by J. Nathan Matias

Media Booths

Twice, the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum offers rows of multimedia booths where visitors can view optional documentaries. In both cases, the documentaries explore the American perspective during key times of the Holocaust.

The first section of media booths displays a set of films about the lack of American resistance to the Holocaust before the second World War. The second set of booths shows films about the American reaction to the Holocaust once the existence of the death camps became brutally clear.

These multimedia booths are prominently placed, but they are along the side of the main narrative path. The booths give visitors a chance to take time out to see what was happening in America during the period covered by close-by parts of the museum. The museum layout encourages visitors to watch the films while clearly keeping the main narrative where it should be, on the Jewish experience.

Navigation:

The creators of the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum tell the story with skill equal to the level of the best creative nonfiction writers. They use the physical space of the museum to great advantage.

Some of the more prominent components of the story are:

Going elsewhere, you could

Analyze the narrative flow of the Holocaust Memorial Museum
Relate this museum's narrative elements to other works of nonfiction.
Analyze narrative elements
Consider the emotional and responsive power of pause, space, and art

So What?