Americans world view after 9/11…

As Mez mentions in her feedback that I should research into peoples reactions to disaster spectacle as this is something I have already done I have chosen to research a bit more into the americans view of the world after 9/11. I feel this will help me understand how the americans now see the world, maybe it is that they have lost all hope in other countries after 9/11 it is understandable that they may be less trusting of other countries particularly the middle east. Here is a blog posted on Sunday September 1st 2002 by Andrew Sullivan which highlights that America as a whole has changed after 9/11;

We will forget. Researchers have long known that the memory of epochal events fades with time. Experts have a name for this phenomenon: flashbulb memory. As time passes, the chronology gets jumbled; we fumble on the details; we reimagine the past to make it more coherent, meaningful, bearable. A new study at the University of Illinois at Chicago of a large, countrywide sample of people is discovering that we have already forgotten some things about Sept. 11. Which tower fell first? Was the Pentagon hit after both World Trade Center towers? We forget. We conflate. We confuse.

But we know, of course, that this kind of memory is not the most important one. Some events solder themselves within our consciousness so intensely that they change forever the way we see the world. The details barely matter. The change itself matters. Your child is killed in a car accident; your mother is diagnosed with breast cancer; your wife is raped. These kinds of events stop your life for a moment; your soul freezes while the rest of the world swivels around you to a new position. Part of you insists, This hasn’t happened. Part of you demands, Move on. Most of you knows that neither is an option.

And most of us know that there is no moving on from Sept. 11. It wasn’t a random tragedy for which grief is a slow-acting salve. It was a massacre—a premeditated murder of civilians by men possessed by a theocratic ideology. It was an invasion—the violation of sovereign American soil, the erasure of a visible monument to American success and energy and civilization. It was a crime—the filling of the air of a great and free city with the irradiated dust of innocent human lives. It was a statement—that radical Islam intends to attack and destroy the very principles of the Enlightenment that underpin the American experiment—freedom of religion, of conscience, toleration and secularism. The appropriate response to this attack is therefore not grief or remembrance or sadness or reflection, although each of these has its place. The appropriate response is rage.

For whatever else Sept. 11 was, it was a declaration of war. The totalitarian force of radical fundamentalist Islam, like the forces of Nazism and communism that preceded it, has not disappeared. We briefly defanged it in its most important lair in Afghanistan, but even there it has not been extinguished. Saudi Arabia, the chief exporter of this murderous ideology, remains protected by the West. Saddam Hussein is currently laboring to manufacture weapons of mass destruction that his allies in the Islamist terrorist network would dearly love to use on American soil. Suicide bombers have not relented in attempting to destroy the democratic state of Israel. Anti-Semitism, now as in the past the kernel of the totalitarian mind, has metastasized like a cancer throughout the Middle East and back into its ancient home in Europe. Educated men and women who regularly find the slightest fault in democratic Western societies vie with one another to provide glib, desperate rationalizations for the murderers of 9/11: arrogant American global power somehow deserved payback, and those who deliberately kill civilians are allegedly legitimate combatants with worthy grievances.

But through all this, we know what that day showed us. It showed us that we stand deeply vulnerable to a destructive force in some ways more dangerous than even the last two totalitarian powers Americans were called on to defeat. This enemy refuses to fight with honor; it hides and disappears and re-emerges whenever its purposes are served; it may soon have access to weapons that Hitler and Stalin only dreamed of. But it cannot be defeated the way Nazi Germany and Communist Russia were defeated because it is more like a virus than a host, infecting and capturing nation-states, like Afghanistan, and then moving on to others. So we will have to act to pre-empt it this time, in Iraq and elsewhere, or it will be too late to resist it at all. For Sept. 11 showed that, for the first time in history, the American homeland is actually vulnerable to a deadly foreign enemy. Only those in deep denial can forget that.

That’s why I think that for all the return to superficial normality, Americans really have changed. The illusion of isolationism has been ripped apart. How can America opt out of the world when the world refuses to leave America alone? The illusion of appeasement has been destroyed. Do we really think that by coddling regimes like Iraq or Syria or Iran or Saudi Arabia, we will help defuse the evil that lurks in their societies? The illusion of American exceptionalism has been shattered. The whole dream of this continent—that it was a place where you could safely leave the old world and its resentments behind—was ended that day. A whole generation will grow up with this as its most formative experience—a whole younger generation that knows that there actually is a right and a wrong, and that neutrality is no longer an option. That generational power has only just begun to transform the culture. In decades’ time, we will look back and see what a difference it made.

Feedback sheet from Mez…

I have received my feedback sheet from Mez I have found this very useful as she has encouraged me to go back and do further research on my artefact in which I intend to do. Here is what Mez said about my artefact;

Changes to make/ to do list:
I felt this could have been a more successful piece if you had focused on something specific rather than just using anything you could find. There is so much out there (footage and images) on 9 11 that you could have really put one aspect of that spectacle under the microscope-e.g a series of images just of people’s faces as they looked at the event unfolding. As it was however I wasn’t too sure what you were trying to say apart from 9 11 was a spectacle. In terms of research- where to begin- you could have focused on on shock and fear- people’s reaction to disaster spectacle especially when they are in possible danger themselves. The people watching the spectacle are also the spectacle. This could be discussed on your blog with particular reference to situationism- how did the authencity of the New Yorkers’ experiences for example change their world view?

