The Arts in New York City

I don’t think there is a life in New York that wasn’t touched by 9/11. Even if it wasn’t personal, a sense of safety and security was diminished. Even though I myself don’t remember much from before 9/11, I do know that the airport wasn’t so ridiculously difficult to get into and you stare at the skyline without feeling like something is missing.

While I don’t think perceptions of New York were changed, New Yorkers themselves were changed. We were (and still are) proud people, but our ability to feel safe in the city we lived and worked in was diminished. Outsiders were too scared to come here and for a while New Yorkers were stunned. The event that occurred was literally unthinkable, especially because we all thought it was an accident at first. I remember sitting in my classroom feeling horribly jealous of all the kids that got to go home. My third grader mind didn’t register the fact that if more than half of my class had left that something terrible must have happened. I was ecstatic when my mom finally picked me up, but once I saw her face I knew I shouldn’t show my joy. The one thing I remember more than anything was watching the news when I got home. Some may think it was wrong for my mom to let me watch the news, but looking back on it I’m glad she did. It isn’t like the tragedy traumatized me, but it let me know that the world wasn’t a utopia and things could go wrong. The most destructive factor about nine eleven, besides the lives lost, is the loss of feeling safe. Obviously though, New York has built itself back up. It continues to be a center for commerce and tourism for people all over the world.

In all honesty, I do think that art can accurately portray the events that occurred on 9/11. Works like Fahrenheit 9/11 and The Mercy Seat hit home when it comes to the event that they surround their work with. Although Fahrenheit 9/11 used the tragedy to display why Bush was a horrible president, it still showed the importance of the event and the severity of it. The Mercy Seat took a more personal route. I love the fact that it took a point of view that more than always would never be considered at the time of a seriously devastating event. Art tends to get every angle of an event or an idea. 9/11 was such a huge event that so many artists can take their vision and portray it right. The Mercy Seat made us stop and think, Fahrenheit 9/11 made us angry and the peace quilts touched a soft spot in our hearts. All three separate works of art evoked different feelings in us for the very same event. To me, this is valid proof that art can truly portray 9/11 and the events that happened that day.

Although more than ten years have passed since September 11, 2001, it still feels like a very recent event. I still find it hard to believe that everything that has happened from the War on Terror to our $15 trillion in national debt has been the effect of a single day. The issues that have sparked from that attack continue to be left unsolved. How do we win a war when the enemy does not show us their face? Do we just invade countries on a hunch that their governments may be harboring terrorists and weapons of mass destruction? Does the new age of technology mean less privacy and more surveillance? When we finally kill the man responsible for the attack, does it end there? No? How far are we willing to go to “win” a war? In the world that we have drifted towards after 9/11, anger and terror are spread like butter on a hot piece of toast. The day of September 11, 2001 will not feel like history until the world decides to let go

Everyone who was in New York on the day of the attack has his or her own story of the event. Although I only began the third grade at the time, I remember vividly what happened. From my classroom in Bayside, Queens I could see the New York City skyline in the distance. It was a sight that felt so special because I thought Manhattan was extremely far away. Although I didn’t realize it till afterwards, on the day of September 11 I gazed at the skyline and saw an excess of black smoke. I was so excited with joy I said, “Hey, look a factory!” I was only eight years old at the time and I didn’t know what was really happening. When I was finally picked up from school that day my brother told me the World Trade Center blew up, to which I responded, “COOL!”

Cool wasn’t the word I should have used, nor was it the word anyone else was using. They all used words like attack, tragic, terrorism, and Muslim. As a Muslim, I’ve never felt differently than anyone else until the word terrorist was coupled with the word Muslim. My parent’s families lived in the United States since the 80s and I was born into this Pakistani-American Muslim family. I felt it was only until after the attacks when Muslims began to be recognized as a separate group. A group that contained a smaller group of radical terrorists hell bent on destroying America. The separation between Muslims and terrorists although obvious, was not apparent to many Americans protesting the recent “Ground Zero Mosque.” I was astonished like many other New Yorkers that these protesters actually believed that the people building the place of worship were the enemy. I like to blame the outsiders who came into New York City just to protest their hatred of Muslims in general. My friends and I did not take any of these protests to heart. It was a real “haters gonna hate” type of moment. It did open my eyes though to the affect that the fear of terrorism had somewhat led to the fear of the Muslim American population in America.

Although the aftermath of the attacks of September 11, 2001 is a national issue, post 9/11 New York City started an era of its own. I believe New York has drastically changed in terms of its message to the rest of the world. It changed from a city of dreams to a city that will continue to dream no matter what the world decides to throw at it. The point of the attack was to show everyone that even the best city in the world could have a bad day. They wanted to destroy the iconic image of the city of dreams, but instead they did the opposite. New York after 9/11 is a stronger city with stronger people. Americans living outside of New York did not witness the way in which our city recuperated and was back on track to being the best city in the world. We overcame our loss in a way that no other city could have done. I do not necessarily remember ever living in a city before 9/11. What I have seen is a city that has gotten back on its feet and continues to express its glamor to the rest of the world.

