Thanks to various forms of media, we were able to watch people jumping or falling out of the World Trade Towers on September 11, 2001, as recounted in Tom Junod's Esquire article. However, although footage of the planes flying into the towers played over and over almost obsessively, the falling bodies quickly disappeared from our sight, except, as Junod points out, on "shock" web sites where you can look at gruesome footage of actual killings and autopsies (thanasites?) TV stations decided the images were too disturbing, and at least one family, described in the article, refused to believe that the "falling man" could be their relative because to jump was shameful, an act of betrayal of the family.
My first question is: do you agree with the censorship of the footage of the "jumpers"? Why or why not? Would you feel betrayed if your parent or partner jumped instead of coming home to you? What do you think was the real reason the "jumper" footage ceased? Respect for the deceased? Too disturbing? Or--in reference to the Faludi chapters on Jessica Lynch--could it be shame at our powerlessness as a nation on that day?
My second question has to do with the "Mass Media and the Public Sphere" chapter in Practices of Looking: if media create reality, and in some respects a public sphere in which to partake of it, what reality have the media made of the events of 9/11? Do you think there's a public sphere were ideas about the event are freely debated?
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I agree 100% of the censorship of the 'jumpers'. In class last week I personally became very anxious and stressed out just from that image being on the board for too long. I think man people would agree that those images do not promote happy thoughts. However, it is absurd to even consider saying that jumping from the towers was an act of betrayal. On 9/10/01 if somebody jumped off the towers then yes, there suicide was an act of betrayal to their loved ones. There was no suicide on 9/11. As awful as it sounds, those people just made a decision not to burn to death. Im pretty sure they knew that they were trapped prior to opting to their last resort of jumping. Going back to the issue of censorship, nobody who looked at those images though to themselves "wow, look how selfish those people are jumping out of the towers abandoning their families." If they did they have issues, like the author for make such an accusation. Those images were censored for the same reason the beheadings were censored. Nobody wants to see it! Nobody wants to be reminded of the horrific events of that day. As a nation we were faced with a tragedy, and together we had to rise above it. COnstant reminder and playing of those horrific images does nothing but push our nation back into the rut we have been climbing out of. "The War Against Drugs" stopped putting images of drugs on there anti-drug advertisements because they turned out creating higher levels of drug use. Similarly, constant reminded of people jumping out of the towers promote emotional reactions that would not allow are country to move on.
ReplyDeleteAfter our discussion last week about the “jumpers”, I continued to do some research about the censorship of these images. I remember watching 9/11 on the news, and the jumpers were by far the most impacting images of the event. I feel for the families who lost their loved ones to the atrocities of his day and even more for those who believe their relative is one of the jumpers, but I think that by keeping the pictures uncensored everyone can emotionally understand how intense this event was for the victims and for the United States. Pictures seep through people’s minds and these could maybe even impact members of terrorist groups and change their mentality. Its like the pictures of the Vietnam war, the fact that they’re out and we appreciate them every once in a while reminds us that we don’t want to become involved with any other war like that—even if it was fought by Americans, our nation. Although it is very disturbing to watch them fall, this could change the opponent’s view. They have to see what they’ve done in order to understand the degree of their mistake. Yes, there are Al’Qaeda radicals that are not going to change their point of view, but it might change those that are forced into it and make them voice out to the world how inhumane this terrorist group is. Think about it, we’ll never know what the jumpers went through, but I will go ahead and say that it was to save themselves or make a statement of the atrocities that were lived inside those towers. People can choose not to look at them, but I think that when you see them you are reminded of the events of that day and bring back to memory the importance of remaining strong as a nation and to let the terrorist groups know, and feel bad, of the events that happened on September 11.
ReplyDeleteI also completely agree that the images of the “jumpers” from 9/11 should be censored. While a part of me does feel that by catching the loneliest and most terrifying last moments of this persons life we honor that poor victim, who was forced to take matters into their own hands, by immortalizing their image in remembrance forever. However, while researching this topic a bit further on-line I was infuriated to find images photo shopped with aliens, flying kittens and even flying saucers among the falling victims of 9/11. Whether people agree for or against the actions or events of 9/11, whether you are a New Yorker of not, even if you are not an American humanity should be able to find some kind of humility when dealing with the shared and feared connection of death; which comes to us all.
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