I totally agree with what Mez has to say here, maybe it would have been more successful if I had just focused on one particular aspect but for me I wanted to show 9/11 as a whole and using the half a second cuts I thought I could quickly go from one picture and moving image to the next, showing everything that happened on 9/11 showing the event as a whole and the different things that were happening on this day. I must admit film making isn’t my strong point, I am not very technical at all so maybe I didn’t portray this very clearly through my artefact. This is something I could learn from.

Feedback from my Artefact…

I have just shown my artefact to the group, I was rather suprised as I was the only one who focused my artefact around 9/11 as I thought this may be a popular subject and that other people might have chosen this too. The comments my peers have left me are found underneath my artefact under ‘comments’. Looking at my feedback I think I did quite good with my film, I think the duration of my artefact could have been a bit longer, this is something I could look at for the future. I think the mixture of the ambient street sounds as well as the news report audio as well is a bit over powering so this is also something I could look at. Mez gave me some good feedback, she basically said it was good, but I could have maybe focused around one particular subject for example- a series of images focusing on just the ‘jumpers’. Mez is typing up feedback forms for us for next week. So I could copy and paste my feedback on to here, for something for me to look at when I’m starting my next artefact which will be ‘power’.

310MC Spectacle Artefact…

First Task
Spectacle artefact
This is my completed Spectacle Artefact . Overall I am quite happy with the outcome of my artefact. As Youtube is the main source of my footage I had a problem trying to download and convert the youtubes file to edit my film with. The duration of the film isn’t very long either, this is due to the half a second cuts. I like the way I have used still and moving images as well as audio over the top I think this is quite effective and adds to the film.

9/11 artefact…

I am starting to think about putting together my artefact, I think that by having the half a second cuts obstruction for the artefact will benefit the idea I have, by making it flow more and making it slightly more edgy. I have now decided on the pictures and archive footage I will be including in my film, I have been lucky with choosing 9/11 as my spectacle idea as there is lots of footage on the internet, especially Youtube that I have to work with.
This is an example of some pictures that I will be including in my film;

The pictures I will be using are very powerful and provoke emotion especially for me, I am going for the shock factor with using these pictures showing what an awful ‘spectacle’ 9/11 was. It will be a powerful piece of film to watch for all my peers as it was something that happened in our lifetime, something which we all know about.

I have decided to research peoples behaviour after a disaster such as 9/11 I have found a few passages from a book called; Disaster and Social work Intervention by Prof Nalino Rao*
Man’s wrath like Nature’s is primitive, ruthless, distinguishes none, obeys no laws and
knows no bounds . . ..
Impacts of disaster
“Disasters are severe disruptions, ecological and psyclzosocinl, which greatly exceeds
the coping capncity of the community”.
Normal stress reactions in the wake of disaster
Most disaster survivors (children and adults as well as disaster rescue or relief workers)
experience normal stress reactions after a traumatic event. These reactions may last for
several days or even a few weeks and may include:
* Emotional reactions: shock; fear; grief; anger; guilt; shame; feeling helpless or
hopeless; feeling numb; feeling empty; diminished ability to feel interest, pleasure,
or love.
* Cognitive reactions: confusion, disorientation, indecisiveness, worry, shortened
attenlion span, difficulty concertrating, memory loss, unwanted memories, selfblame.
* Physical reactions: tension, fatigue, edginess, insomnia, bodily aches or pain,
startling easily, racing heartbeat, nausea, change in appetite, change in sex drive.
* Interpersonal reactions: distrust, conflict, withdrawal, work problems, school
problems, irritability, loss of intimacy, being over-controlling, feeling rejected or
abandoned.
* Professor, Madras School of Social Work, Chenna

Aspects of disaster that are traumatising
*Life threatening danger or physical harm (especially to children)
* Exposure to gruesome death, bodily injury, or dead or maimed bodies
* Extreme environmental or human violence or destruction
* Loss of home, valued possessions, neighbourhood, or community
* Loss of communication with or support from close relations
* Intense emotional demands (e.g., rescue personnel and caregivers searching for
possibly dying survivors, or interacting with bereaved family members)
* Extreme fatigue, weather exposure, hunger, sleep deprivation
* Extended exposure to danger, loss, ernotional/physical strain

Traumatic Stress Reactions in a Disaster
Studies conducted by the National Center for PTSD in the United States have important
findings that can be good indicators for social work practice. Major fallout of disaster
experience is, in many cases post traumatic stress symptoms are normal responses to
overwhelming stressors. Exposure to these overwhelming stressors it says, may change
our assumptions about life and create distress, but the intensity of this distress will
subside with time. Experts agree that the amount of time it takes for people to recover
depends both on what happened to them and on what meaning they give to those
events. Reestablishing meaningful patterns of interactions in the community after a
trauma may facilitate reconstruction of a sense of meaning and purpose. Prior research
into terrorist events and disasters has shown that reactions to these events may be
categorized into different phases.
Keeping this in mind the four phases can
be designated as:
Pre disaster – Readiness,
Disaster – Rescue and Respond
Post Disaster – Rehabilitate and reconstruction
Pre disaster – Readiness

By finding this information out about peoples behaviour and reactions to a terrorist attack or disaster like 9/11 it has made me think about the long term effects it has on witnesses and survivors of the incident. It is such a terrible thing that happened and it only makes it worse knowing that people still suffer with the after effects of the attack for many years after.

