Semiotic Analysis of Idolic Communication at the Core of the Oklahoma City Memorial Museum

Abstract

Traumatic events leave generational scars in communities around the world. In Oklahoma City, the bombing of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building on April 19, 1995 left deep scars. The community then banded together to create a memorial museum in honor of the victims. Many years later, the community still grieves the lives lost. The purpose of this thesis is to take a look at the trauma and magic found inside the Oklahoma City Memorial Museum utilizing semiotics and the dimensional accrual dissociation theory in an attempt to understand the signification of traumatic signs.