Monday, April 2, 2007
I'm kinda sick, so this will be cut shor
As a preface, let me say that in the past few years when movies have been made depicting the 9/11 flights (World Trade Center and United 93 come to mind) I boycotted those films for the sole reason that aesthetic merit aside, I saw no benefit in dramatizing an event of that magnitude less than five years after it occurred. I understand that for the families directly related to the attacks, the films brought a sense of closure. But at what cost? In this case, do the ends justify the means? Are we not walking a very fine line as a culture of consumption between blending reality with folklore. If this culture eventually results in the fictionalization of the event, would we still say it is worth it? So ends my preface. I'm finding it difficult to distinguish between world events and trauma. I feel as though, and I may be going out on the limb here, but with regards to YA Lit, the majority of the texts function as sort of a magnification of teenage trauma. Thus, a test serves not merely as an exam but an entity the results of which could mean certain (social) death should it be a failure. A dance evolves into a ritual, a right of passage through which one must pass in order to gain acceptance into the upper strati of contemporary culture. I guess what I'm saying is, with regards to trauma, how different are the events of 9/11 and a high school relationship insofar as the weight they are given in YA books? What are the obligations of teachers and authors in separating the two? Certainly the deaths of 12 million Europeans should never be viewed through the same lens as sexual experimentation during senior year, but how many different kinds of trauma are there and by what standards do we measure the psychological effects of specific events? I apologize for the more interrogative tone to this and wish to again note that I am not feeling well at all and so will leave you for the time being. Ta and see yall tomorrow!
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
1 comment:
In the first few months after 9/11, several of my students found it therapeutic, for lack of a better word, to write about how they felt about this day that supposedly “changed the American way of life”. Some created poems, while others just jotted down their hopes for the future or their frustrations with the situation, why it happened and how it was handled (e.g., in the media, by the federal government, by U.S. citizens, etc.). They each had their own way to face, and sometimes cope with, what occurred right across the river from where they lived. Sometimes they shared what they wrote. Others kept their writings to themselves.
On the whole, this healing process was very difficult. The smoke wasn’t fading away quickly. As a school community, we came together and supported those who lost family members and incomes. Amazingly, in this public high school, touch (e.g., holding hands and arms around shoulders) and prayer became an essential part of the school day. We were cutoff from the rest of the world, dealing with very personal loss.
In a way, I think it was good that we were sheltered from the news the first few days after 9/11 (our local NYC television station signals were lost with the Towers). Soon though, we saw what the rest of the country was seeing on TV. When my students began to see commemorative magazines and shirts imprinted with the Twin Towers were being sold, many of them became visibly upset—they could not understand why people would try to capitalize on such a horrific event. They were still grieving and not prepared for others to interpret their loss for them.
I struggle with this even today as I see trailers for films about 9/11. Is it too soon? What is the point of these movies? Is it okay to make a couple million dollars on such a terrible loss?
Post a Comment