This is the 7th of 10 geocaches that I have hidden as part of my Capstone project for my Master of Liberal Arts degree. There are also 10 corresponding trackables being released at an event on 3/13/16 in Baltimore, MD that go along with these caches. Each trackable and cache signifies a course I took in the program. My goal is to share my experiences in each class and hope that you will also be inspired to share some of your experiences with this cache.
I found this spot to be perfect since a scene in the popular series The Wire was filmed in the pub that used to be across the street. Dougherty’s may now be closed, but the memories will still live on.
Public Memory is the beliefs and ideas about the past told through stories shared by a public culture. In this class we looked at film as a form of public history. It is a constructed, mediated version of the events, people and ideas of history with a very powerful presentation. We then paired this up with collective memory and examined how histories are constructed through the filmmaking process. For example, we looked at films like JFK, Jurassic Park and Platoon. I can say personally, that my “memories” of the events of the Kennedy assassination, dinosaurs and the Vietnam War are all from films. I wasn’t around during any of these actual events, but I still have “memories” of these historical moments thanks to the magic of movie making.
I specifically chose this location and the series The Wire because of the “memories” it invokes in people that have never been to Baltimore. I like to travel quite a bit and when I meet new people and tell them I’m from Baltimore 9 times out of 10 they say, “Oh, like The Wire?” These people that have never set foot in Baltimore have “memories” of the city because of the TV show. These may not necessarily be the memories we want the world to share of our city, so I always make sure to let them know that there is so much more to Baltimore!
I find Film & Public Memory to be like geocaching in the way that I can read the logs of a cache I might never make it to, but now I have “memories” of that cache because I learned through the shared experiences of cachers who have been to those places like Mt. Everest that I might not make it to.
In your log feel free to share your favorite film that you feel has contributed to “Public Memory.”