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Date Posted: 08:26:11 07/06/02 Sat
Author: Sam IV
Subject:

Mt Rushmore
In reply to: Sam IV 's message, "U.S travellin' y'all" on 12:17:24 07/05/02 Fri

I just thought I'd put in a little bit about my trip to Mount Rushmore.
The place has all the now standard security measures that have come to every major attraction in America, and a little bit of the attitude that goes with it. There are metal detectors and guards walking around, armed and ready for the first towel wearing, heathen god worshipping, foe of freedom to try his godless form of religious slaughter of innocent lives in this, our shrine to the birthplace of everything good.
Something like that anyway.
The exhibit and everything around it is really good. It's just the way it's presented that got to me. You sit in a large outdoor ampitheatre style arrangement. There is a huge screen at the bottom on the stage with massive speakers on either side. As you sit and wait for dusk and the show to begin, a variety of military marches and patriotic lullabys are pumped out over the audience.
I'm amazed I got out alive because this was the point that myself and the Canadian (chris) next to me started saying things like Allah is god! Capitalist pig dogs! The dialectic shows your inevitable fall!" Admittedly we only said this loud enough for a row or two to hear us but that was enough.
Then the show begins with a nervous park ranger reading a teleprompter and explaining how all these presidents were people just like you and me; only much better.
A movie comes out and it's narrated by Avery Brooks of the Big Hit and Star Trek: Deep Space Nine. It runs through the life of the sculptor and how it was origionally going to be monuments to Lewis and Clark (explorers) and even Sitting Bull (the guy who kicked the crap out of Custer).
It was truly suprising to see this film as it glossed over everything less desireable and highlighted everything else. The civil war wasn't named as often as called "a dire time in which Lincoln held the union together." The westward expansion and near genocide of the Native Indians was called "not as good for some of the native inhabitants. Many were pushed further west and natives populations dropped quickly."
Wide shot of Indian getting on a horse and riding into the sunset.
It finishes as night has finally falled and the faces on mount Rushmore are lit up with spot lights. There are flash effects from the lights surrounding the seating to make it appear that thousands of photos are being taken and all are required to stand and sing the national anthem.
That's the weird thing. What amazed me the most was that this whole monument is dedicated to those who were the first in power and did some amazing things. However it is entirely pointed inwards at the Americans in the audience, of which they were the heavy majority. It is designed to bolster pride in this mighty system and it's fathers, but not to educate in any way. Years are mentioned buy barely any details given. It is shown as a triumph over an evil but one that is never fully mentioned.
I enjoyed this monument and acknowledge it's hard work and the work of those it's dedicated to but still left with an uneasy feeling. Being a foreign tourist I felt like I'd snuck in through a hole in the fence and was being shown a good thing that was readily assumed to be the best and only thing of it's kind in the universe.
It was interesting, slightly worrying and an experience I'm glad I had. I exaggerate but you get the idea.
Plus a young photo of pre-beard Lincoln shows he looked just like Jon English.

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Replies:

Re: Mt Rushmore -- Bet, 06:55:57 05/14/04 Fri
Mount Rushmore -- Beth, 06:58:25 05/14/04 Fri