THIS AMERICAN LIFE: SIMULATED WORLDS (RADIO)
Summary
One in this weekly series that looks at a different,
specific aspect of life in the United States in each
episode. Episodes contain several segments, or "acts,"
each of which relates to the established theme. This
installment, "Simulated Worlds," examines Civil War
reenactments, wax museums, dinosaur exhibits, and the
ersatz castles and jousting tournaments of the Medieval
Times theme restaurants in an exploration of the
particularly American obsession with historical
recreations. In the act one, host Ira Glass uses
Italian author Umberto Eco's essay "Travels in Hyper
Reality" as a template for his discussion of American
simulated worlds; Glass plays clips from Jessica Yu's
documentary on Civil War reenactors (called "Men of
Reenaction") in which various participants debate where
they draw the line on what is "properly authentic" in
reenactions; visits the Wax Museum at Fisherman's Wharf
in San Francisco where he talks with general manager
Rodney Fong about the museum's combinations of
historical and fictional figures like Neil Armstrong and
Don Quixote and its replicas of scenes ranging from da
Vinci's "The Last Supper" to a Chuck Norris movie set;
briefly visits a fake coal mine under Chicago's Museum
of Science; and discusses, via Eco, the marvels of
California's Madonna Inn, a hotel where guests can
choose from among 200 bedrooms, each with a different
theme. In act two, writer and contributing editor Jack
Hitt talks with dinosaur expert Jack Horner (whose work
was the basis of the film "Jurassic Park") and visits
New York's Museum of Natural History to discuss how
man-made exhibitions of dinosaurs have changed over the
years, reflecting not so much changes in science as
changes in national mood; Hitt's examples include the
changing representation of the putative "predator"
tyrannosaurus rex, the way the use of steel and plastics
shaped how dinosaurs were represented in exhibits, and
the differences between the "ferocious" dinosaur's
during wartime and the current emphasis on "family
values" in dinosaur exhibits. In act three, Glass and
University of Chicago Medieval scholar Michael Camille
visit Medieval Times -- one of a chain of fake castles
where visitors watch a recreation of a Medieval jousting
tournament; Camille discusses the historical
inaccuracies -- including the use of "wenches" and
Gregorian chants at the tournament -- but concludes that
the experience does capture something of the "spirit" of
the Middle Ages in its very hybridity and confusion.
The program concludes with a brief segment on how
"Morning Edition" and "All Things Considered" "simulate"
reality; Glass, who worked for those programs for
seventeen years, argues that they use specific and
unchanging conventions to get the listener closer to the
"actuality."
(Network affiliation varies: local broadcast, November
1995-June 1996; on NPR, June 1996-June 1997; on PRI,
July 1997- .)
Cataloging of this program was made possible by Ralph
Guild, 2003.
Details
- NETWORK: NPR National Public Radio
- DATE: October 11, 1996 7:00 PM
- RUNNING TIME: 0:59:12
- COLOR/B&W: N/A
- CATALOG ID: R:16103
- GENRE: Radio - Public affairs/Documentaries; Radio - Talk/Interviews
- SUBJECT HEADING: Dinosaurs - Exhibitions; Historical reenactments; Waxworks; United States -- History
- SERIES RUN: WBEZ (Chicago, IL) - Radio series, 1995-
- COMMERCIALS: N/A
CREDITS
- Ira Glass … Producer
- Nancy Updike … Producer
- Peter Clowney … Producer
- Alix Spiegel … Producer
- Margy Rochlin … Production (Misc.), Contributing Editor
- Jack Hitt … Production (Misc.), Contributing Editor
- Ira Glass … Host
- Jack Hitt … Reporter
- Neil Armstrong
- Michael Camille
- Umberto Eco
- Rodney Fong
- Jack Horner
- Chuck Norris
- Jessica Yu