Two topics today: 1) Why did millions of Americans stand in line for up to five hours to catch a glimpse of an ancient boy-king’s funerary gear, inspiring the only Saturday Night Live sketch ever to be based on a museum exhibition?
2) Everyone loves mummies. But mummies only exist because of the ancient Egyptians’ deeply felt religious beliefs about the afterlife – beliefs that require a very particular treatment of the dead. Removing mummies from their ancient burial sites (and often disassembling or even unwrapping them) and putting them on display in museums for our enjoyment is violently at odds with that belief system. What do we owe the ancient dead?
Here and here are the images we’ll be looking at.
Readings:
- The Tomb of Tutankhamun on Smarthistory
- Christina Riggs, “Boy-King Bling” Times Literary Supplement, 8/11/19.
- The Egyptian Book of the Dead: A guidebook for the underworld” (Ted-Ed talk, 5 minutes)
- “The Mummification Process” (Getty video),
- “Egypt Unearths New Mummies Dating Back 2,500 Years,” New York Times, 11/15/20
- Christina Riggs, “Should We Be Displaying the Dead Bodies of Preserved Ancestors?” Hyperallergic, 10/20/20
- Saturday Night Live Sketch from 1978, with Steve Martin
(warning! This video is from 1978, and in some ways it has not aged well. Students at Reed College were angry when their professor showed it in class a few years ago. I don’t know know how she framed it, or what the larger discussion was. I’m including it here because in my opinion, Steve Martin’s critique of the King Tut exhibition was astute and in many ways quite progressive and ahead of its time. I believe that accusing him of cultural appropriation misses the more systemic issue, which is explored in the readings. I also don’t buy the argument that gold face is blackface. If I did, I wouldn’t post the video. But I welcome you to form your own opinions either way, and to share them in the comment box.)
