On The Media: Museumification of 9/11

Physical - The 9/11 Museum lays in the area that the Twin Towers Fell. The Museum opened on September 11, 2011, 10 years after the even occurred. This broadcast depicts a visit to the museum, taking a look back 14 years later.

Psychological - This monument and museum is to memorialize all of the lives lost on 9/11/2001. The museum is not only there to capture the history of that moment, but also to help people of the present and future remember what happened that day. I would think that this museum would effect people who lost family members, friends, co-workers, and other people in the incident. I'm sure that it has helped people find a way to cope with the tragedy.

Social - 9/11 was a huge tragedy, and it effected the nation as a whole. It seems to me that everyone knows, or has met someone who was directly involved with the event. So many lives were lost, and as a nation, we have really had to band together to get through the tragedy.

Temporal - This museum was opened 10 years after the event, but the wounds were still fresh. I think they're still fresh today. This event was a part of history. A part of our history as a country. To me, the 9/11 seems surreal. I can hardly believe that something so tragic, and so historical happened while I was alive.

Cultural - We love to remember. We need to remember. Our culture as a nation has a need to memorialize, and honor heroes, and people lost in tragic events. This museum is one one of the ways that we are able to do this.

I was in first grade. I remember waking up, and my mother was on the phone with my aunt. I watched her grab the remote control and turn the television on. I saw a picture of, what I assumed to be New York, and it looked like a building was on fire. I didn't understand the magnitude of what was happening until I went to school, and the administration sat us down and explained to us what was going on. All I could think to do as a little first grader was pray. At the time, I don't think that I had even met anyone who had been to New York, let alone lived there. But it's what I felt that I could do to help.

Several years later, as a junior in high school, I had the opportunity to hear from a fireman who was on the scene that day. Hearing him depict the tragic, terrible things that he saw made the event seem so much more real. Meeting someone who had been there, seen everything made it so much more real for me. I think that's what this museum has the potential to do for others.

I remember when talk was happening about what to do with Ground Zero after it had been "cleaned up." I think that a memorial like this was completely necessary. It's events like this, events that sting, that we can learn from. These are the things we need to remember. We need to remember them, so that we can prevent them from every happening again. To me, 9/11 represents how the country comes together in time of tragedy. I think that it's beautiful to display photographs, and even portions of the building, that seem like art in the museum. Artifacts make an event real for some people. Through seeing these things, even people who weren't there can somehow connect with the event.