In
her article “Speaking The Unspeakable”, Karen Randell discusses the how the
movie “Fahrenheit 9/11” engages with cultural memories of 9/11. In it’s opening
sequence, the film’s director, Michael Moore, opts to not show any images for
approximately two minutes, showing only a black screen overlaid with an audio
track of a plane crashing, people screaming, another plane crashing, people
screaming and sirens. To me, this lack of image engages with 9/11 as personal
event better than any of the iconic yet recycled news or personal footage that
we often see. Through this lack of visual, I am able to replay my own visual
memories of the event: teachers whispering, kids being called out of class to
go home with their parents minute by minute. 9/11 was a personal event for
everyone who is old enough to remember it. And while the images of the burning
towers or ground zero signify it, for myself they do not define it. My memories
of 9/11 consist of not knowing the difference between the word terrorist and
tourist simply because I had never heard of a terrorist before. I feel that
Randell’s investigation into the cultural taboo of making films of traumatic
events soon after they happen is a worthwhile pursuit, but I feel that
Hollywood cinema, regardless of its ability to create heart-wrenching stories
and visuals, is even farther removed from engaging with the traumatic event on
a meaningful level than news footage. Of course the intention of a Hollywood
film is different from a news broadcast, but this is why I feel that Michael
Moore’s treatment of 9/11 is so valid. Almost everyone who has access to a
television has seen video from 9/11 and all of those people have seen the same
video. However, everyone has different personal memories from the day of the
attack and those images, while not physical, are the most potent. Indeed,
nearly fourteen years after the event, images of the New York Skyline with the
burning buildings seem almost sterile and quiet. These images do not reflect the
chaos of the day whether you were an emergency responder on location or a child
in a classroom. The day created such deeply personal memories that even a story
told with the expertise of Hollywood cinema will always be compared to the
viewer’s personal narrative. Everyone remembers where they were when 9/11
happened, many people even know someone who was involved in some way. I believe
that these memories are the true and lasting images of the attack.
3 comments:
I really love the take you have on this. It is interesting that you bring up creating your own visual based on sound and how memory and sound interact. I relate this to reading a book in a sense. Most people have read or at least seen the Harry Potter movies. For those who read it, throughout the series everyone creates their own visual, their own idea of what each character should look like. Since the release of the movies, when I go back and revisit the books all I can see is Harry, Hermoine, and Ron as Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson and Rupert Grint. I think photos and videos of 9/11 do the same thing. In a way they replace our actual memories, if at the very least only for a moment. I find it fascinating that what we visualize when we access our memory though sound association is sometimes much more truthful than what we can actually see.
I largely agree with you -- our collective and personal memories are far more powerful than those infamous images and the films that document the events. But, with this reading, I thought a lot about the generations that don't have a personal connection to the tragedy, the generations that are removed from that collective memory. What will they think? Will they still feel that harrowing emptiness that we feel recalling the event? Or, will they feign sadness and move on, having no personal connection, and, as a result, no care? While the dramatic films and photography are often overdone or cheesy, I don't think they are for us -- the people who witnessed the event, they are for the people who rely on dramatization and the Hollywood treatment to personally connect to our shared sadness and trauma.
That comment was from Kasia Thomas
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