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Memorial Museums, Entertainment, and Consumer Society - On the Recreational Consumption of the Holocaust -

  • Journal of Humanities
  • 2022, (84), pp.233-258
  • DOI : 10.31310/HUM.084.08
  • Publisher : Institute for Humanities
  • Research Area : Humanities > Other Humanities
  • Received : January 5, 2022
  • Accepted : January 25, 2022
  • Published : February 28, 2022

Jimin Cha 1

1성균관대학교 하이브리드미래문화연구소

Accredited

ABSTRACT

This study is aimed at providing insight into how memorial museums and museum experiences are affected by the entertainment industry and consumer society in contemporary society. In particular, the author pays attention to the Holocaust, which has been popularized and entertained through the entertainment industry. Through two recent cases that occurred at memorial museums, this research analyzes the phenomenon in which the boundary between the Holocaust (real) exhibited by the memorial museum and the Holocaust (fake), which the entertainment industry has recreated and reproduced, has disappeared. By doing so, this study offers a new perspective on understanding museums and museum-goers. Moreover, this research examines the consumption of commemoration by examining whether individuals living in contemporary society, characterized by rampant consumption, are consuming, rather than accepting, the message the museum is attempting to convey. By introducing a correlation between memorial museums, the entertainment industry, and consumer society, this study proposes to reconsider whether it is effective for museums to stick to the conventional exhibition methods. The discussion will focus much on the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington, DC as a case study.

Citation status

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