Critique: The Last Act

The Smithsonian was justified in terms of canceling the exhibit “The Last Act”. The mistake with the implementation of the exhibit was with the timing, the impact wouldn’t have been as great if it wasn’t for the 50th anniversary of the bombings. Americans who were alive during this time expected to be applauded for their sacrifice and support, veterans expected to get an “atta- boy” and to be honored for their valor and heroism. When in actuality, “The Last Act's" perspective was too analytical and sacrificed accuracy for political correctness. The Smithsonian was unprepared for the emotions and controversy which followed. In addition to lack of veteran support, the Smithsonian was also going through financial and political problems. The museum should have consulted sooner with others, in order to allow enough time to include their perspective which would have included a more holistic interpretation of the events. The Enola Gay was a B-29 bomber aircraft used during World War 2 to drop the atomic bomb on Hiroshima and Nagasaki in 1945 which prompted Japan’s surrender ending the war. The exhibit was to lay out the effects of the dropping of the bomb and tended to be rather sympathetic towards the Japanese who were America’s aggressors during the war, and the …show more content…
Ultimately the aircraft ended up on display at the Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center in Chantilly, Virginia. It is a simple exhibit, just out in the warehouse, surrounded by the multitude of other planes with a simple description describing what purpose the aircraft served. If you were to walk past it without prior knowledge or having any interest, you wouldn’t know it was even there which makes the entire controversy argument quite ironic. I believe that if the Smithsonian were to redo an exhibit for the Enola Gay and display the aircraft in present day, there would be less of a