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Collective Memory Collective memory has become a topic of rather heated debates recently, both in political and sociological fields, and there are a couple of solid reasons for that. Certainly, there are a lot of horrifying and hideous acts that some countries and individual leaders have committed, and there are a lot of reasons why the present generation wants those acts forgotten by everyone. Although the individual members that can potentially remember those acts might be already deceased, the collective memory is what keeps them alive. As Michael Schudson has put it, "even though the past is regularly reconstructed this is done within limits, stopped by the hard edges of resistance the past provides. (Schudson, p. 17) Within the course of that research, we will elaborate on how the collective memory is formed and used over time, as well as discuss the factors that prevent modern day historians and politicians to rewrite history in the way they feel suited the best. Anthony D. Smith who wrote National Identity and Myths of Ethnic Descent discussed how myths are formed and how they can lead to the ethnic regeneration within a group of people.
He associated his ideas on ethnic regeneration with the countries of Turkey, Greece, England, France, and Israel. His ideas clearly outlined the steps that are taken to regenerate when people are influence by myths created sometimes thousands of years ago in such cases as seen by Jews. There were eight steps which all of these nation-states were said to have followed, in order to be where they are today. (Smith, p. 87) Of these eight steps I do not agree with the one that says, They designate a space and time for their action. I do not feel that a specific time is designated. Instead I feel that the time is determined at a moments notice. This can be seen presently when referring to the future state of Palestine.
The date for this states declaration of existence has changed numerous times during the past few years. Yael Zerubavel writes about collective remembering and Zionist reconstruction of the past. I agree with the historian that Zerubavel talks about in his writings (Halbwachs). I feel that Halbwachs view of history is somewhat expressed as collective memory.
Collective memory is what gives a society its goals that they must seek in the future. It also creates a bond between the people of that society. As a result it leads to these people wanting to settle together in a nation-state. The Zionist movement is an example of something caused by collective memory. Through generations the Diaspora and other events in the lives of Jews have been passed on, which eventually led Jews to create a homeland in 1948.
That was possible because of their collective memory, because otherwise they would have never united to achieve their goal. Michael Schudson, in his work Watergate in American Memory: How We Remember, Forget, and Reconstruct the Past, also addresses the issue of collective memory. He brings about a rather interesting point in his work: although American political leaders want ordinary citizens to forget about the Watergate Scandal, it never happens, and presidents in contemporary America have less credibility than they used to simply due to that fact. Schudson suggests that collective memory here plays a role that is certainly not appreciated by the contemporary American politicians: it reminds people of what might happen if president have an uncontrollable power. Maurice Halbwachs, in his now famous work The Collective Memory, makes interesting parallels between collective memory and historical memory. He suggests that while historical memory is reshaped and transformed within some particular time period, the collective memory remains mostly stable, which makes it more valuable than historical memory, which is reinterpreted with every new publishing of the History books for schools and colleges. (Halbwachs, p. 29) He is more precise than Schudson in his ideas of why collective memory cannot be influenced to a great extent by the state and its officials.
His comparison of individual and collective memory explains why it is simply impossible to overwrite history in more plausible way. (Halbwachs, p. 35) Certainly, one of the most efficient ways to create and reinforce the collective memory of certain group of people is art in its various forms. For instance, while the American government does almost everything possible to make people forget about the consequences of slavery, African Americans certainly cannot simply forget such a grave period in their history. The effects of this racial experience have carried over from generation to generation making an imprint in the collective memory of African Americans. This is sometimes referred to as the collective conciseness. These memories of the middle passage, reconstruction era, and civil rights are branded into the African American memory and can be expressed through art. In The Colored Museum by Wolfe, the first exhibit, "Get on Board, " establishes the basic premise as it mocks African Americans' involuntary voyage to America through the use of a pseudo-sophisticated African American stewardess and images of slaves as baggage to be discarded if not claimed (Johnson, p. 81).
An example of the reenactment of the instruction of the shackles, reminds the audience of riding in an airplane and hearing the instructions of the buckling the seat belt so one can not move. The idea that the shackles are being metaphorically compared to the safety of a seat belt is preposterous, and triggers the collective memory. Although the reader is amused it still triggers the emotion of the all too familiar journey over the Atlantic. The fifty-day journey started the few hundred of years of struggle and misery of the African American experience. In the second exhibit, Cookin with Aunt Ethel, Wolfe uses satire to describe what characteristics contribute to making an African American person. He uses familiar phrases that trigger emotion from the memory of African Americans.
Such as, Now you beat it really work it (Owen, p. 37). He was referring to the vigorous mental and physical abuse that African Americans were exposed to. Discard and Disown... And in a few hundred years once its aged and fully grown...
ya put in the oven till its Black... and has sheen... or till its nice and yellow... or any shade in between (Owen, p. 43).
These phrases touch on the memory of the hundreds of African American women that were raped and bore biracial children that were then disowned by their biological fathers. With the line, take out and cool em... cause they no fun when they hand wont you be surprised at the concoction you got (Johnson, p. 93), he takes it one more step by triggering that memory. He is sending a message to white people on behalf of all black people.
Just because there was a period where the two races were separated during segregation and African Americans had their time to cool off, now they can deal with the problems in a rational manner without blame. Wolfe says in the last lines basically that they made the problem now they have to fix it. He also implies in the last lines the scars are to deep for African Americans to forget and not be angry (Johnson, p. 50). In "Symbiosis, " a scene from George C.
