King Tut: The Golden King And The Great Pharaohs

First of all, and to be clear, I didn’t had to pay for the exhibition. Maybe if I had I would not think what I think but I don’t think so. People pay a lot more to see — say, in Harbourfront centre or in Canstage– irrelevant performers perform irrelevant shows reviewed by irrelevant journalists. If I mention journalist, it is because one of these ‘instruits’ — as my grand-​father would say about any happy incompetent — from the star or the sun or another of these stellar newspapers, wrote that this exhibition reminded him of disneyland (this clever angle was by the way stolen from a NewYorker review concerning a totally different exhibition). Yes there is a door that opens automatically in an attempt to make the entrance to the exhibition exciting. Do you think, Pulitzer seed, that an automatic door is enough to transform anything into a disneyland ride, like the TTC for exemple? Because after this famous door closes (it also closes automatically, oh no!) it is very difficult to think you are in Kansas anymore — I mean in California or Florida.
Then there are those who complain that ‘the big golden mask’ on the poster is not here. It is not a mask on the poster! It has arms! do you think a mask would have arms? It is the coffinette on the poster. Sure it is small. What were you expecting? When you see an american apparel add in Dundas Square, do you really think the model is 15 feet high? Then there are those who complain that there is too much crowd, those who complain that there is not enough crowd, those who complain that they can’t find the mummy of King Lear (or was it King Kong).
Instead of complaining, why not take the time to think that all that is displayed here is at least 3000 years old –some is 5000 years old– and look more recent and civilised than most of the stuff that is only a few century old. Aren’t you stunned by this hand that is reaching from the past to show you glimpses of the most amazing attempt in man history to build a dam in the sand that successfully resisted the ever rising tide of the sea of chaos and entropy. Sure the Dead Sea Scroll was a great discovery and deserved to be seen in the ROM. But this is more than words. You can see the face of these people! You can actually see how they lived! You can even see the bed on which they slept! The jewels they wore! Even the toilets they sat on!
Go to this exhibition with a positive mind. Let yourself be touched rather than cynically indulging in easy criticism. Take your time (I spent 6 hours in the exhibition and I still have the feeling that I missed things). You’ll be rewarded by an amazing journey through time. More than 3000 years back! No disneyland ride will offer you that. Ever.

I really wanted to be pumped about this exhibition, I really did. As a volunteer and real AGO lover, I had been gearing up for this for quite awhile. I knew it was going to be expensive, and I was prepared for that. But over $ 30 is just too much.
The entrance is a bit Disney theme park with the grand doors opening, flickering torches, and pyramid pics. It does build the anticipation, and the kids in my group clearly enjoyed it.
The night I went was sooooo busy. To the point where you couldn’t get near many of the artifacts. I was forced to skip many at the beginning just to get ahead of the crowd.
Likes:
–Short, interesting videos throughout — informative and keep your attention.
–King Tut area set out in the same fashion as the real tomb (antechamber, etc) with the photographs from the real excavation
— Some very cool artifacts — canopic jars, lots of carvings, jewels
–Narration on the headset was jokes. Not sure who the archaeologist was, but he was hilarious! (unintentionally so, I suspect!)
Dislikes:
— PRICE
— paying extra for headset ($ 5.00) but at this point, you might as well pay the piper and get a bit more info out of the whole thing
–overcrowding
–not enough context — I would have liked more details on either art or history. Sometimes, there wasn’t enough of either.
Highlights:
— I loved the bed, sandals, and jewellery
Yes, its a once in a lifetime thing to see, but wow… it’s just so expensive, its tough for me to recommend. Had the tickets been $ 20, or even $ 25, I would tell you to GO immediately… but alas… you’ll just have to examine your own wallet and decide for yourself.