I am not a big fan of the architecture of the Washington Mall. There are exceptions, of course. I love the stark, cold beauty of the Vietnam Veteran's Memorial and the spare elegance of the Jefferson, offset by the tidal basin, so lovely in the Spring when the cherry blossoms bloom. But for the most part, it feels wrong. First of all, it's busy. There are now memorials popping up every year -- after the World War II Memorial, I stopped keeping track -- and they all seem to have been thought up by a committee of political hacks: a little bit of this and a little bit of that, thrown together in an attempt to please the most people while causing the least amount of offense (A cynic might say that's the definition of democracy.)But beyond that, there's an overwhelming Roman triumphalism to the place -- all these huge slabs of marble and giant, outsize statues and pagan symbols that would not have seemed out of place when Julius Caesar returned home from crossing Rubicon more than 2,000 years ago.
The architecture of a nation's capital should say something about its guiding spirit. And at a time when we are slogging through a hugely unpopular war far from home and are regularly accused of wanting to police the world, the buildings around town do little to dispel the notion that we're a giant, hungry Empire.
I was thinking about this when I was driving to Virginia one night and was once again struck by the latest addition to our skyline: The U.S. Air Force Memorial. I mean no offense to our brave men and women in uniform, who deserve our undying gratitude, but this memorial is more than tacky. It's downright scary, especially at night. Unlike the Roman-inspired architecture elsewhere on the mall, this piece is raw, almost bestial. To me, it resembles nothing less than a bony, grasping claw reaching out into the heavens.
I was trying to remember what it made me think of, and then it hit me: The Dark Tower, Barad Dur, also known as the home of Sauron, the namesake of the Lord of the Rings.
I don't think these pictures do justice to just how creepy this image is at night -- the memorial, I mean. So, I went online, which I do when I need to confirm that I am not, in fact, crazy, and found the following testimonial. And I quote:
i was driving by washington yesterday night, and this was my first time seeing the memorial live, it scared the hell out of me, it is soo huge and i had my 2 yrs son that when he looked at of the window he started crying...but seriously is it just me or it scares others, it looked to me as a monster claws rising from the earth, something like that.
There you have it. This memorial makes little kids cry. I ask you: Is that the spirit that made America beautiful?
6 comments:
That is an interesting observation, particularly to me because A) I've also marveled at how weird and sinister the Air Force Memorial looks, and B) I've also noted the Lord of the Rings parallel in DC's skyline (though not involving the Air Force Memorial). If you go up to the roof deck of our office building on a clear day, look at the Washington Monument, which is very close by, and practically on the same line of sight, you'll see the very weird-looking Masonic Monument in the middle distance, dominating the Alexandria skyline. And it's very reminiscent of a shot at the end of The Two Towers, with Orthanc up close and Barad-dur in the background. It is cool, but also somewhat weird.
(I realize that the theatrical Two Towers mistakenly identifies the "two towers" as Orthanc and Barad-dur, when the book actually refers to Orthanc and Minas Morgul, but that's neither here nor there.)
There's probably some connection between the Masonic order and the Dark Ones, the most obvious one being this:
http://politicalhumor.about.com/library/images/blbushlordrings.htm
Try this link:
http://www.funnyandjokes.com/wp-content/uploads/2007/06/bush_lord-of-the-rings.jpg
I just took a guided tour of the Masonic Temple last weekend, during which we were assured by a very earnest young mason that they are in fact not evil. I still came away feeling like I'd gotten a glimpse into a cult, but it's an interesting place. It's devoted to George Washington, and amongst many other little Washington relics, they have the key to the Bastille that Lafayette presented to him, which I thought was cool. And the view from the top is great.
I rehearsed for "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest" in that place. Cool building.
Jim, I think you're the only person reading this blog. Still, it beats talking to each other.
Amen.
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