Throughout history, first world countries have dominated third world countries socially, economically and politically. This global supremacy by larger nations has resulted in numerous artifacts being illegal confiscated from their original area and marketed for unbounded prices. Many of these illegal acquired items can be found in national museums across the country.

 

Museums have the power to “rewrite” history. Given these illegally attained objects, museums have the ability to influence the viewer’s perception of the artifact. For instance, Fred Wilson placed a whipping post and chairs surrounding it within an exhibit in the Contemporary Museum. Viewers made the assumption that the post was used to whip slaves. However, the original purpose of the post was to whip wife-beaters in prison. Without a clear description of the artifacts, viewers can have a false interpretation of what they are seeing. This idea relates to the clip from Black Panther because the museum within the film is also avoiding the true meaning of the artifact. When Erik Killmonger asks an employee about the ax, she provides him with false information about the country of origin and what it is composed of. This scene demonstrates the museum’s ability to cause observers to believe whatever the museum wants them to believe, ultimately having the power to change history. Furthermore, the security guards in the clip are a minuscule part of the scene, almost as if they are invisible. In class, we discussed Wilson’s “Guarded View,” and how security guards are often forgotten about because of their lower status.

 

The debate about whether illegally obtained artifacts should be returned to their country of origin has caused a controversy for museums. In my opinion, I believe museums should return artifacts that are illegally acquired. Hypothetically, if another country stole one of U.S’s prized artifacts, like The Constitution, the U.S government would demand their artifacts back and potentially declare nuclear war over it. The countries where the illegally obtained artifacts were taken from essentially feel this emotion of envy and anger, but do not have the political strength to do anything about it. For instance, artifacts that were taken from Native Americans are now on display in museums across the country. Due to the diminutive Native American population, they do not have the political strength and voice to request for their artifacts back. Thus, it is the museum’s moral responsibility to return artifacts back to their original country. Artifacts like Buddhist statues or Egyptian sarcophagi have religious and cultural significance to their place of origin. However, because these historic pieces are placed behind glass for visitors to observe for less than five minutes, they lose their true meaning. Removing an artifact from its homeland dissociates the artifact from its people of the same culture. Artifacts reflect the ancestry, oppression, and evolution of their country of origin, and ultimately belong in the hands of its people.