Cultural Event Report - Essay Example

Cultural Event Report Details on the Event The exhibition attended was one that the National Museum of American History (NMAH) hosted and facilitated. This means that the exhibition took place in Washington DC, since NMAH is located therein. This exhibition is still in progress, having been scheduled to start from March 1st, 2012 to July 13th, 2012. The exhibition itself featured pieces titled, The Star-Sequined Banner: the Flag Which Inspired the US National Anthem and New Acquisition: The BMI Archives Confederate Music Collection.

The attendees of the exhibition are me and my friends who are my classmates as well. My initial-most reaction while in the museum was amazement as I got acquainted with the fact that museums could also serve as a vast repository of valuable historical, cultural, political and academic material culture, artifacts and points of references. This shifted my inchoately formed previous opinion of libraries being the main source of these data. Specific Information and a Description of the Two Exhibits The first object of the exhibition is a 30 by 34 ft flag that is almost 200 years old.

It is the first item that one encounters upon entering the exhibition hall and is valued because it is reminiscent of the Battle of Baltimore. It is this battle that inspired and emboldened one of the fighters and statesmen Francis Scott Key to write the lyrics to the American Anthem. This exhibit is located on an interactive table and is presented in a tactile image that gives visitors the chance to analyze key details on the flag, and relevant details such as how it was made. In light of these details, it is clear that the exhibition mainly aims at reiterating the values of the flag as a family souvenir of the 19th century, the harbinger of patriotic ideals and national cohesion and as a legitimate symbol of national unity, having been preserved from as early as 1907 by this Smithsonian Institution.

Alongside the viewing of these details, visitors are also helped by an instructor who recounts the history of the flag in four phases. The other item, The New Acquisition: the BMI Archives Confederate Music Collection features a compendium of musical materials that were published during the Civil War by the Confederacy. The relevance of this piece is that by analyzing these sheets of music lyrics, documentaries and imagery, one is able to glean into the values, beliefs and mindsets that their creators and consumers had embraced.

Interestingly, a keen observer will note that most of the songs and sentiments expressed in these sheets are similar to those that had been embraced by the Union. The import of this is that both the Union and the Confederacy agreed ideally on almost everything, except slavery. A Summary of the Event and Overall Reaction after Attending the Event In summation, the exhibition will for a long time serve as a stark reminder of America’s historical heritage, given that the exhibits presented serve as reminders and teachers of America’s history.

The same event also challenged me to reconsider the depth of my patriotism, having realized that American fathers paid a heavy price for America’s freedom. Reference Kenneth E. Behring Center. (2012). “National Museum of American History.” Exhibitions. Retrieved From: http://americanhistory.si.edu/exhibitions/index.cfm