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The NYT has basically panned the MLK memorial - not the idea of a tribute, but the actual memorial that has been built.
I will visit it and reach my own conclusions, but the photos make the memorial look like something you'd come across in Uzbekistan that celebrates the glorious achievements of long-time President (and dictator) Karimov.
Do people agree we could have done far better to honor Doctor King?
Funny, I've thought the same thing when I have seen images of the memorial: it looks quite eastern European-dictatorish.
I'll reserve judgment until i can actually go and see it in person. Pictures rarely do justice to memorials on this scope. but I'll state that I disagree with the Times critic regarding the WWII and Roosevelt memorials, both of which I enjoy tremendously.
I have seen it several times, and I don't hate it. I think it would be too assuming if it were a monument to a president or a dictator, but it isn't. It is a monument to a strong man who created power in himself through peace and reason and used that power to make the country a better place. I think that it is okay that it accent that power.
The NYT has basically panned the MLK memorial - not the idea of a tribute, but the actual memorial that has been built.
I will visit it and reach my own conclusions, but the photos make the memorial look like something you'd come across in Uzbekistan that celebrates the glorious achievements of long-time President (and dictator) Karimov.
Do people agree we could have done far better to honor Doctor King?
Haha. Or better yet a monument to a 13th Century Mongol warlord. I wonder if the sculptor's East Asian background contributed to this. Or maybe I'm just seeing things. I saw it up close last night and it just looks very angular.
Hated it...until I actually went to see it i person yesterday. Found it moving, complex and accessible in a way the Lincoln and Jefferson memorials aren't. Although similar to the Roosevelt in terms of its setting, it's a lot less convoluted; the statue (sculpture?) is the clear focal point and people moved about it with ease.
LOL the same thing has happened to every other memorial, so why should MLK be different? You aren't an official memorial in DC until the critics pan you. Then, in 2-3 years people will be talking about how much they love it.
Funny, I've thought the same thing when I have seen images of the memorial: it looks quite eastern European-dictatorish.
I'll reserve judgment until i can actually go and see it in person. Pictures rarely do justice to memorials on this scope. but I'll state that I disagree with the Times critic regarding the WWII and Roosevelt memorials, both of which I enjoy tremendously.
Ditto.
MLK certainly deserves a memorial. The setting is nice, but the statue itself is unappealing. What is with that stern look? MLK was a gentle soul and a pretty handsome guy. The statue makes him look like one of my hs assistant principals.
I cannot believe they could not find an American sculptor to do the job.
I think we will learn to love it because we are stuck with it and we honestly love the idea.
LOL the same thing has happened to every other memorial, so why should MLK be different? You aren't an official memorial in DC until the critics pan you. Then, in 2-3 years people will be talking about how much they love it.
This is very true. It's fascinating to go back and read some of the criticisms of the Vietnam memorial, for instance. And when the Jefferson was built the reaction was quite negative.
And I've enjoyed the WWII memorial since it opened, but I know there are others who don't. C'est la vie.
I think there might also be more criticism of the memorial because we all know what King actually looked like.
Anyone born after 1963 who attended school in the United States has seen the "I Have A Dream Speech" at least 10,291 times. You may have even had to remember part of it for a school assignment. We've see King's image in Coca-Cola commercials every February and on calendars in hallways. The only two images more easily identifiable are probably Barack Obama and Jesus Christ.
I have only a vague idea in my head of what FDR looked like. And no one really knows what Thomas Jefferson actually looked like. I agree that people have criticized (and always will) all of the monuments, but the chief thing I seem to be hearing is "that statue looks nothing like him."
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