September 11. Overcome.

The terror bombings on September 11, 2001 will forever be a scar on the heart of every American. It was an event that brought America to its knees, and in turn, bound it together to make it stronger and more unified than it ever was before. There is a video that I believe depicts the initial response to the horrible acts that took place in New York City and the utter heroism that was displayed over a Pennsylvania field.

The video has nearly overwhelming visual impact. It starts with a nearly vertical shot of the towers showing just how massive they were, but it is quickly followed with multiple angles of the towers being hit. Then the video begins showing the masses of people surrounding the towers. There are people crying, screaming, staring, and running; all because their existence has been disrupted to the worst degree. It goes on then to show the towers falling and the ash and smoke from the towers engulfing. Then it makes the transition from New York to the wreckage of flight 93, not focusing just on the carnage as whole, but a couple of times there were close-ups of very small, personal objects. It is all finalized with screenshots of the 9/11 firefighters funerals and the lifting of our flag over the wreckage.

The video’s background sound is filled with many things. The first thing that one begins to hear is President Bush’s address to the nation on the attacks. It is a speech that will be remembered for years to come right alongside great wartime speeches like the one spoken on December 7, 1941. As a matter of fact, it is the scenario is a lot like the day that will live in infamy. America was attacked by an unknown enemy, whose purpose was to strike fear in the hearts of Americans. The next thing that the viewer begins to hear is testimonials of people who were at ground zero from the time when the planes struck the towers to when they fell. There are voices of shock coming from the people who cannot believe what has happened. There are voices of full of fear coming from the people who are afraid there is more attacks to come. There are voices full of anguish coming from the people who have loved ones in the towers, either while standing or toppled. During the testimonies there is a song that begins playing, and as the testimonies end, the lyrics start. The song is “Overcome,” by Live. That song debuted on September 18, 2001, on Live’s “V” album, and somehow, all three verses eerily apply to the chaos that took place only seven days before. The first verse reveals how vulnerable we as a country to attack. The second verse expresses an image of the turmoil taking place in New York, and the third verse seemingly alluded to the plane crash in the Pennsylvania field. One of the final things that come to someone’s ears is comments on the flight 93 crash. With all reverence, he says there was definitely something heroic that happened on that flight.

Why was this video uploaded? What was the up loader trying to say, and what was the response the up loader wanted? Most of all, was it ethical to show images that graphic? Well, the video is inspiring, to say the least. It starts with footage of one of our nation’s our nations weakest moments, but it then shows how it unified our people. There were people of all races, you know, Americans, who were not only holding what seemed to be their children, but trying to calm those who were hysterical, carrying those who lost the strength to walk, and tending to the injured. Then it shows the ultimate form of patriotism, in the footage of the flight 93 wreckage and the funerals. Those people did not know who it was they were protecting, but they knew that they had a duty to protect their fellow Americans. I guess the up loader was trying to say many things. Maybe they wanted to put the video out because they suffered loss that day. Then again maybe they were not directly affected, but thought it might help those who did suffer loss that day. It could have even been the fact that the government pulled the footage off the TV in an attempt to censor the nation; the up loader could have just refused to let the world our country forget. I am sure whatever their true reason was for putting out the video, it was for a positive reaction from the masses; otherwise it would not have gradually when from the helpless in the situation, to the ones that helped till the end. I am pretty sure that the up loader did not want a reaction of disgust or helplessness. I think they were looking more for a giving the people of purpose for retribution. They wanted to drive those images into their hearts, forever, so they will always have that strong feeling for justice. The up loader really understood what the executive summary on the terrorist attacks meant when it said, “We have come together with a unity of purpose because our nation demands it. September 11, 2001, was a day of unprecedented shock and suffering in the history of the United States,” and they wanted to make sure that their fellow countrymen and women felt the same about it. Page 205 in Convergences has a commentary on the ethics of photojournalism of things related to 9/11. It says that Bronston Jones made an exhibit focusing more on the lost than the towers. He said, “The people are real, the towers are just real estate.” He makes a good point by saying this and I think the video goes along with this by focusing on human loss instead of material loss. So in that case, I think it is an ethical video.

September 11, 2001 tried the strength of our nation. It was a hard uppercut to the jaw and almost sent us crashing down, but somehow we remained standing. There were people who put themselves against impossible odds that day and sealed their fate with no regard for their own life and all regard for the lives of complete stranger. This video is a testament to that. It captured the soul of patriotism through a lens and a microphone. It showed that even in our lowest times we will overcome. It proved that we are American.

My Convergences source came from Bronston Jones, Missing, 2001, page 2o5.
My online source came from The 9/11 Commission Report, located on http://www.9-11commission.gov/report/911Report_Exec.htm