Although both Oak Alley and Whitney plantation are supposed to be plantation museums, their approach in advertising their museums are completely different. The Oak Alley Plantation website, represents a family get away rather than a museum. Slavery is mentioned very few times throughout the website; which can cause the reader to question if slavery even took place on that plantation. There has to be some type of historical or cultural element of slavery involved in Oak Alley to make it a museum. They are not a valid museum, it would be better fitting to call them a resort. The website’s images and language serve to romanticize living on a plantation.  Beautiful pictures of the plantation are displayed all over the website in hopes of encouraging visitors to come and even stay the night. Praising the plantation owners for their “success” and how they “cared” enough to try suggests that the slaves were not responsible for the plantation’s success. The language of the website completely eliminates the idea of enslavement. The website advertises luxury and pampering, which is in no way relatable to a slave’s experience on a plantation. This “museum’s” contributes to the ignorance thought that slaves were well taken care of by plantation owners. Oak Alley affordance is not beneficial to the history of slavery; it influences the desensitization of their audience’s view of slavery and plantation life.

However, The Whitney plantation website is completely different. From the appearance of the website the audience receives a different message. This website appropriately represents a plantation museum, it is strictly educational. The images are of statues and houses that accurately represents slavery. Photos of the slave living quarters reveal how slaves really lived, compared to Oak Alley who offered luxury rooms with air conditioning. Accreditation is given to the slaves, instead of the plantation owners. The layout of Whitney’s website  provides evidence of being dedicated to educating their audience about plantation life as a slave. There are sections for learning about life as a slave and they provide lesson plans to ensure the history is taught authentically. Direct quotes from people who went to the museum disclose the awakening affect Whitney plantation had on them. This museum serves to make their audience conscious of the horrors of life as a slave.

It is disappointing that places like Oak Alley exist and identify as a museum. How a museum presents its exhibits can significantly influence how their message is received. After visiting Oak Alley, one could take away that slavery wasn’t a bad experience and that they were pampered. Yet, after visiting Whitney plantation their audience can begin to comprehend  of the atrocities of slavery.