Spectacle…

Thinking about the whole idea of a spectacle, I thought it would be good to mention that in the news last week a story was reported that a family expressed fears that their six year old boy was trapped in a giant hot air balloon that was floating through the air. The world watched as the news reported on the whereabouts of the balloon with everyone hoping that the little boy was OK feeling sorry for the family and genuinely hoping the lost little boy wasn’t in the balloon.
Three days after, authorities announced that the whole thing was staged, and that the family had made it up to “better market themselves for a reality television show at some point in the future.”
The family have therefore created a ‘worldwide spectacle’ by creating this ‘boy in a balloon stunt’ many people were tuning in to the news following the hot air balloon on the television hoping that the little boy was not inside. Also, by being found on about the hoax they have made a ‘spectacle’ of themselves making this story up just to gain publicity. When the little boy was found and the whole family were interviewed on a live american television show, when the little boy gets interviewed he lets slip that the family made him hide ‘to get a show’ the family then try and correct what he says to try and hide the fact that it was a hoax. This started to create the suspision that the whole incident was a ‘stunt’ a few days later the authorities confirmed everyones suspisions that the boy in a balloon incident was a publicity stunt. Below is the television interview where the boy slips up and says ‘We did it for the show’.

Research…

Today in the lecture, we were shown a video which was called the ‘power of conformity’ it was a ‘candid camera’ video and illustrated how that people conform to society by peer pressure. It shows a group of people in a lift doing the same thing for example facing the back of the lift, so when people come into the lift, as there is a few people in there facing the back of the lift, they too turn around to join in with them. I have posted the video below, as I thought it was very interesting and funny and maybe something I could attempt to do for my power idea or memory?. Power idea- as it illustrates the ‘power’ of conformity’ and memory- as it is something we remember, a funny memory.I really like the idea of the ‘candid camera’ and incidents being set up to show what people do in these situations.

Today we also had our last workshop with Mez before our artefact has to be shown. I discussed my idea with Mez explaining how I wanted to create a montage of different moving and still images from 9/11. She encouraged me to do further research on the event as I had loads to work with for this piece as there is lots of documentation from 9/11 especially on youtube. After speaking to Mez today I am feeling fairly confident with my idea I just need to sort through footage and images and the news bulletins to include in my artefact.

I found this news bulletin on Youtube covering the live footage from the incident as it happened, I thought maybe this would be good to use as the audio for my artefact if I edited parts of it,it would be narrating as the pictures and video come onto the screen.

Spectacle Idea….

My Spectacle Artefact Idea…
After researching into how the theme of a ‘spectacle’ can be explored through different areas of the media, I have started to think about my idea for my spectacle artefact. I aim to create an artefact that includes both still and moving images that give a powerful and emotional approach to the theme of a ‘spectacle’ I want to use a spectacle that has ‘rocked the world’ something that everyone watching my artefact can relate to.The first thing that comes to my mind when I think of a ‘worldwide spectacle’ is 9/11, it was a devastating spectacle that shook the world and is remembered by everyone. Everyone seems to remember ‘where they were’ and ‘what they were doing’ when they found out about 9/11, therefore I could make a spectacle artefact that would be quite powerful and emotional using all kinds of footage from the internet. I am thinking of putting together a montage for my spectacle artefact by using both still and moving images from September 11th aswell as using a news bulletin from then as my audio for my artefact.

Research into 9/11
As Youtube will probably be the main source of my archive footage for my artefact I have started to look at different news bulletins and real life footage of the event that people have caught on their own videocamera. I think that by using video footage that people have recorded themselves at the time of the event will be make my artefact more emotional and affect the viewer, I want to reming the viewer to what a terrible ‘spectacle’ 9/11 was and make them aware of how distressing it must have been for the american people having to experience this tragic event.

9/11 conspiracy theory- Research
9/11 conspiracy theories allege that the September 11 attacks in 2001 were either intentionally allowed to happen or were a false flag operation orchestrated by an organization with elements inside the United States government.[1] The most prominent theory is that the collapse of the World Trade Center and 7 World Trade Center were the result of a controlled demolition rather than structural weakening due to fire.[2][3] Another prominent belief is that the Pentagon was hit by a missile launched by elements from inside the U.S. government[4] or that a commercial airliner was allowed to do so via an effective standdown of the American military.[5][6] The commonly prescribed motives are to justify the invasion of Afghanistan and Iraq, including control over their vast oil resources;[7] to facilitate increased military spending; and to restrict domestic civil liberties.

