“Tourist Snapshots, an essay written by Rolf Potts, explores the power of “snapshots” to manipulate memory. He navigates place, time, and provides an analysis of his past, as he views (and chooses to share) it.
Potts opens with an anecdote of loving a beautiful woman, seducing his audience with a luminous description of Eva. After a brief time with her, we, the reader, surface in Washington.
This “jump” is the first moment of dissonance, a harsh transition from Thailand, 2001, to Washington, 1986.
The transition is harsh. Eva is dropped and a new topic is introduced We, the readers, come to understand later that Eva is simply an introduction, not the focus of the essay, but this is not evident in that first transition.
Potts uses a snapshot …show more content…
Potts analyzes himself in “Tourist Snapshots.” Although well written, this section is immemorable - His description is cliche as he describes his average childhood and himself as a young, awkward, sexually repressed middle class boy. While this description offers insight into Potts, it detracts from the narrative aim.
This isn’t to say that Potts’ writing has no redeeming qualities - his soft descriptions of falling in love and his careful word choice reveal a highly skilled author. Potts interweaves a history of photography, personal anecdotes and the significance of travel into one essay, and demonstrates exceptional writing - albeit, in an incohesive style that leaves the reader confused, dazed (and, in my case, disappointed.)
Although “Tourists Snapshots” did not inspire me, I applaud Rolf Potts for attempting to inject vitality into the quickly shifting genre of travel