Museums

From
Date
I suppose the thing that bothers me about some of these suggestions that
involve or attempt to justify charges for access to paleontology and
paleontological data is not whether to do it, but where to draw the line
and who gets to decide where the line gets drawn. If Museum exhibits are
going to tie in with government curricula I suppose that's one thing (btw,
this is not going to be popular in some quarters of the US). But movies and
T.V. programs? Who gets to decide what the truth about "Jurassic Park"
really is? Or whether "Dr. Moreau" is really possible? If we seriously go
after tie-ins to popular entertainment products in our search for revenue,
what do we have to give up in return? Objectivity? Academic Freedom? Truth
itself? Disneyland-like theme parks are very popular and quite
entertaining. But they're not real. In many senses the "exhibits" that are
staged there perpetuate myths that are patently absurd (e.g., there's
Columbus "discovering" the New World, but what about all those "indians"
waving from the shore?) And what if the "truth" about "Jurassic Park" and
"Dr. Moreau" turns out to be wildly unpopular? Do we have to hide it away
like a crazy uncle so it won't embarrass us at inopportune moments? Is that
the future for Museums? Are museums really nothing more than places of
entertainment and leisure? If so what are we going to do with all those
specimens that won't ever be used as exhibit pieces, much less be seen on
T.V? Perhaps they should, "bin themselves and reduce the surplus
population." Looks like Scrooge has arrived early this year ;->


Norm MacLeod




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Norman MacLeod
Micropalaeontological Research
N.MacLeod@nhm.ac.uk (E-mail)

Address: Department of Palaeontology, The Natural History Museum,
         Cromwell Road, London, SW7 5BD

Office Phone: 0171-938-9006
Dept. FAX: 0171-938-9277
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