Objects and Memory

Objects and Memory examines the response to items recovered after 9/11 and other national tragedies. The film uses objects and accounts of people whose lives were affected, interviews with historians and poignant, powerful photographic images. 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. The program, set to the music of Philip Glass, is narrated by Frank Langella.