John Hoppe writes:
"So is it any surprise that a tourist site misrepresents and even forgets
the original reason for its celebrity? Of course not: "Entertainment and
Education for Young and Old Alike" is always the blandest patriotic
pabulum possible."
 
A good set of comments!  The apotheosis of this kind of homogenized history/
culture has to be Henry Fords Dearborn Village, which brings together all
the icons of Americana in one place--Edison's lab, Ford's house, and even
a Mississippi riverboat to represent Twain.  Even worse, the staff is made
up of young people who know nothing about the sites or their former
inhabitants than what they've memorized as a pre-recorded spiel.  One can
find things to critize about "living history" exhibits from Williamsburg on
down, but this is "mummified" history.
 
BTW, I don't undervalue Hal Holbrook's rendition of Twain (which he had
abandoned because it was consuming his other acting and has recently
revived).  He does at least acknowledge some of Twain's dark side, eg.
excerpts from LETTERS TO THE EARTH, and so on.  And certainly Twain was as
good at creating and representing his own myth as anyone else in this nation
of literally "self-made men."  (Just ask Jay Gatsby)
 
--Don Larsson, Mankato State U., MN