Why do people value objects? What is it about a piece of paper, a chunk of metal or a small coin that provokes such powerful memories? Without the objects, the stories would lack vibrancy; without the stories, the objects would lack significance. Taken together, images of these objects, the memories they evoke and the accounts of their collection lead viewers on a path where the commonplace is transformed into the remarkable and the stuff of history is highly personalized.
A World Trade Center whistle recovered from the rubble Ordinary things in homes and museums take on new meaning through association with people and experiences. OBJECTS AND MEMORY examines items recovered after, or offered in response to, 9/11, the Oklahoma City bombing and the Vietnam War, along with the stories of people who find these items important.
With narration by Frank Langella and music by Philip Glass, the program reveals how, in times of stress, we come together in community and see otherwise ordinary objects as symbols of identity, memory and aspiration.
Monday at 10 p.m. on PBS-HD.
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