WEBSITE EVALUATION: “Remembering Pearl Harbor” (http://plasma.nationalgeographic.com/pearlharbor/)
This site was developed by National Geographic magazine and is obviously tied in with the release of the movie Pearl Harbor because there are many references to the movie on the site. Users enjoy the opportunity to view the movie trailer and read interviews with the actors who played leading roles. It is hard to avoid the conclusion that this is primarily a commercial site with historical content a secondary concern. Aside from the many plugs for the movie, there are links to the National Geographic Store where users can buy maps, magazines, atlases, globes, and, of course, subscribe to the magazine.
Because the site is exclusively a web-creation and includes film clips, slide shows, audio, and ominous background music, it should probably be included in the “Electronic Essay/Exhibit” genre although the film clips of portions of interviews with Pearl Harbor survivors would constitute archival material. The opening page of the site consists of a time-line for the morning of December 7 that allows users to click specific times which then links to a brief description of the events that occurred at that time. For example, if “0755” is clicked, the user is linked to a page with small pictures of the ships at Pearl Harbor that can be clicked for a description of what was happening to that ship at that time. For each ship, the user can link to short audio descriptions of events by actual Pearl Harbor survivors from that ship. The fact that many of these men are still moved to tears even sixty years after the events they are describing affords an unexpected emotional impact.
The design of the site works well. The time-line format is effective in that it provides an hour-by-hour account of the events of that morning. It does not just focus on the American perspective but also portrays the movements of the Japanese ships and aircraft at the same time. It is easy to move about within the site but the impact is diminished by the cursory nature of each narrative. To describe the events aboard the USS Arizona in two paragraphs along with several pictures and a three-second film clip obviously does not do justice to the enormity of what happened to that ship on December 7. The site seems to be aimed at an audience that knows very little about Pearl Harbor or perhaps knows only what was portrayed in the movie. Still it makes effective use of many types of media and brevity probably attracts the youth market which, unfairly or not, is noted for a short attention span.
Also included is a “Memory Book” with the following caveat: “National Geographic does not review, censor, approve, edit, or endorse information placed on this forum.” If the user expects insights from survivors or even contemporary accounts of the Pearl Harbor attack, s/he is disappointed because the “book” consists mostly of the musings of people who have seen the movie or have some tangential relationship to someone who might have experienced the events of December 7 (“My grandpa fought in World War II but I forget what ship he was on.”) The Memory Book is typical of the site in general in that it might be of passing interest to web “surfers” but has little value for people interested in historical content.