I believe artists can express the traumatic events of 9/11 in a meaningful way only if they tell a real story. After watching “Fahrenheit 9/11,” I felt that Michael Moore effectively portrayed his hatred towards the government in the handling of the attack and its aftermath. Although his story was extremely biased, I felt it was also true in many aspects. It showed some of the shortcomings of George Bush’s presidency as well as the misinformed decision to invade Iraq. The documentary told a story that was not told before and it was a story that people wanted to listen to. The attacks of September 11 are still a current issue and any type of artwork that elucidates the reality of that day in a new way will be successful. I feel like works such as “The Mercy Seat” will only be successful when September 11 feels more like history. Because the issue is still current, a documentary that elucidates the government handling of 9/11 is more effective than a fictional story about a man pretending to be dead.

Having been very young when 9/11 happened, the gravity of that day did not truly take effect until years later. I remember sitting in a classroom and wondering why so many of my classmates were getting taken out of school early. When my turn came around, I was naturally excited. However, this excitement was soon met with confusion once I asked my mom what brought on this (fortunate) early dismissal from school.

I remember my mother’s expression when she tried to explain the tragedy in simple terms for me. For my eight-year-old mind, my largest concern was that my younger brother (who was born a month later) would never be able to see the two towers. I remember the chaos that was each and every supermarket that day as everyone stocked up on the necessities, and expected the worst.

Looking back, I’m glad that I was young enough to grasp some but not all of the aspects of that day. As a child, my biggest frustration was that no channel seemed to be showing cartoons. What good is getting out of school early if you can’t watch cartoons? Alas, most television watching was closely monitored in my house in the month that followed because the doctors felt that if my mother watched the news it would be too much stress for the baby.

There is no doubt that the events of 9/11 changed the perception of many Americans. America was no longer invincible, out of reach, and out of harm. America was now vulnerable, and that was a concept that brought fear to many Americans. Talk of the war on terrorism and a growing feeling of “Islamaphobia” began to fill the nation. Unfortunately, the latter is a sentiment that still fills many Americans with a misplaced sense of hatred and prejudice.

As a New Yorker, I can say without a doubt that 9/11 is a great deal more meaningful to those that live here. While the effects of that day spread not only around the country, but around the world, only an actual New Yorker can say that they witnessed the towers fall that morning. The image of the twin towers was a monumental figure in New York culture, featured in every skyline. After that day, the skyline for those living in the boroughs has an empty space, a gap left by a tragic, tragic event.

Like any event, artists of all trades have worked to portray the trauma of that day. I believe that it is crucial that artists incorporate 9/11 into music, film, exhibits etc. because it is crucial to keep 9/11 in our collective memory. We must never forget the lives that were lost, and the sense of unity that was felt as Americans worked to help those in need during that period of chaos. I think there is great meaning in art dedicated to 9/11 because it represents a moment that is crucial to this nation’s history, and can be analyzed through a variety of perspectives. Art pertaining to 9/11 helps us to establish a greater sense of understanding of the event, rather than settle for complacency.

9/11 – a day that New Yorkers who were old enough to remember it, will always remember when and where they were for the rest of their lives. I was in my third grade class and suddenly, my classroom was receiving multiple calls and the kids were being taken home. I didn’t know why everybody was being picked up, and thought why wasn’t I being picked up, but other than that, I didn’t really think too much of that until I came home and saw all the planes crashing into the towers and the buildings falling. I will admit, even until this semester, I was indifferent towards these events, mainly because it did not affect me directly and because nobody I knew died, but for many others–about 3,000 others, their associations with 9/11 were very different.

In the larger scheme of things, the tragic events that took place on 9/11 did not have a lasting impact on peoples perceptions of New York, but it did have an impact for the a few years following the attacks. Today, if you were to ask a foreigner from another country, or even another state, “What do you think of New York?” I’m sure the first answer they give wouldn’t have any relation to the burning towers as long as they didn’t know anybody who died that day, which most, fortunately do not. Although we may never forget these events, New Yorkers have learned to move on and take steps towards the healing process. One of these steps that we have taken is the building of the 9/11 memorial and the reflecting pools, it is a place where we can reflect on the past, and heal from it. The new towers that are being built as a replacement, are being called the “Freedom Towers” which will be a symbol of freedom in New York.

New Yorkers have a special bond when it comes to 9/11. It is a special experience that we all share together; we have experienced first hand the devastation of 9/11. People from other parts of the country and world have a way less meaningful association with 9/11 because you have to be here, in New York, to truly understand the impact that 9/11 has had. Somebody from Flat, Alaska undoubtedly has a different understand of the events that took place on that day from somebody who was in New York at the time.

In this day age, the media, and artists are always trying to capture these events, and cement them into our memories forever. While there are movies, pictures, paintings that all try to depict what happened, it is impossible to accurately do so, without actually being in New York at the time. These forms of art only add to what we know about 9/11, but it doesn’t give us the foundation that can only be given by actually experiencing the event. The Mercy Seat, is the fictional account of a couple who wants to take advantage of this devastating day, to elope from their families. Even though I think this play does speak to the altitude and havoc that this event brought, to me, it just seems totally unrealistic. I don’t think that after this, any sane—or even insane human being would try to take advantage of this and run away from their families, making them think that they are dead. The 9/11 peace story quilt on display at the Metropolitan Museum also makes another attempt at portraying the traumatic events and it definitely does have meaning to a lot of people, but again, only to those people who were old enough to remember. Children growing up now will not care about the art depicted because they don’t remember anything that happened that day but they will still know that it happened, which is actually a good thing. Because of these events, the nation has become united and stronger.