmanagers, who are interestedin periences, as a contested place with multiple, fluid continuingto generateincome from the touristoperation, interpretations.There is not one trueway of seeing the seem willingto explorethe idea of separatingthe tourists atoll,but people consideringthe atoll todaymay see it as and local inhabitantswhen repatriation occurs. In thisway, a radioactiveplace to be feared,a place ravaged by a the Bikinianswould attemptto minimizeconflicts by en- successionof neocolonialist practices, a tourismparadise, couragingthe existenceof both the homeland and de- a lost homeland withplentiful resources, or a combina- serted-isle,paradise place-myths of the whole atoll while tion of these perspectives.After all, which is the true constrainingthe practicesassociated with each imagining representationof Bikini?The one made by a seventy- to finer-scalespaces withinthe place. year-oldBikinian man who once lived there,or a thirty- Given that the Bikiniansown theirtourist operation, year-oldmale tourist,or the workerswho operate the the institutionalcontrol over tourismpractices should touristresort, or the U.S. Departmentof Energy,or an 622 Davis academicauthor, or a travelwriter, or themayor of Bi- nuclearweapons there, but they also hadthe power to le- kini,or a fifteen-year-oldBikinian woman born on Kili gitimizeitthrough the labeling of the atoll as a "deserted Island? isle" and the labelingof the Bikinianpeople as "primi- Whilesome may disagree as to whichof the above is tive"and "nomadic."Today, tourist representations of the"correct" essential nature of Bikini Atoll, the analysis the atollhave come to dominatethrough the dissemi- ofplace as a discursive-materialformation I put forward nationof a re-imaginedconceptualization of the de- holds that thereis no essentialnature to the place. sertedisle of Bikini as a tropicalparadise open for foreign Rather,there are multiple place-myths ofBikini based on visitation.In both1946 and today,the view of the atoll a pluralityof readingsof the atoll.Each place-mythis as a homelandstruggles to competeagainst these more basedon a selectsubset of the atoll's attributes, formed popularrepresentations. by the relationshipbetween the observedphysical site Third,by arguingagainst the idea of "correct"and and the waythat past experiences with the worldpre- "incorrect"views of place,I runa riskof undermining disposethe observerto findmeaning in places.These anticolonialpolitical projects. Rather than delegitimize imaginingsof whata place is, and shouldbe, are then the politicalclaims for place governanceespoused by used to constructrepresentations that aim to legitimize colonizedand exploitedpeople by claimingthat their certainrules that govern activities in theplace as wellas viewsof place are merely one amongmany, an analysisof modificationsto the physical and builtenvironment. themechanisms of place reproduction can lead notjust Whilethe analysisof themechanisms for place pro- to a theoryof resistancebut to tacticsof resistance.I ductionoutlined in thisproject is usefulfor studying the believethat there is politicalbenefit in understanding waysthat places are reproduced and contested, there are thatthere are alwaysmultiple views of a place by dif- threeimplications, two analytical and one political,that ferentindividuals and thatthose views can be changed need to be discussedfurther. First, my choice to char- throughinstitutional control over the place (sovereign- acterizeBikini as an indivisibleplace ratherthan as a ty). This, though,is onlyone way to changeplaces. partitionablespace has ramificationsfor the way that Placesare subjectin manyways to economic,cultural, conflictresolution can be theorized.By choosingto and politicalforces emanating from far outside the offi- analyzeBikini Atoll as a place, I have chosento em- cial boundariesof political control. phasizeit as a singularand undividablespace. The rea- There are also ways to gain institutionalcontrol son formaking this choice is thatthis is the waymost throughdiscursive campaigns that serveto legitimize peopleimagine it. The respondentsin mystudy place a subalternrepresentations ofwhat a place"is." Being able labelon it thatapplies to thewhole atoll. For the most to demonstratethat the currently hegemonic view of a part,the whole atoll is characterizedas a paradise, placeis historicallycontingent, political, exploitive, and contaminatedplace, or homeland. I have,in manyways, dependenton itsbeing seen by people as legitimatecan "followedmy data" and portrayed itas a singularplace as be a powerfulstarting point for a groupthat lacks eco- well.As is evidentin mydiscussion of conflicts between nomic,political, and institutionalpower due to yearsof touristuses and homelanduses, however, Bikini Atoll exploitation.Tactically, in anycontest over place, to say can be seen as a dividablespace where tourists are rel- thatyour view of place is rightand anothergroup's view egatedto partof the atoll and Bikiniansto anotherpart. of a place is wrongis onlythe start.It is imperative The solutionsto resolvingfuture disagreements may to understandhow other groups have discursivelycon- dependon people'sability to see the atoll as a space structedand imaginedthe place, how they have ratherthan as an indivisibleplace. marshaledadherents to theirviews, and howthey have Greatcare also needsto be takento emphasizethat gainedthe ability to inscribetheir views in thematerial power exists not only when the imaginedlandscape is landscape.It is importantto considerthese discursive- made real, but also when the real landscape is made materialmechanisms of place reproductionin order to imagined (Figure 2). All of the differentplace-myths influencethem for political ends. discussed in this article are influencedby the ability differentactors