Schlock

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. — The Abraham Lincoln Presidential Museum opens today with a silicone Lincoln posing in the rotunda and pundit Tim Russert introducing mock TV attack ads from the campaign of 1860.

In the Union Theater, an abolitionist roars “Lincoln was no friend of the black man” as hologram cannons boom to signal the start of the Civil War. Strobe lights flash; the plush seats jerk and rumble like a ride at Universal Studios. When Atlanta burns, the air feels hot.

This is history, Hollywood style: A $90-million look at Honest Abe’s life and times — with special effects created by Stan Winston Studios, the wizards behind Jurassic Park and Terminator 3.

Some call it the model of a 21st century museum. Others call it schlock.

From an article in the Los Angeles Times.