Published reports and articles by the U.S. National Institute of Standards and Technology, Popular Mechanics and mainstream media have rejected the 9/11 conspiracy theories.[8][9] Civil engineers state that the impacts of jet aircraft at high speeds in combination with subsequent fires, rather than controlled demolition, led to the collapse of the Twin Towers and WTC 7.[10]

Since the September 11 attacks, a variety of conspiracy theories regarding the 9/11 attacks have been put forward in Web sites, books, and films. Many groups and individuals advocating 9/11 conspiracy theories identify as part of the 9/11 Truth Movement.[11][12][13] Unlike conspiracy theories about the death of Princess Diana, 9/11 conspiracy theories did not emerge immediately after the event. Indeed, most professional conspiracy theorists in the United States appeared to be as shocked as the rest of the population.[14] The first theories that emerged focused primarily on various anomalies in the publicly available evidence, and proponents later developed more specific theories about an alleged plot.[14] One allegation that was widely circulated by e-mail and on the Web, is that not a single Jew had been killed in the attack and that attacks must have been the work of the Mossad, not Islamic terrorists.[14]

The first elaborated theories appeared in Europe. They include a blog published by Mathias Bröckers, an editor at the German newspaper Die Tageszeitung at the time, the book 9/11: The Big Lie by French journalist Thierry Meyssan, the book The CIA and September 11 by former German state minister Andreas von Bülow and the book Operation 9/11, written by the German journalist Gerhard Wisnewski.[14]

While these theories were popular in Europe, they were treated by the U.S. media with either bafflement or amusement and were dismissed by the U.S. government as the product of anti-Americanism.[15][16] In an address to the United Nations on November 10, 2001, United States President George W. Bush denounced the emergence of “outrageous conspiracy theories [...] that attempt to shift the blame away from the terrorists, themselves, away from the guilty.”[17]

By 2004, conspiracy theories about the September 11 attacks began to gain ground in the United States. One explanation for the increase in popularity was that it was not the discovery of any new or more compelling evidence or an improvement of the technical quality of the presentation of the theories, but rather the growing criticism of the Iraq War and the presidency of George W. Bush, who had been reelected in 2004.[14] Revelations of spin doctoring and lying by federal officials, such as the claims about the existence of weapons of mass destruction in Iraq, the belated release of the President’s Daily Brief of August 6, 2001 and reports that NORAD had lied to the 9/11 Commission, may have fuelled the conspiracy theories.[14] (found on wikipedia.com)

I found this bit of research really interesting as it highlights the conspiracy theories that surround the event of 9/11. The thory suggests that 9/11 was a planned attack by the US government and questions the fact that it was a terrorist attack.
Also, while I was searching through material on the internet to help me with my artefact I came across an online blog about the ’9/11 jumpers’ the people who were stuck in the north tower surrouded by smoke with a building falling down around them and sadly fell or jumped to their deaths. It is a very thought provoking article something I found deeply upsetting but is something I would like to share as it gives us an insight into the despair of the people who jumped to their deaths on the event of 9/11.

Chas Sprague’s Blog
Monday, September 10, 2007
The 9-11 jumpers; they didn’t “jump”

This is an issue that isn’t talked about a lot, because it’s so unpleasant, and extremely emotional. It’s about the people who supposedly “jumped” from the WTC towers before they collapsed.

So many in the media seemed to claim at the time that they were jumping out of “despair”; as if it were just an emotional response, a suicide choice; an act of will, that they could simply choose to do or not do.

That just seems like such an unfair judgment to me. I don’t believe that most, if any, of those people “chose” to jump. I think SMOKE, HEAT and FLAMES simply FORCED them to their deaths by falling. You can’t “choose” whether or not you want to stand close to burning jet fuel; you simply can’t. If there is nowhere safe to move away to, you move anyway. Just the smoke alone, making it impossible for you to even breath… if you were suffocating, what would you do for air?

To call it jumping, like it was a choice, just seems wrong. When people went to work at the WTC that morning, they were not expecting to have to jump to their deaths. These poor souls did NOT choose this…

Last year at this time I posted a Tribute to Lorraine D. Antigua as part of the “2,996 project” to memorialize the victims of 9-11. While researching that, I read a lot about the situation of the employees at Lorraine’s firm, Cantor Fitzgerald. That in turn lead to many articles about people who fell to their deaths.

It’s an extremely volatile topic, that generates a wide range of reactions. It was only years after the attack occurred that many people could even begin to talk about it.

On one level I feel compelled to post on this topic because of my many years experience working in high-rise security and fire safety. Yet that experience also makes it extremely upsetting, because what the victims of the WTC attack faced before they died is… not an abstraction to me. So much of my job was about keeping people safe from those very things.

I’m going to post some links to articles that examine what happened, why people “jumped” or fell; how people have dealt with it; and why it matters.

Desperation forced a horrific decision

[...] “It took three or four to realize: They were people,” says James Logozzo, who had gathered with co-workers in a Morgan Stanley boardroom on the 72nd floor of the south tower, just 120 feet away from the north tower. “Then this one woman fell.”

