I don't get why he's calling it authentic. It's a simulacrum, just like porn to real sex.
But it makes me think of this photo series http://www.photography.at/_fake_holidays.html (or with more words: https://medium.com/gone/surreal-photos-from-inside-the-fake-...) of faked vacation spots: a ski hall in Dubai or of a tropical beach inside a hangar in Germany. And I have to wonder, how "authentic" is even Reykjavik nowadays? It certainly has been Disneyfied with the many many souvenir shops and "trendy" cafes, and as the article said, x years ago it used to be empty, and now it's full of tourists, so it certainly isn't "authentic" Reykjavik.
But then again, maybe tourists nowadays are just like watchers of porn. They know it's fake, but it's what they're seeking anyway. I was in Iceland in July, and even with the tourists, the nature is still great. Although I had to wonder what people were actually doing... they see something pretty and their first reaction is, "I have to take a picture of this!".
I think tourists in general are fine with fake. They just want an entertainment experience (and usually to share photos of it on social media). Whether it's authentic is usually not the point. But this might just be my jaded perspective.
I wouldn't hold the crowds in Reykjavik against the town itself, though. It's no less authentic than the seasonality of a college town. It's not the same as it was years ago, certainly, but everything changes. And I've found the tourism traffic pattern around town is actually quite narrow. Laugavegur is packed in the summer, but just move one block over and the street's practically empty. Also get out of downtown and into the suburbs and things feel much more normal.
Of course, tourists don't usually travel to foreign countries to walk around suburbs. And there's definitely an Icelandic hipster culture that enjoys the craft beer and fancy cafes as much as the tourists, so I wouldn't say that's inauthentic of modern Icelandic life. So then there's the question of which version of Iceland one considers "authentic".
There is a theme park just outside Da Nang, in Vietnam called Ba Na Hills[1]. The park is done up just like a European village. It's complete with a Gothic cathedral and a German beer hall, and is surreal to walk around.
Oddly, it's primarily targeted at South Korean tourists rather than locals.
But it makes me think of this photo series http://www.photography.at/_fake_holidays.html (or with more words: https://medium.com/gone/surreal-photos-from-inside-the-fake-...) of faked vacation spots: a ski hall in Dubai or of a tropical beach inside a hangar in Germany. And I have to wonder, how "authentic" is even Reykjavik nowadays? It certainly has been Disneyfied with the many many souvenir shops and "trendy" cafes, and as the article said, x years ago it used to be empty, and now it's full of tourists, so it certainly isn't "authentic" Reykjavik.
But then again, maybe tourists nowadays are just like watchers of porn. They know it's fake, but it's what they're seeking anyway. I was in Iceland in July, and even with the tourists, the nature is still great. Although I had to wonder what people were actually doing... they see something pretty and their first reaction is, "I have to take a picture of this!".