Exhibiting the German Past: Museums, Film, and Musealization

This collection of essays edited by McIsaac and Mueller examines the interconnections, parallels, and distinctions between museums and film in creating memory and historical consciousness in German-language culture; until now, most scholarship has examined film and museums separately. The 12 essays cover a wide array of both well-known and lesser-known German films and museums, such as Wim Wenders's Himmel über Berlin (Wings of Desire), Uli Edel's Der Baader Meinhof Komplex, Berlin's DDR Museum, the BMW Welt and BMW Museum in Munich, and the 1937 exhibition Entartete Kunst (Degenerate Art). Some current questions within German studies, film studies, and museum studies tackled include authenticity, authorship, cultural production, audience engagement, history vs. heritage, and "musealization" (referring to the increased number and widening scope of museums today and the role of traditional practices and objects in shaping historical knowledge). The panel of international contributors includes museum professionals and faculty affiliated with a wide variety of academic disciplines, including German literature, art history, history, sociology, and film. A comprehensive index and bibliography and helpful endnotes augment these illuminating, fully researched essays.
ISBN : 9781442649651