Issue No. 605
International
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26 Sept. - 2 October 2002 Issue No. 605 International |
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| Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875 | Recommend this page | ||
Emotional capitalism
Has the tragedy of 11 September crossed the line from sanctified to commercialised? Nyier Abdou looks through what is solemn and what sold in New York
One year on, the wounds cut by 11 September remain raw. One need not attend the memorials and gatherings, from honourary motorcycle rides to candle-light vigils, to absorb the malaise that pervades New York city. America is marking the first anniversary of the terrorist attacks which killed almost 3,000 people -- a death toll exceeded only by the Civil War battle of Antietam.
Political pundits, newspaper columnists and radio and television talk-show hosts across the nation -- what Atlantic Monthly magazine columnist Geoffrey Wheatcroft justly dubbed the "chatterati" -- reached a fever pitch of scrutiny last Wednesday as US President George W Bush paid his respects at the three sites hit by the 11 September hijackings. Though for most Americans, 11 September 2002 was a day like any other in the last year, the anniversary was impossible to ignore. People strove to give the anniversary sobering significance, no tribute to the victims could possibly carry the full weight of people's grief, nor adequately address people's feelings of impotence and vulnerability. However, one year on, the commodification of 11 September is virtually complete.
In the immediate aftermath of the attacks, the overwhelming outpouring of support and communal amity was both staggering and natural. One year later, New York has gently moved on; Ground Zero has been virtually picked clean and the nation's leaders are focused on military endeavors. But the memory of the attacks is still very much alive and people feel restless and unfulfilled in their lingering need to react to such a powerful tragedy. There are no blood-streaked fire fighters, dust-drenched rescue workers or exhausted police teams upon which to shower unconditional support, and, while still hauntingly bare, Ground Zero no longer looks like an apocalyptic wasteland, but rather more like a large construction site.
A media blitz has padded the 11 September anniversary with special programmes remembering the attacks, but in many ways, this redressing of year-old footage is pointless, as the images are still monstrously vivid in everyone's minds. The incessant commentary that has accompanied these images is no closer to providing an explanation that speaks to the many issues brought forth by the attacks than they were last year. The churning of the media machine seemed to speak only to fellow media members, while ordinary Americans struggled fruitlessly with how to respond. The New York Stock Exchange, in a highly unusual move, did not open until after 11am. Many stores respectfully remained shut, while others, heeding New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg's call to "go forward", were open as usual. In Manhattan's SoHo district, shoppers crisscrossed the streets from designer store to trendy restaurant but memorials, both impromptu and semi-permanent, drew uncomfortable yet curious crowds.
At gallery spaces created from two-store properties on SoHo's Prince Street, there is an ongoing communal project known as "Here is New York" (www.hereisnewyork.org) that displayed its collection of 11 September pictures. The collection was submitted by amateurs and professionals alike. Most in the busy crowd of shoppers, artists and locals were relieved to at last be doing something "appropriate" on 11 September. Subtitled "A Democracy of Photographs", all pictures are sold at the flat rate of $25, and the funds raised go to the Children's Aid Society WTC Relief Fund.
At the Bernstein Gallery, on Warren Street, a block north of the World Trade Center site, artist Neil Bernstein displays artworks, many described as "Holocaust-themed", which incorporate remnants and ash from the World Trade Center. A few of these works have stirred up controversy due to the listing of "Jewish blood" among the materials, as in Bernstein's Titus and the Destruction of Jerusalem 70 A.D.
But perhaps even more delicate was confronting upset fire fighters and city workers, who entered the gallery outraged that Bernstein was using remnants from Ground Zero for his art. Bernstein, a lanky and affable man dressed in an artist's issue worn, black T-shirt, told Al- Ahram Weekly that he handled sensitive situations as these by telling visitors to tour the show first before having their say. Most found the works inspiring. "What's really going on here is that we have an immense group of people, from brokers to store owners... people who have horrible post-traumatic stress," says Bernstein. From the need to deal with this stress grew the gallery's choice to offer art-making workshops to help survivors express themselves.
Bernstein was quick to affirm that the mood around Ground Zero was one of apprehension, saying that people were certainly nervous about another attack on the anniversary. "I just felt, well, if I die on 11 September, at least I'll go out with a bang," Bernstein said. Asked if he saw an upsurge of anti-Arab and anti-Muslim sentiment as the anniversary approached, Bernstein said he saw the opposite. "I mean, let's face it, New York is saturated with Arab populations, and they're New Yorkers. How can you possibly alienate them from this process?" Speaking of incidents of racial hatred directed at the Arab community, Bernstein notes "to have that sort of prejudice defies the definition of America and I will not meet that on any level. I will not be party to that." He adds: "I was subjected to a lot of it as a Jew growing up in white, suburban America."
At a Hallmark gift-shop next to Ground Zero, the window display shows pictures of the store buried in Trade Center ashes. Today, the store is doing a thriving business in omnipresent New York memorabilia: baseball hats bearing the names of the Fire Department of New York (FDNY) and the New York Police Department (NYPD), "I love New York" T-shirts and pins and small statues of the Trade Center buildings. Craig who was working at the store on the anniversary, says that although the crowds around the site and in the store were "crazy" the day passed as any other day. Although the US government had stepped up the country's security rating to a "Code Orange", a heightened state of security alertness, Craig maintained that every day since 11 September has been shaded in insecurity. Living in the flight path of planes flying to and from JFK international airport, he says that every time a plane passes overhead, he gets nervous.
As one gets closer to Ground Zero, the street sellers proffering FDNY hats, books and postcard size fold-ups of pictures from 11 September and the Twin Towers in their original glory jostle for sidewalk space. At Saint Paul's chapel, directly in front of Ground Zero, a burgeoning pileup of flowers, T-shirts, flags, pictures and candles evolved into a living memorial to the victims of 11 September and the workers who made the site their home in the aftermath. The church, spared damage by the attacks, has been regularly removing memorabilia from the fence and keeping them for permanent preservation, setting up the exhibit "Out of the Dust: A Year of Ministry at Ground Zero". During the cleanup effort, the church functioned as a place of peace and respite for workers to sleep or receive treatment from the numerous chiropractors, podiatrists and others who were offering their services. Today, without the lost souls who wandered there while working on the site, the place seems emptier and denuded of its newfound purpose.
Still, around the church, people gather, scrawling messages on posters and T-shirts from fire departments around the country: "God Bless America; I (We) Love New York; United We Stand; We Will Never Forget You; In God We Trust; God Bless All the Souls; May Your Courage Live On; Gone, But Not Forgotten." A sign for the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department bore the message: "These heroes paid the ultimate sacrifice; God bless the NYPD/ FDNY." Very occasionally, a message of hate stands out -- "Muslims: lowest of the low" -- or spiritual support shades into the political: "America, we love you -- Israel."
A large poster with a picture of the Statue of Liberty, an eagle, a statue of an angel and the Twin Towers bears the names of all known victims of the attacks. The poster is a perfect illustration of the confluence of sorrow and commercialisation. Along the list of names, victims' families have circled their loved one's names and written messages to them, many of them achingly private. Below a touching note of memorial to all victims found and unfound, is a glaring reminder that even after 11 September, nothing is for free: the poster was printed by ArtAid, "Art in Service of Humanity", who was kind of enough to provide their Web site address.
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