Karen Cox, "Dreaming of Dixie"

Today our normal class discussion was substituted with a lecture by Karen Cox, author of “Dreaming of Dixie: How the South Was Created in American Popular Culture.” Cox combines all forms of media to exhibit how the idea of the South has been wrongly romanticized by, in many cases, northern industries. Film, music, literature, radio, and advertisements for various products have all been used to perpetuate a myth of the Old South. This image of the Old South, as Cox describes, is laced with mansions landscaped with Spanish moss, and filled with charm and hospitality. While the North profited from the exotic myth, race tensions grew, eventually leading to retreat from the romance.
The South developed their own way to profit from the growing tourism industry that had developed in result of Northerners curiosity. The construction of highways and the accessibility of the automobile allowed visitors to travel south and spend their money. Though Cox was unfamiliar with any museums that placed the myth on display, Southerners developed clever ways to give the Northerners the show they wanted, while satisfying their own wallets. Cox described a chauffer who, for a fee, would drive Northerners out into the county to see a cabin that had some sort of history.
Cox uses various examples from historic popular culture. The best received in my opinion is the character of Aunt Jemima. The character was created in New York by the advertisers behind the pancake mix. A “social tableau,” is an advertisement with a hook that seduces its audience with a story. The character of Aunt Jemima worked well, best outside of the South, and she is still around today. Aside from Aunt Jemima, I found it very comical that many Dixie themed songs were written in New York City by Jewish immigrants. Cox uses ample evidence to support he Northern creationism myth.
Karen Cox’s book and discussion relate directly to our class discussions and text. The idea that our perception of the world, in Cox’s case the South, is manipulated by the media, industries, government, money, and institutions (like museums) is something that holds true today. Museums are simply a reflection of the curator, owner, or director’s ideals and taste. Museums will only allow us access to the information that “they” what us to have and process. Unfortunately, in the United States many people look to these institutions to be accurate and democratic. Not to say all museums and institutions are leading the public astray, but I feel it is important to look for more sources of information.

The Gross Clinic, by Thomas Eakins (1875)

The Wagner Free Institute of Science

Now surrounded by row houses in busy North Philadelphia, the Wagner Free Institute of Science once stood alone in the outskirts of the city. In 1855 William Wagner’s collection of various natural science specimens became officially founded as an institute. Incorporating a library, museum displays, and a lecture hall, the Wagner Free Institute of Science became a primary institute for research, and free educational opportunities.
The Wagner Free Institute of Science is a perfect example of how personal collections, or “cabinets,” gradually turned into public exhibits and displays. A significant element of the Wagner Institute is that it was free. This fueled the spread of knowledge and created opportunities for more people to experience a different view of the world. Between the Egyptian crocodile skull, English draft horse skeleton, and humming bird nest, a Darwinian philosophy is evident. This secular knowledge represents the world as William Wagner saw it, and others who have maintained the Wagner Institute after him. The power of the Wagner Institute is in its scientific origins; the objects are presented as facts and evidence of our natural world.
My visit on Tuesday afternoon was my first trip to the Wagner Institute. As I walked down the corridor, as directed, my jaw dropped as I found myself looking down into a lecture hall of wooden stadium seating. As I sat down in a wooden seat I imagined the painting by Thomas Eakins, The Gross Clinic. The lecture hall was my favorite part of the Wagner Institute. It placed me into the late 1800’s and prepared my mind for the collection upstairs. I think that the emphasis that is placed on the institute’s history gives the Wagner a unique spin. Most museums seem like they simply house the history, but in the Wagner’s case, the building and interior space is possibly more significant than the objects. Of course I do not mean to down play the amazing collection of exotic skeletons, minerals, coral, birds, and insects. But as I walked through the Wagner I kept saying to myself a cliché phrase, “If these walls could talk…”

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Title

I have been laboring over the title of this blog for almost an hour. At first I simply titled it “blog,” because I was late for work, in fact, too late to capitalize the first letter, and the thought of an eight-hour shift was draining the creativity out of me. After much classroom discussion of (and hunting for) the three required texts, I decided to name my blog in honor of all three. In result, the title, “The Shaping of Mr. Wilson’s Cabinet of Cultural Theory.”