have to link them to other representa- Acknowledgements tions of place and the power some groupshave to mo- bilize certainrepresentations and disseminatethem. As I am indebtedto manypeople formaking this article is obvious fromthis historyof Bikini,some groupshave possible.I send mysincerest thanks to JackNiedenthal, had a much greaterability to producerepresentations of Brenda Waltz, Hinton Johnson,Eldon Note, and Tim the atoll. In 1946, the U.S. militaryhad the power to Williamsfor making my research in the MarshallIslands physicallyforce the Bikiniansoff their atoll and explode possible.I am also gratefulfor helpful and criticalcom- RepresentingPlace: "DesertedIsles" and theReproduction of Bikini Atoll 623 mentson previousdrafts of thiswork by Kat Kleman 8. For a completelisting of the shipssunk at Bikini,and Davis,Lorraine Dowler, Lakshman Yapa, James McCar- the whereaboutsof the shipsthat survived, see Delgado, Duarte Matt Don Lenihan,and Murphy(1991); Delgado (1996); and thy, Morais,Roger Downs, Hannah, Niedenthal and (2002). Mitchell,James Duncan, AudreyKobayashi, the 9. Thisis theportrayal ofthe Marshall Islands used on a mural anonymousreviewers. in theairport on KwajaleinAtoll. 10. See, forexample, the National Geographic article on Bikini in 1946 (Markwith1946). The documentaryfilm Radio Bikini,produced by Robert Stone in 1988(nominated for an AcademyAward), also showsin vividdetail how the mili- Notes tary'smeetings with the Bikinians were staged and reshot numeroustimes. 1. vast The majorityof the interviewswere tape recorded, 11. refersto theBikinians' in 1946. a fewwere done with writtennotes. I tran- "Juda" Iroij(leader) although only 12. Whilethe two American portrayals ofBikini as a nonplace scribedthe recordedinterviews and then coded and and as a not be the "AtlasTI" software. marginalizedplace may necessarily logically analyzed responsesusing computer consistent, wereused in a mannerto While other wereconsulted they complementary many people casuallyduring conceptualizeBikini as an experimentalspace. This effec- two in the MarshallIslands, a total my stays eighty-eight tivelylegitimized the use ofatomic weapons at Bikini. peoplewere officially interviewed. Most interviewswere 13. Fora moredetailed discussion of the connections between conductedin forsome that were done in English,except the bathingsuit and BikiniAtoll as wellas a theoretical Marshallesewith the assistance of a local translator.Most of the similar and of interviewswere done but some analysis marginalization exoticizing one-to-one, interviews, women'sbodies and Bikinians,see Teaiwa(2000). particularlythose with tourists, were conducted in small 14. The Nagatowas formerlyJapanese Admiral Yamamoto's groups. fromwhich the attack on PearlHarbor was com- 2. flagship, See Website at http://www.bikiniatoll.com manded.The other in Bikini's include 3. This was done a reviewof the Reader'sGuide to majorships lagoon through the USS Anderson,submarine USS de- PeriodicLiterature. The that con- destroyer Apogon, periodicals commonly stroyerUSS Lamson,merchant vessel USS Carlisle,sub- tainedaccounts of Bikini included Life, US Newsand World marineUSS and the New York Pilotfish, Japanesewarship HIJMS Report, TimesMagazine, National Geographic, Sakawa. Newsweek,and others. 15. Bikiniis not the former to be con- 4. As thereis a in as well only bombingrange noted, strongtendency Soja'swork, sideredas a national See alsoMisrach (1990). as in Edward David and other possible park. writingsby Casey, Harvey, 16. Interestingly,Bikini is notreally what could be categorized theorists,to differentkinds of as moreab- portray spaces as a siteof "darktourism" (see, e.g., Lippard 1999). While stract(or "thin,"or thanother more "placeless") spaces touristslike to dive aroundthe wrecked ships, the divers infusedwith a senseof place. These abstract spaces appear I interviewed muchless interestin the to be tiedto domination the or an outsider displayed tragedy by bourgeoisie of thenuclear testing than in themilitary histories of the authority.Two strong critiques of this tendency have been themselves. offered feministtheorists as wellas researchersex- ships by by 17. Thisfollows from the idea thatif the Bikinian government aminingspaces of consumption. Doreen Massey and other the for itwill be because feministsclaim the of abstractand lived is gives go-ahead repatriation, likely perspective the atollis no longerviewed as contaminated.There is, generatedfrom the narrow of very viewpoint privileged however,a spatialcomponent to the contamination.It is maleswho have historicallyenjoyed the ability to control thatthe Bikinianscould returnto some of the and cross possible spaces easily the boundariesbetween different southernislands of the atoll while contamination remained social for spaces.See, example,Massey (1991). The feminist a forthe northern islands. The Bikinian that mustbe viewed from problem govern- critique spaces (andcategorized) menthas stressed, thatthere will be no based on the varied of repeatedly though, multipleperspectives experiences returnuntil they can have unrestricteduse of the entire space by genderedindividuals undermines the idea that atoll. spacescan be viewedand categorizedaccording to simple binaries(or even "trinaries"). Furthermore, the work of Jon Gossand others has further eroded the distinction between abstractand lived space by demonstrating how people find a References wealthof meaningseven withinthe mostcontrived and controlled Goss capitalist spaces(MacCannell 1976; 1993, Baudrillard,J.1981. For a critiqueof the political economy of the 1999;Gottdiener 1997). St. Louis:Telos. 5. See also Bourdieu sign. (1977). Barnard,H. 1990.Bourdieu and ethnography:Reflexivity, pol- 6. 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