Memorial Day Concert:
Still posessing a plan
Looking back I never once questioned the information presented to me; I just went along with the stories and never looked back. That’s not to say that the stories were wrong or that I am harboring some deep seeded conspiracy about the event, it’s just surprising to me that I never thought critically about the event while I was in attendance. The reason that I may not have thought critically is because the program seemed to feed into everyone’s patriotic side. If you’re attending a Memorial Day concert you’re most likely at least a little proud of your country and have some form of patriotism. So if the creators and producers knew this then it would have not been challenging to feed into that and lead the audience along through a story. Every war that America fought in was viewed as a necessary and needed intervention. Any war that we didn’t “win” (such as the Korean and Vietnam wars) was presented as the Americans intervening to save the locals and protect them from the “other” that was invading/attacking them. The audience never questioned any of it. The producer’s ability to just click into this deep cultural feeling without really working too hard at it was fascinating and a little concerning in a way. It makes you (as the viewer) more aware and more critical of everything presented to you after you get taken like that.
The most touching of these discussed the “forgotten” or Korean war. They had several veterans in the audience and through telling their stories and discussing the problems they faced on the battlefield and back home the producers created a very touching tale.
The interesting part of the concert was how willing you were to just go along with whatever was presented to you as a viewer.