She fell closer to the south tower, he recalls. Logozzo saw her face. She had dark hair and olive skin, a white blouse and black skirt. She fell with her back to the ground, flat, staring up.

“The look on her face was shock. She wasn’t screaming. It was slow motion. When she hit, there was nothing left,” Logozzo says.

[...]

USA TODAY estimates that at least 200 people jumped to their deaths that morning, far more than can be seen in the photographs taken that morning. Nearly all were from the north tower, which was hit first and collapsed last. Fewer than a dozen were from the south tower.

The jumping started shortly after the first jet hit at 8:46 a.m. People jumped continuously during the 102 minutes that the north tower stood. Two people jumped as the north tower began to fall at 10:28 a.m., witnesses said.

For those who jumped, the fall lasted 10 seconds. They struck the ground at just less than 150 miles per hour — not fast enough to cause unconsciousness while falling, but fast enough to ensure instant death on impact. People jumped from all four sides of the north tower. They jumped alone, in pairs and in groups.

Most came from the north tower’s 101st to 105th floors, where the Cantor Fitzgerald bond firm had offices, and the 106th and 107th floors, where a conference was underway at the Windows on the World restaurant. Others leaped from the 93rd through 100th floor offices of Marsh & McLennan insurance company.

Intense smoke and heat, rather than flames, pushed people into this horrific choice. Flight 11 struck the 94th through 98th floors of the north tower, shooting heat and smoke up elevator shafts and stairways in the center of the building. Within minutes, it would have been very difficult to breathe. That drove people to the windows 1,100 to 1,300 feet above ground.

There were several reasons more people jumped from the north tower than from the south. The fire was more intense and compact in the north tower. The jet hit higher, so smoke was concentrated in 15 floors compared with 30 floors in the south tower, which was hit on the 78th through 84th floors. The north tower also stood longer: 102 minutes vs. 56 minutes. And twice as many people were trapped on the north tower’s upper floors than in the south tower, where occupants had 161/2 minutes to evacuate before the second jet hit.

The New York medical examiner’s office says it does not classify the people who fell to their deaths on Sept. 11 as “jumpers.”

“A ‘jumper’ is somebody who goes to the office in the morning knowing that they will commit suicide,” says Ellen Borakove, spokeswoman for the medical examiner’s office. “These people were forced out by the smoke and flames or blown out.” [...]

(bold emphasis mine) Breaking the windows so they could breath also unfortunately fed the flames of the fire. An unbelievably horrific situation.

[...] Jack Gentual, dean of student services at the New Jersey Institute of Technology got a call from his wife Alayne who worked in the tower and was trapped on the 97th floor. “She told me smoke was coming in the room, coming through the vents, her breath was laboured … She said to me ‘I’m scared’ and she wasn’t a person who got scared. She said that she loved me and to tell the boys she loved them.” Alayne told her husband that she was going to try to escape to the lower floors and that she would call later.

But Gentual never heard from his wife again. Her body was found on the street in front of the building across from hers. He wonders if his wife was one of the many who decided to jump. “In some ways it might just be the last elements of control. To be out of the smoke and the heat, to be out in the air…it must have felt like flying.”

For those who jumped, the fall lasted about ten seconds. The jumpers hit the ground at 240 kilometres a hour. It wasn’t fast enough to cause unconsciousness while falling, but ensured instant death on impact.

Witnesses there that day say there was a constant stream of jumpers over the next hour and a half. [...]

Spectacle Research..

After looking into the work of ‘Von Trier’ and ‘Leth’, Nick set us our first obstruction in which we had to follow when producing our ‘spectacle artefact’. Below is this obstruction;

You can produce a piece of moving image or still collage that can have no longer than half a second before a cut to the next image.
If you are producing an audio only piece then you can use no longer than three seconds of audio before a cut to the next sound.

The meaning of the word ‘Spectacle’

Spectacle- In general spectacle refers to an event that is memorable for the appearance it creates. Derived in Middle English from c.1340 as “specially prepared or arranged display” it was borrowed from Old French spectacle, itself a reflection of the Latin spectaculum “a show” from spectare “to view, watch” frequentative form of specere “to look at.[1]

“Spectacle” operates in two contexts simultaneously. On the one hand, it refers to high culture (drama, movies) performances where the draw for an audience is the impressive visual accomplishment. On the other hand, it refers to low cultural shows operating in a folk environment. These can range from the freak show to folk drama to tablieau and beast-plays. The two worlds have always interacted to a lesser or greater degree, with the folks spectacle often being rewritten into a literary spectacle, whether for humor (e.g. The Mechanicals with their performance of Pyramus and Thisbe in William Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream) or not (e.g. the serious treatment of the folk Everyman).

