Thursday, December 21, 2023

Museum or an Amusement Park

 In his book The Birth of the Museum (1995) Tony Bennett (not the singer) compares Australian theme park Timbertown as some kind of Disneyland. Both are enclosed areas with similar means to take visitors money. Timbertown being however a some kind of museum, presenting Australia's past. Disneyland has its walking mascots while Timbertown has personnel dressed on period costumes and presenting the life in park's manial historical chores like blacksmith or operating the train that just travels its enclosed loops inside the park, just like in Disneyland. 

That made me think about some museums, like Finland's outdoor museums where the buildings are collected one here other there. Like Bennett states, buildings are too close to each other to be credible image of the past. This of course cannot be helped, it is what it is. Bennett also claims that some museums that are presenting the life of lower classes do it by some bourgeoise romantic view of the past, forgetting all the misery and pain. Sometimes the museum simply dismiss the lower classes to a supporting role to serve the elite. 

Museum is however an institute to make money, it simply won't cope without. If an exhibition is held, lets say on an old castle, you have to select objects and props that suits the old castle, It is not neutral place for any kind of display. And this, sadly makes that castle a some sort of amusement park. 


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