Images of Race and Nation after September 11

Abstract

September 11, 2001 is a moment in recent memory already loaded with images of historical significance. Indeed, the high discipline, the History of September 11, is already firmly established on the fertile terrain of the American cultural landscape. Some of the images of 9/11 became synonymous with the event itself; others are less well known. But these images, which began circulating almost instantly after the first plane struck the north tower of the World Trade Center, tell important stories about more than just the event, and they require careful scrutiny.We looked at every photo in issues of Time, Newsweek and U.S. News and World Report in the six weeks following the terrorist attacks. The magazines from September and October were a collage of firefighters, vigils and schoolchildren; there were rescue workers, representatives and civilians. We considered several different variables upon which to focus our analysis-portrayals of profession, of crowd shots, of religion, of politicians-before ultimately settling on the 84 photos of perhaps the most obvious signifier of all: the American flag.The reason the flag is an “obvious” symbol is not its ubiquitousness; the recent prevalence of the national symbol is simply an illustration of a greater power. The flag is “obvious” because its meaning is taken for granted; it can be viewed without the effort of conscious interpretation. It reductively references “America.” By positioning the flag in various contexts, the newsmagazine photos simultaneously reference and construct a national definition. The flag is a symbol of national unity; it is the “idea” of the ideal nation, of the principles of its foundation, not the nation itself. In actuality, America emerges from a networkof relationships too complex to be diagramed in a simple rectangle of stripes and stars.