This week we were tasked with looking at a finding aid for a physical archival collection held at UCLA. The collection I chose to analyze was the Collection of Heavy Metal Music. Heavy metal’s roots came from rock music and has several sub-genres including glam metal, thrash metal, and death metal. The collection of heavy music is composed of published works, archival material, and ephemera related to heavy metal music and fan culture from the 1960s to the present. The material collected is separated into six series: books and DVDs, show fliers, photographs, ephermera, and memorabilia, fanzines, magazines, and recordings.
With the collection, we are able to create an narrative about the heavy metal music scene during the 1960s to the present. Morever, the narrative would be more geared towards the Los Angeles and San Francisco area during the 1980s because those are the areas where the heavy metal scene was prominent and because the collection has relevant events and performances on those cities. We are able to create a narrative about the evolution of the heavy metal scene in Los Angeles with the biographies of musicians, show and concert fliers, photographs, and magazine articles. However, we are limited in creating a narrative focused on a specific geographically locations as most of the materials are sourced from California. The collection lacks sources from other states, preventing us from creating a narrative about the heavy metal music scene throughout the nation. We are unable to create a narrative about the full impact the heavy metal music scene has throughout the United States. To be able to create that kind of narrative, we would need more sources from other states. In addition, the sources of the collection are favored towards those who have a passion and are interested in heavy metal music; therefore, if we are to create narrative, it would be biased. To counter the bias, the collection should include sources from neutral backgrounds. With the inclusion of those sources, one can create a more objective narrative on the heavy metal music scene.
Overall, I believe that the collection is intriguing to look at. However, it could add additional sources to make it more objective and encompassing of the heavy metal music scene.
Great note pointing out that the narrative is definitely limited because of the fact that they focused on the heavy metal music scene only in California, as opposed to looking at other states nationwide. It’s really important to have a more objective view on topics like these to avoid biases. Good job!