Memory is a construction of the present. What we remember is because of what is presented to us which is often
created for a certain purpose. For instance, the Helen Keller memorial was put up recently because we are more sympathetic to disabled people today and because the people who put up the memorial want us to remember her and her struggles. Also, much of our memory is created by the media and what they decide to include. The film A Beautiful Mind left out the fact that he had homosexual tendencies because we as a society want to remember him for his brilliance not for other factors that could possibly cloud his achievements. District 9 emphasizes past mistakes in order to create social meaning and serve a political interest. It focuses on the experiences of South Africa’s past in order to send the broader political message of tolerance.
Generations that experience certain events remember those events differently than present generations. Present generations only remember past events from what the older generations retain from the situation. Memories often become cloudy as individuals become older and what is preserved for future generations can begin to move further from the truth. Often, what is retained is what society wants or needs at that time. Blomkamp experienced the apartheid personally and what he experienced he showed through his film. But his memory of experience is that of a young white kid and his memory could be very different from others. The media he makes is created from his memory but for people who haven’t experienced the apartheid our memory of what it may have been, is solely based off his. Obviously, it’s a fictional setting and not shot in real documentary form but his recollection of what happened was influenced everything done in his film. Because of this, his view is most likely the view of present whites (that separation is bad) in the official culture but this view would have been the vernacular view years ago. This shift towards tolerance let Blomkamp make a political film with a message while still being able to enjoy success in South Africa. This success would have been difficult without society’s current tolerance which is due to our recollection of the past.
created for a certain purpose. For instance, the Helen Keller memorial was put up recently because we are more sympathetic to disabled people today and because the people who put up the memorial want us to remember her and her struggles. Also, much of our memory is created by the media and what they decide to include. The film A Beautiful Mind left out the fact that he had homosexual tendencies because we as a society want to remember him for his brilliance not for other factors that could possibly cloud his achievements. District 9 emphasizes past mistakes in order to create social meaning and serve a political interest. It focuses on the experiences of South Africa’s past in order to send the broader political message of tolerance.Generations that experience certain events remember those events differently than present generations. Present generations only remember past events from what the older generations retain from the situation. Memories often become cloudy as individuals become older and what is preserved for future generations can begin to move further from the truth. Often, what is retained is what society wants or needs at that time. Blomkamp experienced the apartheid personally and what he experienced he showed through his film. But his memory of experience is that of a young white kid and his memory could be very different from others. The media he makes is created from his memory but for people who haven’t experienced the apartheid our memory of what it may have been, is solely based off his. Obviously, it’s a fictional setting and not shot in real documentary form but his recollection of what happened was influenced everything done in his film. Because of this, his view is most likely the view of present whites (that separation is bad) in the official culture but this view would have been the vernacular view years ago. This shift towards tolerance let Blomkamp make a political film with a message while still being able to enjoy success in South Africa. This success would have been difficult without society’s current tolerance which is due to our recollection of the past.
I don't think I fully understand "Memory is a construction of the present." Can you explain that more?
ReplyDeleteAlso, are you distinguishing between something like institutional memory and personal memory here?
What I was trying to get at is what we remember is often because of the politics at that time and how it is presented to us. I suppose I should have distinguished between personal and institutional memory. Our personal experiences will often be remembered for what they were, like our first baseball game will be remembered as nothing more than that. But our institutional memory is affected by the politics of that time and what is presented to us in the media. Essentially, our memory is affected by our culture, society, and the time period. These factors often determine how certain events are recorded and preserved, affecting how generations to come will learn about the past. So I guess institutional memories help preserve a commonly held ideology of a group of people or a society and it becomes commonly held because of how events are displayed to us. So when I said "Memory is a construction of the present" I was talking more so about institutional memory (which was unknown to me until I looked up what institutional memory was so thank you for that).
ReplyDelete