Last year my wife taught English to seventh graders attending Mapleton Junior High. Large painted banners drawn up by students constantly announce and remind student body of certain activities and events. The students on one particular occasion struck up a banner that declared; “Always remember 9-12!”
When the terrorist attack upon the World Trade Center took place these kids were around two years old. For most of them the tragic event carries the same historical meaning as Pearl Harbor. For them it is an event read about. It carries no personal connection, and thus its importance and value is insignificant.
When the events of 9-11 unfolded I was coming out of early morning seminary in San Diego, California. My mom picked us up and the radio was carrying on about how a plane had run into one of the two towers in New York. I remember thinking; “Well a least it only hit a tower.” Later on I discovered it was not really a tower, but a skyscraper, and that the plane had crashed on purpose.
I really enjoyed reading James Nachtwey’s personal account of Ground Zero because it makes the event personal. I often had a hard time identifying with the tragedy in New York. At that point in my life I had never been out to the east coast, and I knew no one that was affected. Yet all media outlets forced me to watch and read non-stop news about the events for at least six weeks striaght. Even the ads on TV often referred to the terrorist attacks. “Be an American Hero and by a Jeep!”
Why should I care? Sure a few thousand people died. But that’s it. Three times as many people died in an earthquake in Turkey in that same year. Did that receive more than ten minutes of our country’s attention? When I saw the footage of people jumping out of the windows to escape the fires in the second tower I laughed. I simply could not connect with the grand importance of it all and our 24/7 obsession.
It wasn’t until I watched the film ‘World Trade Center’ that I felt a personal connection with the people who lost their lives, or were personally affected by the tragedy. James Nachtwey reminds me of this more intimate connection that makes the events relatable for an outsider like myself. It isn’t the technical information but his reactive thoughts that make up his story. He made his story valuable and important in a context I could find weight in.
-Nephi Hepworth
Wow, thanks for being so honest about the things that you were really feeling when 9-11 happened. I saw the hole thing happen live on TV and I'm not sure if I was able to truly connect with what was happening because I had seen things 10 times more violent then that on that same TV set before, so my brain wasn't able to deliver the message of how terrible that it was for about a couple of weeks after.
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed your blogpost. You have a great way of expressing yourself through writing. I find your insights interesting about how media, if presented properly, can help you feel connected to a person or an event, that you otherwise wouldn't have experienced. One film that helped me find some connection with was "Thirteen Days". I wasn't alive during the Cuban Missile Crisis, but the way that film was made help me appreciate that time in history and helped me feel apart of it.
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