Sturken “The Wall, the Screen, and the Image.”

One term that Sturken seemed to focus on a lot is the idea of the screen. “A screen is a surface that is projected upon; it is also an object that hides something from view, that shelters or protects.” according to Sturken. The Vietnam Veteran’s Memorial is a great representation of a screen, it allows the audience to project their feelings and their role in the memorial being presented.  The idea of the screen allows for the people surrounding the memorial to interpret the memorial in whatever way they wish by giving them essentially a blank space to view and project their feelings upon.

There is a significant amount of focus on distinguishing a memorial from a monument in Sturken’s article. She says that “memorials tend to emphasize specific texts or lists of the dead, whereas monuments are usually anonymous”. Basically, memorials usually focus on commemorating something, while monuments seem to focus more on an overall event.

The purposes of the memorial and the sculpture are to allow those who wish to come remember, experience, and engage in the feelings that they once felt or that their fellow Americans once felt. It is an opportunity to see and feel how people felt who were directly influenced by the events of the war. People who visit the monument are even encouraged to leave something at the monument in remembrance, allowing them to participate in their own way, another example of the screen idea.