Steven Wilson, assistant director and curator of the Abraham Lincoln Library and Museum (ALLM) at Lincoln Memorial University (LMU) in Harrogate, Tenn., will present a talk on “Myth and Movies-The Story of Abraham Lincoln” on Thursday at 6 p.m. in the Arnold Auditorium of the ALLM. The program is free and open to the public.

The talk will examine various aspects of Lincoln films including actors (Raymond Massey, Henry Fonda and Daniel Day Lewis), directors (John Ford, Steven Spielberg and Robert Redford) and the absurd (the film “Abraham Lincoln-Vampire Hunter,” which premiered in New York City in June). As a mythical, iconic figure in American history, Lincoln has achieved an immortality of sorts because he has virtues that are indicative of the best that America has to offer.

“Lincoln’s life is one of drama, pathos and suffering, steeped in destiny,” said Wilson. “This lanky figure floats like a ghost above the American landscape, a spectral presence that combines past, present and future into a seamless horizon.”

The Abraham Lincoln Library and Museum is located on the historic campus of Lincoln Memorial University in Harrogate, Tennessee. Housing one of the top five Lincoln and Civil War private collections in the world, the Museum is open Monday-Friday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., Saturday from noon to 5 p.m. and Sunday from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m.

For more information about this and other programs at the Abraham Lincoln Library and Museum, call 423-869-6235.