Wolfe's The Colored Museum, a successful businessman fights against a younger version of himself to forget the values and cultural symbols of his youth. "Being Black is too emotionally taxing. Therefore, I will only be Black on weekends and holidays (Johnson, p. 62). Meanwhile, the Kid implores the older version of himself to remember where he came from. He will not forget his past no matter how high on the corporate ladder he climbs. Then the man throws the kid in the trash can. This symbolizes the assimilation of the African American culture.
The mental adjustment to slavery has been responsible for the manifestations in this type of behavior in African Americans. It has instilled a belief in their own actual inferiority. Therefore, the need to denounce Blackness is a prevalent theme amongst successful African Americans. In the exhibit, Hairpiece, physical assimilation of African Americans is expressed. It is the reoccurring battle between bad hair versus good hair, curly versus straight, or in actuality black versus white. African Americans have been on a mission for years to get closer and closer to white as possible.
It is the subtle effect of slavery is represented by the persistent evidence of the acceptance by African Americans of standards of beauty, which are not wholly adjustable to themselves (Owen, p. 111). In The Last Mama-on-the-Couch Play, the characteristics of subordination and oppression psychosis are revealed. Inevitably, habituation of a subjective status persists. It is the psychology and collective memory of African Americans, formed because of slavery and years of conditioning, that whites are and will remain superior and are oppressors (Owen, p. 114). This leads to a feeling of hopelessness, like explored in the character, Son. This is very similar to what African American men feel consistently, on a daily basis.
These black men are the ones who, when balked, develop psychosis oppression and become radicals. In the exhibit the Son says, Since when did your God ever do a damn thing for the Black man! (Owen, p. 116) Here Wolfe touches on the spirituality of African Americans. During slavery, the exposure of African Americans to Christianity was uneven. There was some reluctance to converting them, because the strength of the religious doctrines made some of the white people uncomfortable about their actions. This changed when they realized how cooperative it made the slaves.
In the play, The Colored Museum, the collective memory is brought to light at every moment. No matter how subtle or how direct Wolfe was, African Americans were reminded. Wolfe used the humor that has been regarded as one of African Americans native characteristics as a coping mechanism. The trait continues as a survival measure, to cope with the collective memory. After considering that example of creating and forming collective memory, it would also be interesting to look at Deborah Lipstadt's work, Denying the Holocaust: The Growing Assault on Truth and Memory. In that work, the author describes how various groups of people try to make sure that the memories of that period of time are lost forever.
She also gives her reasons on why they are doing so, and they are rather evident, since that crime was one of the most horrific in the worlds history. She claims that even collective memory can be changed if enough pressure is put on those who are defined as collective memory group. (Lipstadt, p. 23) Just like Maurice Halbwachs, she very closely compares collective memory and historical memory, and gives her reasons why collective memory will never be lost forever. George Lipsitz, in his Time Passages: Collective Memory and American Popular Culture, also discusses how collective memory is formed and later transformed by various factors. He considers mass media in all forms the most significant factor influencing the memory of millions of people. The crowd effect is something he believes stimulates people not only to forget something they have known for sure, but also to change their opinion simultaneously. He describes that rather interesting phenomena and suggests that contemporary political leaders simply get used to manipulating people by all the means possible, including transforming the collective memory in a way most suitable for their current interests. (Lipsitz, p. 14) Lipsitz believes that it is unethical and should be prevented by all the means possible.
Collective memory is unalienable part of any group of people that have the same characteristics, and therefore is quite different from historical memory, or history. A good example of those differences would be collective memory about the events of Second World War and the historical interpretation of those events. Although it is a proven fact that Soviet army have lost millions of people during the war and fought all the major battles that influenced the course of war, it is not a fact that is known by everybody. American history textbooks do not devote that much attention to the casualties of the Soviet army but rather discuss some of the operations involving American soldiers in great details. Thus, the interpretation of the war events is certainly biased, and that bias actually helps forming the collective memory of the American people. However, the collective memory of the Soviet people on that subject was never lost, there are numerous books, movies and plays about war, there are still people alive who have fought the war, etc.
This brings about the most controversial use of the collective memory. Politicians and governments use it to form a certain stereotype, to make people believe in the events or the interpretation of the events that are actually far from the truth. However, there are ways how collective memory at large can fight those attempts; there are obstacles to the frivolous interpretation of the events. Collective memory is a subject that is studied now by numerous psychologists and sociologists, however all the answers to the numerous questions will never be found. I believe that it is good, since manipulating people is not something that should be allowed at large scale, and that is what governments do when they try to transform the collective memory of people. Bibliography Halbwachs, M.
The Collective Memory, New York: Harper Perennial, 1998. Johnson, T. The Collective Memory: Useful Reminders, Michigan: Zondervan Publishers, 1998. Lipsitz, G. Time Passages: Collective Memory and American Popular Culture, London: Books, Inc, 2001. Lipstadt, D.
Denying the Holocaust: The Growing Assault on Truth and Memory, New York: Harper Perennial, 1998. Owen, K. Analyzing Wolfe's Works, London: Scientific Press, 1999. Schudson, M. Watergate in American Memory: How We Remember, Forget, and Reconstruct the Past, New York: random House, 2000. Smith, A.
National Identity and Myths of Ethnic Descent, New York: Harper Perennial, 1999. Wolfe, G. The Colored Museum, play. Zerubavel, Y. Recovered Roots, New York: Random House, 1998.
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Research essay sample on American Popular Culture York Random House