Low and high culture mingled in the spectacle as long as folk productions of spectacle were possible. In the 17th century in England, popular spectacles of the playhouse would be adapted into spectacles for the fair, and in the 18th century fair shows and pantomimes would be adapted to the playhouse stage. In the 19th century, theaters moved farther from folk cultural spectacles and began to develop stand-alone seasonal plays that were centered on a spectacular piece. However, in the 20th century, with the invention of movie theaters, folk festivals were unable to create or recreate the spectacles on film, and the theaters themselves were soon unable to replicate the spectaculars of films. Although film adaptation would occasionally begin with the old, folk mythological narrative material, the movie that resulted would be distributed out to all audiences, thus destroying the audience and source of folk spectacle. Spectacle comes from the word spectator, which could be someone who watches the performance. (found on Wikipedia.com)

After looking into the actual meaning of the word ‘Spectacle’ on wikipedia I have more of an understanding what the idea of a spectacle is and how I can relate it to certain areas of the media for my research. A spectacle is something we are ‘drawn to’, in ‘awe of’, it could be a main focus point I need to consider all these things when it comes to research.

Research-Considering different types of spectacle
For my research into spectacle I will be looking at how the theme of the ‘spectacle’ can be explored through different areas of media;
Art- looking at how pieces of art can be considered as spectacles
Television- How material that is shown on television can be a spectacle
People/ famous people- How normal people or influential people such as celebrities are considered as living life under the watchful eye of the public.

Art as a ‘Spectacle’
At the start of September on a week away in London I visited the Tate Gallery to have a look around at some inspiring pieces of work by different artists. While I was there I got the chance to look at several pieces of artwork by Monet, Picasso and some weird and wonderful installations that were on show. One artists work that particularly interested me was the work of Pablo Picasso, I found his work very unique and liked his surrealist approach to at, it made me start to think about the thought process that goes into such a piece of art. Below is my favourite painting by Pablo Picasso at the tate gallery.

Girl in a Chemise Circa 1905
This waif-like girl is among Picasso’s cast of people from the margins of society. A melancholic mood is conveyed with veils of paint. The chemise accentuates, rather than disguises, the slenderness of the girl’s body that the painter shows as sexually desirable. She is fragile, perhaps sickly. Her delicate pink flesh evokes the skin-colour that Picasso’s friend Guillaume Apollinaire identified among street performers: ’that purplish pink one finds on the cheeks of certain fresh young girls close to death’.
(From the display caption May 2004)

I particularly liked this painting as I was drawn to the girls very pale and skeletal complexion, the darker colours in the background make the girls features more prominent. A painting like this leaves a lot to the imagination, it makes you think, what is making this girl so sad, what is she looking at? A painting like this invites the viewer to consider the emotions of the girl involved as I personally think it is very powerful and stimulating to the viewer.

The concept of the ‘spectacle’ in relation to an art gallery (the Tate) in which I visited seems to be subjective in that what some people consider a ‘spectacle’ a masterpiece is not what others may think. I think the idea of a ‘spectacle’ may be the thought process of an artist to creating a masterpiece, how do these ideas come about? An artist has to think thoroughly about an idea for a painting as their work has to be a ‘unique spectacle’ compared to other artists work. An artist can be inspired to create a story through their painting to entice the viewer of maybe create a painting that ‘breaks the boundaries of what is acceptable’ to the viewer to see. Either way their piece of art has to make an impact to the viewer for them to be ‘drawn to’ a ‘spectacle’ which has pride of place on a gallery wall.
I have started to research how the ‘sense of the spectacle’ is shown through art at the Tate gallery and found an event which was held at the Tate Modern two years ago, which discussed how people can rethink the concept of ‘the spectacle’ in art. Below is the advertisement on which I found on the Tate Modern website.

Rethinking the Spectacle – Saturday 31 March 2007, 13.00–18.00

This symposium addresses recent claims that contemporary art is ‘spectacularised’ and increasingly inseparable from the marketing of large-scale museums. But what do we really mean by ‘spectacle’ today? And how useful are Guy Debord’s ideas (Society of the Spectacle, 1967) for analysing new conditions of the display of contemporary art? Are The Unilever Series commissions such as Carsten Höller’s Test Site really comparable to other forms of mass entertainment?
Art historian Ina Blom (University of Oslo), artist Andrea Fraser (UCLA), Tate curator Frances Morris, and art critics Claire Bishop (University of Warwick) and Mark Godfrey (Slade School of Fine Art) examine whether the denigration of art as ‘spectacle’ masks an elitist resistance to populism, or if it contains a more serious critique of the global market and the role of art within this. The panel discussion is chaired by Sven Lütticken.
Supported by The Reinvention Centre for Undergraduate Research, University of Warwick

This may have been an interesting event to attend as it questions the idea of the ‘spectacle’ and its presence in art and defines the meaning of it using Guy Debord’s theory.

Research- Spectacles found in Television

I went to a live studio recording of the ‘X Factor’ in Birmingham, it was the first stage of the auditions process which has now been changed to the format of auditioning in front of a live audience (which I was part of). I found being a member of the audience very exciting as I got to see how the show is put together. I can tell from being there a lot of editing has to be done to condense the show down to just one hour for viewing time. However, a lot of the show was spoilt for me by being in the audience as a lot of the cheering scenes that you see on TV where the audiences are standing up and cheering for an act are staged as they are recorded as the start of the show before any of the acts audition and the cheering scenes are then slotted in during the editing process of the show. I was also disappointed at the fact that after every auditionee leaves the stage the judges have their make up touched up, which delays the whole process even more.

