Maybe it’s because I was so young back then. So naive, so unaware. But learning this semester about 9/11, reading and viewing the artistic pieces on it–they made me actually think and consider the events of that fateful day. I didn’t think that this unit would be so valuable to me when I first read about it in the syllabus because it was a topic I knew enough about–heck, I lived it. But I realized that there was a lot I didn’t know, and what I did already know, got reinforced in me. The emotions and feelings of that day are now stronger, the historical facts have been made clearer, and the contrast between the New York of then and now has been made sharper. We are living in a whole different NYC.
We are living in a whole different NYC, and we are living with whole different mindsets about the city. Before that day, did anyone consider September 11th a special date? It was as mundane as September 10th, as September 12th. But once an event occurs on a certain day, everything about that day becomes associated with that event. And so too, September 11th (“nine-eleven”) has become a cultural phenomena, if you will, one that has spread throughout the world.
In that, I would definitely say that the event has changed people’s perceptions of New York. Again, it has to do with associations people make. The date of 9/11 has become associated with violence and terror, and New York has become associated with 9/11. New York has that extra “baggage” of 9/11 attached to it, and people can not forget that. “Always remember 9/11. We will never forget.” It’s changed our perceptions of safety in the city, and the concept of terror has hit home, quite unfortunately. We travel around with a heightened level of caution, look out for suspicious activity, and are instructed to report it if we see anything of the sort. When traveling, we are extremely restricted in what we can carry, mainly because of this fear of terrorism. I would argue that many of us do not feel as safe as we once felt because a terrorist attack happened here, in our backyard. While Michael Moore described how Bush’s administration instilled fear in its citizens when there was no danger present, the fear was still there–people’s perceptions were changed.
And are those perceptions of the city more profound for those living in it? I would say a definite yes. That famous statement of “don’t judge others until you’re in their shoes” rings in my head. How can anyone understand the feeling of horror New York City’s residents felt watching its two towers fall, killing fellow residents, many of which were family members, friends, and co-workers. When an event so horrific happens in your backyard, you feel connected to it, often in ways you wish you were not. How often have you read a tragic story that happened “somewhere,” felt sad for a minute or two, and then got over it and moved on with your life? Can you say that you “got over” 9/11 two minutes later? How about ten years later? If you asked someone living halfway across the world, would that person say that 9/11 is still meaningful to him? He isn’t the one staring at the city skyline, thinking of the two towers that are now missing in the picture. He is not constantly reminded of them when he gets on the E train and hears “this is a World Trade Center bound train.” So no, I can’t really say that to a foreigner September 11th is as meaningful as to a New York City resident.
I think that for artists to portray the traumatizing events in a meaningful way is a difficult task, one that requires extreme sensitivity, but one that is not impossible. Emotion is perhaps the greatest method and tool in doing so, because it is something that any person can be influenced by–everyone has emotion. Some pieces are meaningful to certain people more than others, and that is because of our unique characters. But the issue has been approached in many various ways, and a person is bound to be touched by at least one. In watching Moore’s documentary, my sympathy was aroused when I saw wounded Iraqi victims’ bodies; contrastingly, a whole different kind of sympathy arose in me when reading The Mercy Seat. I felt like I was there, in 2001, in the apartment, thinking of my dead co-workers. Because the artists were able to cause me to think and feel something inside, I would say that it’s possible for them to portray the events of that day meaningfully. When you cause your viewers and readers to “feel something,” that often inexplicable feeling, then I think you’ve done a pretty good job. Then you’ve really brought meaning to people’s lives.
I think I’ve made a case for myself this semester that I like meaningfulness. I’ll leave it at that.
