Intimations of Postmodernity in Dark Tourism: The Fate of History at Fort Siloso, Singapore

In this paper, we examine what a few scholars have referred to as postmodernist intimations within contemporary tourism practices, and their potential implications on the way that history is portrayed within ‘dark tourism’ sites. Drawing upon the case of one such site, Fort Siloso, we emphasise two main implications: (1) the privileging, at the site, of the ‘visual’ and ‘experiential’ over the need for historical interpretations, and (2) the dilution of local specificities to make it universally appealing. We then analyse the views of visitors to the site, mainly tourists, to show that, while they appreciate the former, they are also critical of the fact that the past has been ‘watered-down’ at the site. On a broader note, we highlight a few paradoxes emerging within postmodernist conceptions of tourism today, and how the increase in demand for the enhancement of ‘the gaze’ does not necessarily mean a concomitant compromise on, and ideally should not be done at the expense of, historical rigour and depth.