In the article on the Buffalo Bill Museum the authors focus on what aspects of the museum are facts and what are myths about the frontier. Upon entering the museum in Wyoming the authors immediately focused their attention to the quote that claimed the museum to be the representation of the actual frontier. I though it was interesting how the museum, a medium through which children learn about history when they visit with their parents, claimed to have actual depictions and artifacts from the American frontier, but in fact have just two statues of Buffalo Bill prior to entering and none of the bison or native Americans. The way the authors described the details portrayed outside the museum I immediately got the sense that the curators there had a similar vision of the frontier as that of Frederick Jackson Turner.
Another interesting notion that I got when reading the article was how the white majority in the old frontier in a sense combined the Hispanics and the native Americans into being the out group even though they represented the majority of the population in the western region of the Old Frontier. The ironic aspect is how today we view Natives Americans as our own and we still discriminate against the latinos. The following notion posses a question, when and why did we alter our view of the native Americans into considering them to be our in group?
The way authors described the inside of the museum of how everything was romanticized in order to become more entertaining as opposed to being more realistic and educational. The way museum lacked to portray anything about the native Americans until the very last room in which they represented the obstacle white cowboys endured in their conquest of the west provides a biased representation of history. This example reminded me of the way other cultures or societies are commonly portrayed such as the pirates being a popular example today of a romanticized lifestyle where they are constantly linked with kid friendly themes. However the stories of hijackings of the coast of Somalia present a completely natural view of the society as opposed to the idealistic view that has been created.
Overall the article posses a interesting point to me, is the responsibility of museum to entertain their audience or to portray natural events that occurred in order to provide a glimpse of what life would have been life in the Old Frontier? I think that museum on Buffalo Bill completely removed certain facts or depicted them differently in order to convey the message of how great the white pioneers were and resemble themselves superior to other cultures. A great example that the authors pointed out in the article is how the bison statues were in the museum to highlight their role associated with the pioneers, completely neglecting the importance they had to native Americans. To answer the question I proposed earlier I think that it the museum responsibility to portray events close to reality as possible in order to better educate families going to visit them.
Pasha,
ReplyDeleteIn your blog post, you explore the idea of responsibilities that come with “the museum” label. The word museum would certainly indicate some responsibility of the institution to educate. Don’t educators bear the responsibility of revealing fact? Upon, further reflection, I don’t personally take issue with the semantics. Here’s why. Webster’s definition of museum is as follows: “An institution to the procurement, care, study, & display of objects of lasting interest or value”, also, “a place where objects are exhibited”. The word “study” is the only one I paused over. However, if we agree (William Cody eventually did) that Buffalo Bill was a character played by Cody, the BB Museum can certainly be considered a study of that character. Let’s not forget, the Cody, Wyoming museum isn’t the William F. Cody Museum, or the American Frontier Museum.
In reading the Dickenson et al. paper, it’s clear that the original intent, at least the intent of some of those providing money, was indeed to use the BB Museum as a reflection of a proud past – as you put it, one that matches Turner’s definition of the American Frontier. In 1924, when land was procured for the museum, and plans began to be finalized, we as a nation, to borrow a line from the movie “A Few Good Men”, weren’t ready to handle the truth. Can you image if the BB Museum originally portrayed the entire, bloody picture of the Anglo American’s westward expansion? Everyone would run screaming for the exits muttering, “the horror….the horror”. (I watch too many movies!)
In no way, shape, or form, do I mean to diminish the paper written by Dickenson, Ott, and Aoki. I nodded my head in agreement while reading it. I just want to make the point that the Buffalo Bill persona was all we wanted, all we were ready for, at the time of the museum construction. Perhaps, we’re on the precipice, as a nation, of wanting the rest of the story when visiting the Cody, Wyoming museum. Do we still want the exciting exploits of the character Buffalo Bill reenacted? - Probably so. We still want to identify with the Turner description of characteristics that are uniquely American. How many young men started smoking so that they could be a bad-ass like the Marlboro Man? Aren’t the Dallas Cowboys still considered to be “America’s Team”?
If we look at our recent presidential election, along with countless signs of cultural progress, I think most of us are ready, willing, and able to view our country as one nation under God. At the very least, we want and need a little spiritual reconciliation with our past.
We missed you on Saturday, and hope to see you at the next class.
Matt