Speaking the Unspeakable

I found Karen Randell’s section in Art in the Age of Terrorism, “Speaking the Unspeakable” to be extremely thought provoking. September 11, 2001 is a date that stands out in all of our minds- no matter where were were or what we were doing when the tragedy occurred, we have a distinct memory of the first time we heard what was going on in New York City that day. 

In Fahrenheit 9/11, rather than showing the traumatic images of the World Trade Center crumbling to the ground that circulated the media, only the sounds of the chaos are presented. Because we are not given an image to focus on, we rely upon our own personal memories to fill the visual gap we are given. In this sense, absence is presence. It is a concept that we have visited a few times this semester- even though what we see is extremely important, what we don’t see is also something that should always be considered. In the case of this film, we are made to call upon our own memories because our own memories of this event are clearer than any image that can be presented to us. It is especially effective given the traumatic experience at hand; as mentioned in the article every person, no matter age or location, has a memory of 9/11/01.