Spectacle
The idea of a ‘spectacle’ when considering a live television recording is that for most people that enjoy shows such as ‘X Factor’ they consider it as a ‘spectacle’ although for others that do not enjoy it, it is not. I think a ‘spectacle’ is something that has rocked the world, sometimes causing controversy, television wise I think X Factor does this. Copycat versions of the show have been made all over the world with Americas version being ‘American Idol’ and there is also a swedish X Factor along with other countries doing their own version of the show. It is considered a ‘big hit’ around the world, with people tuning in from abroad watching the ‘X Factor’ on Youtube.
The television show has been so successful because it changes peoples lives making peoples dreams of being a successful singer true. We as the public like to watch this happen it is a ‘Spectacle’. In a television studio as part of an audience it is like a ‘cinema’ we are watching a show live enabling us to react however we wish, sort of like a pantomine reacting withe applause and cheers if we like something and ‘booing’ when we don’t.

People/ famous people – spectacle research

Certain people in the media have influences over the public in so many ways. They are looked up to and sometimes disgraced but no matter what goes on we are still obsessed with what they are doing.
One big media frenzy that comes to mind when considering all three themes is the death of Michael Jackson.

At first it was a ‘spectacle’ something that people were made aware of it was all over the news ‘speculation’ that Michael Jackson had died. News was broadcast all over each news channel and people were confused as to what was true and what was not.
Then, when it was revealed that he actually was dead, the story had such ‘power’ over the media and the world. It was a story that affected the world and everyone in society, of different classes, ages and cultural background.
Michael Jackson had such an impact on the world of music, he also helped to make the world a better place by giving millions of pounds to charities. He will be ‘remembered’ by so many people, he will live on in our ‘memory’. It is something everyone remember, where they were when the news broke out that he had died.

While researching how the media covered the event of Michael Jackson’s death I came across a blog by Robert Schlesinger which highlights his opinions on the matter which I found quite interesting. His very controversial view is something that would have been very different to that of what Michael Jackson fans would have been thinking at this time.

Michael Jackson’s Death Sends the Media Over the Edge
June 26, 2009 03:34 PM ET | Robert Schlesinger | Permanent Link | Print
By Robert Schlesinger, Thomas Jefferson Street blog

The world seems divided today between people who view Michael Jackson’s death as an all-consuming, world-stopping Event and those who, while acknowledging that yes, he was talented and famous, wonder whether there might be other news going on in the world that is worth taking note of. As we approach hour 24 of the PM (Post-Michael) Era, it is clear that the people running the 24-hour “news” networks seem to be ecstatically smoking, as Allahpundit Tweets it, the “Jacko Cracko.” (Excepting when one of them showed newly released security camera video of…Mark Sanford walking through an airport. Seriously.) I’m in the other camp.

Yes, Michael Jackson was a tremendously talented musical performer; almost impossibly, his fame may have exceeded even the reach of that talent, seeming to grow as much for every new (and often creepy) revelation about his personal life and lifestyle as about his music. Watching the endless Jackson-loop on the three cable “news” channels today, seeing shots of young, black Jackson and older, post-racial Jackson, is a jarring reminder of his life arc and, one supposes, the perils of success. Some people live long enough to suffer the ravages of age; he lived long enough to suffer the ravages of being Michael Jackson. It’s kind of like an updated version of the journey from young, slick Elvis to older, portly, white jumpsuit Elvis—all we lack is a photo of George W. Bush deputizing Michael Jackson in the drug wars.
The coverage his death is receiving is not in proportion to its news value. As a friend of mine opined on Facebook last night, “it’s amazing that with all the issues confronting our country, the top four stories on the NY Times website are about Michael Jackson. Good lord, get some perspective national media—voyeurism is rapidly replacing journalism.” Indeed. Another friend: “Somebody please make the 24-7 Michael Jackson coverage stop. Among the more important things going on: Iran, healthcare reform, climate change legislation, pulling out of Iraq…” I think Jonah Goldberg has it about right today. (I’ll take “sentences I never thought I’d type” for five hundred please, Alex.) He notes that word invariably used to describe the late musician—”icon”—is a loaded term meaning “religious symbol deserving of reverence and adoration,” which is pretty much how he is being treated.

Michael Jackson had many accomplishments. But the press is sanctifying him because he was famous, deservedly so to be sure, but not because he was good. So much of the coverage seems to miss this fundamental point, as if being famous made him good.

Looking at news footage surrounding Michael Jacksons Death I found a news report which is quite interesting as it is one of the first news bulletins to confirm that Michael Jackson had actually died, there is still speculation about his cause of death at this point. Thinking about some ideas for my spectacle artefact I may consider to focus around a subject that affected the world such as Michael Jacksons death focusing on the shock and the emotional side of the even and how it affected everyone in the world.

310MC

Introduction to 310MC ..

