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Title: Mickey Mouse History and Other Essays on American Memory (Critical Perspectives on the Past) by Mike Wallace ISBN: 1-56639-445-7 Publisher: Temple Univ Press Pub. Date: May, 1996 Format: Paperback Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $24.95 |
Average Customer Rating: 3.67 (6 reviews)
Rating: 2
Summary: Not a Mickey Mouse History, but a Donald Duck Rebuttal
Comment: Aside from a proverbial axe that Mr. Wallace is grinding (especially in the Reagan essay), the text employs a down-to-earth approach, avoiding the typical multi-syllabic lingo that is usually associated with academia. In addition, the broad purpose of his text is applaudable: the deconstruction of the myths and ideologies of history and the return to historical research and study.
However, I can say that while I agree with most of Mr. Wallace's viewpoints, I should also note that he has many fallacies in his case studies, particularly those with Disney. As a former Disney employee, I have to wonder how much time he truly spent researching the inner cogs of the "Mouse Machine," and who he spent time interviewing.
As a volunteer museum curator/collections manager, I must agree with other reviewers about Mr. Wallace's critical analysis of museums. "Could," "should," and "would" are great words when theorizing and idealizing about the historical preservation process, but until one actually experiences the real-world struggles of museum revitalization and artifact preservation, I tend not to pay any heed to the noisy cymbals of criticism.
Finally, as a graduate student of Popular Culture, and from an academic viewpoint, the lack of detailed citations and direct references in this book raises my concern about the integrity of the research that was done. The bibliography, while impressive in its depth, is not annotated enough to make up for the missing footnotes of works cited.
Rating: 4
Summary: accesible, critical and still with a sense of humor
Comment: for someone interested in museum, spaces of exhibition and the like you will find section one and two of this book quite interesting. the first deals with different sorts of museums placing a critical point of view from communitary museums to opend air museums, to technology museums. the second part is great dealing with the forms of exhibition at disney. dystory, that special kind of reality that it is at once purified and sanitized and tha is quite part of the essence of thematized environments. parts three and four deal, respectively, with the restoraton movement in america and the politics of culture during regan's era, specially with the enola gay case.
Rating: 4
Summary: Accessible and Thoughtful
Comment: Mike Wallace uses the kind of academic writing that all scholars should aspire to achieve--lively, free of jargon, and entertaining. His subject, as suggested by the book's title, is history and the debates that surround different depictions of history. Wallace observes, astutely, that the struggles over how to portray history reveals much about ourselves, our beliefs, and our agendas. Wallace points out that history is never neutral, a point that is well worth reinforcing.
My particular interest is Disney Studies, and Wallace has a section (actually two essays) devoted to Disney and it use of history. The first essay concentrates on Disney's use of history in its theme parks, particularly in places such as the Hall of Presidents and EPCOT. While Wallace does not shy from criticizing Disney's portrayal of history (in fact, one of Wallace's strengths is he does not shy from representing his own viewpoint clearly), he also does not simply dismiss the potential in integrating history, entertainment, and the kind of technological wizardy that Disney is known for. He makes a serious case for a reconsideration of Disney and its techniques, all without constantly hitting his reader over the head with things. In his second essay, Wallace concentrates on the failed Disney's America project, providing background information and a critique of Disney with a call to re-examine Disney's use of history as emblematic of other movements and struggles over American history. He also makes it clear that he believes simply dismissing Disney is not an effective strategy for considering how portrayals of history could engage the public. The strength here is that Wallace is not afraid to criticize both Disney and kneejerk criticisms of Disney, or to envision the melding of history and entertainment. Nor does he abandon the quest for critical presentations of history that open history to even further investigation. While this is no easy task, Wallace does succeed.
If there is one thing I would suggest, perhaps the element I feel is missing, is a better development of these strategies for the presentation of history that Wallace supports. Although that could indeed be a book in itself, it would have been nice to see more of Wallace dwell more on his own engagement with, even answers to, the questions he has raised in this book.
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Title: The Presence of the Past by Roy Rosenzweig, David Thelen ISBN: 0231111495 Publisher: Columbia University Press Pub. Date: 15 April, 2000 List Price(USD): $21.50 |
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Title: Remaking America by John Bodnar ISBN: 0691034958 Publisher: Princeton Univ Pr Pub. Date: 27 December, 1993 List Price(USD): $24.95 |
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Title: The New History in an Old Museum: Creating the Past at Colonial Williamsburg by Richard Handler, Eric Gable ISBN: 0822319748 Publisher: Duke Univ Pr (Txt) Pub. Date: September, 1997 List Price(USD): $21.95 |
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Title: Preserving Memory by Edward Tabor Linenthal ISBN: 0231124074 Publisher: Columbia University Press Pub. Date: 15 October, 2001 List Price(USD): $18.50 |
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Title: History Museums in the United States: A Critical Assessment by Warren Leon, Roy Rosenzweig ISBN: 0252060644 Publisher: Univ of Illinois Pr (Pro Ref) Pub. Date: October, 1989 List Price(USD): $19.95 |
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