The Scale of Our Memory: Spectacle in the Commemoration of Gallipoli

ABSTRACT

The centennial of the First World War constituted a major event for many nations. For New Zealand, much of the memorialization focused on the campaign at Gallipoli, which has become an important part of the nation’s identity. This essay examines one of the official memorials to Gallipoli, a large exhibition entitled “The Scale of Our War.” Designed in conjunction with filmmaker Sir Richard Taylor and his Weta Studio, the exhibition combines artifacts and displays with larger than life hyperrealistic figures. Focusing on the cinematic framing of the exhibition, we question the rhetorical limits of media technologies in creating immersive experiences for patrons. We suggest that the spectacle of the cinematic framing of remembrance may overshadow the events being remembered.

KEYWORDS:

• Cinema
• museums
• public memory
• spectacle

Acknowledgments

An earlier version of this essay was presented at the National Communication Association Convention in Salt Lake City, Utah. We express our gratitude to the editor of RSQ and the anonymous reviewers. We also benefited from helpful advice from Kingsley Baird, Charles E. Morris III, and Erin Rand.

Notes

¹ A key example of this is New Zealand’s occupation of Samoa during the First World War, an action that led to a four decade long era of civil administration, which at times was aggressively enforced. A 2013 survey by Colmar Brunton found that only 26% of New Zealanders are aware of New Zealand’s occupation of Samoa during the First World War.