In this module we are looking at the themes ‘Spectacle, Power and Memory’ and how we can explore these themes through different types of media artefacts. Our first lecture began by Nick informing us about the theme of a ‘spectacle’ and we were introduced to work by Lars von trier and Jorgen leth called ‘the five obstructions’. The five obstructions is a short film made by Lars von trier in which five obstructions were set by Jorgen Leth (his old tutor) in which he had to work with to produce this film. The film is actually a documentary which is made up of experimental films which were tasks set to Lars Von Trier. We were shown a short film by Von Trier in the lecture which demonstrates ‘obstruction one’. By watching this it was able to give us a ‘taster’ of the sort of obstructions that Nick would set us when it came to making our short artefacts illustrating the three themes of ‘spectacle, power and memory’.

I found a bit of information about the five obstructions on wikipedia in which I have shown below;

The five obstructions that were set by Lars von trier for this film are;

1. Leth must remake the film in Cuba (but with no set) with no shot longer than 12 frames, and he must answer the questions posed in the original film; Leth successfully completes this task.

2. Leth must remake the film in the worst place in the world but not show that place onscreen; additionally, Leth must play the role of “the man”. The meal must be included but the woman is not to be included. Leth remakes the film in the red light district of Bombay, only partially hiding it behind a translucent screen.

3. Because Leth failed to complete task 2 perfectly, Von Trier punishes him, telling him to either remake the film in any way he chooses, or redo obstruction 2 in Bombay again. Leth chooses the first option and remakes it in Brussels using split-screen effects.

4. Leth must remake the film as an animation. He does so with the aid of Bob Sabiston, a specialist in rotoscoping, who creates animated versions of shots from the previous films.

5. The fifth obstruction is that Von Trier has already made the fifth version, but it must be credited as Leth’s, and Leth must read a voice-over narration ostensibly from his own perspective but in fact written by Von Trier.

The Five Obstructions (Danish: De Fem benspænd) is a 2003 film by Lars Von Trier and Jorgen Leth. The film is a documentary, but incorporates lengthy sections of experimental films produced by the filmmakers. The premise is that Lars Von Trier has created a challenge for his friend and mentor, Jørgen Leth, another filmmaker. Von Trier’s favourite film is Leth’s The Perfect Human (1967). Von Trier gives Leth the task of remaking The Perfect Human five times, each time with a different ‘obstruction’ (or obstacle) given by Von Trier.

I personally really enjoyed watching the ‘Obstruction #1′ film as I found it very original and interesting. I thought the fast half a second cuts added texture to the film and I just thought I would really like to try this technique when it comes to making one of my artefacts for the module. But as film making and editing isn’t my strong point it might be easier said then done, but we’ll see!

Exercise one..

At the end of the lecture we were set our first task which was;
Choose a media object that tells us about the world from your point of view
Post 500 words about it.
1. What does your chosen example (film, TV, advertisement, website, music, piece of
journalism, image, etc.) tell us about you.
2.Write about what it tells us about the wider media context

For this exercise I have chosen to analyse the film ‘American Beauty’ By Sam Mendes. I have watched a few films directed by Sam Mendes including the road to perdition, jarhead and Revolutionary road. I particularly like the style of his films and have found his unique approach to the construction of a film fascinating. I really like the film ‘Amercian Beauty’ as it has a storyline with a twist which keeps you guessing until the end.

The film has a really good social commentary on the ‘American Dream’ and reflects on the position of men and women. Sam Mendes is clearly manipulating the audience in the film, we are positioned to sympathise with ‘Lester’ the main character in the film as his life is sterile and his wife seems to be controlling and obsessive about things. The film focuses on a ‘disfunctional family’ and exposes the story behind what seems to be the perfect neighbourhood.

I find I can relate to this film in certain ways along with other people as the film focuses around ‘family life’ going through normal ‘family issues’ in which we all can identify with. The film also deals with homosexuality to a point and also the military intertwining different storylines to make the film more exciting.

The representation of the main character is interesting in this film as it is ultimately reinforcing the stereotype of the white male, it also explore the difficulties of being a male. Lester (the main character’s) role is clearly dubious in the film he doesn’t seem to know where he stands and leads a restricted life. Lack of communication with his wife and daughter has lead to them becoming quite a dysfunctional family. He fantasises about his daughters friend as it has been a while since him and his wife were intimate together. Lesters character is portrayed as a ‘failed’ success.

However, as the film progresses Lester’s character transforms and leads to him being more dominant and having more of an opinion and expressing himself. He starts to look at his life from a different perspective, this is where the film really starts to get interesting as the director positions us as an audience to almost be on ‘lester’s side’, until a suprising revelation happens at the end. Lester is portayed as the ‘dominant male’ in the film as all the other men featured in the film don’t appear as strong as he is, they lead restricted lives and conform to societys expectations.

‘American Beauty’ represents a warped version of the ‘American Dream’ (something which we all desire to have) by showing us that everything may look all fine and dandy from the outside with a nice house, beautiful garden and friendly neighbourhood but behind closed doors is a different story.

To conclude, Sam Mendes’ film ‘American Beauty’ deals with many issues that we as an audience can relate to, for example, breakdown of a marriage and money issues, This is one of the factors that makes it a successful film. Also as a media production student it is a good film to watch to pick up new techniques on how to construct a good narrative through film.