September 11 and Many Visual Accounts of the Events of That Day - Essay Example

The following analysis will be concentric upon seeking to understand these events through the lens of three distinct articles that were published not long after the attacks took place.  As such, it is the hope of this author that the reader can come to a more informed and broad understanding with regards to the way in which individual integration of understanding concerning the events of September 11th is channeled into society via the viewpoints within these specific articles.

The first article, “September 11th, 2001: Picturing Time” focuses upon the way in which photographers of the events were impacted by what they saw, the ways in which others were impacted by these images and the response mechanisms that these custodians of history applied to the most horrific spectacle they had likely ever seen. The author focuses upon the way in which the photographers were floored by the gravity of it all; so much so that they went into something of an autopilot mode – snapping pictures without coming to a complete understanding or cognition of what was going on around them.  An example of this is the fact that many of these photographers had no recollection of the film they had snapped until such a time as it was returned to them by the developers.  In short, this particular article represents the objectivist standpoint; in that, the individuals responsible for chronicling these events were merely aware of the component parts of September 11th without being aware of the overall emotional gravity they portended. 

Conversely, the second article, entitled, “The Call to Life”, views the events from a moral standpoint; choosing instead to focus upon the horror of the way in which the events of that day ushered in an increased need for “the great public good of civil peace”.  The author goes so far as to provide the quote from an unnamed friend who states, “Now we know what government is for”.  Additional inflammatory/emotional language such as “protecting the flock” and denoted the terrorists as “evildoers” helps to further the emotionally charged rhetoric that was so common as anger reached a boiling point soon after the attacks that brought down the twin towers.  Another element that is represented alongside this seeming “righteous indignation” is the element of fear that was so pervasive.  This element of fear is aptly noted in the following quote: “My daughter and I found ourselves discussing the need for a family plan should there be a biological or chemical attack”.  Although seemingly incongruous with the time in which we live, the reality of the time in which the article was written was quite different.

The final article, entitled “After the Fall”, is unique in that it does not focus upon emotion and/or objectivity alone; rather it combines these and discusses the way in which iconoclasm has come to define the twin towers and 9/11 itself.  The twin towers, as the author discusses, were never much beloved in the NYC skyline; however, even if these buildings were not the most attractive in terms of their architecture, they dominated the NYC skyline and commanded attention.  Yet, it took their collapse to make them truly universally appreciated.  The author goes on to argue that individuals throughout the country have turned these buildings into something of a shrine and anthropomorphized them to hold almost human qualities.  This is of course expected after an attack and does not surprise.

In short, the information that has been presented above creates something of a snapshot of human emotional response.  Anger, faith, loss, aesthetics, iconoclasm; all of these are aptly represented in the way that different individuals sought to make some sense out of the horrific events that claimed so many innocent lives on that infamous day.  Rather than seeking to define these response mechanisms as right or wrong; a far better approach would be simple to understand them in the context of how human reactions grow and evolve to the same stimuli.