Shall we try that again........

After going to the Milwaukee Public Museum the first time, I then received the acutal assignment and had to go back. I realized that what I did when I was there was simply pass through. I was a passive viewer and the second time around I was more of an active observer. The idea was to try to determine how the musuem represents other cultures. Instead of trying to give a fair report of all of the many exhibits in the museum, I chose to focus mainly on the Asian cultures. I even took some pictures (can we do that? well I did).
What I found was really not surprising at all. I saw a lot of oriental painted vases and other artwork and some ancient kung fu fighters. All of this seemed very stereotypical t0 me. Even the music was kind of cheesy. Now, I know that all of these things were true to form at some point, but I think that now a lot of it is seriously out dated.
But what then do you put in the msueums if people are critical of the old, and the present is mostly the same everywhere. I think if it were true to present day Asia, for the most part it would look like America only in another language. I guess the bottom line is that it is good for all of the ancient artifacts and ways of living are displayed, as long as it is made clear that it is not like that today in many parts of the Eastern world.