“The fascination with the attack is primarily a fascination with the image” (P. 228-9)
I found this quote about 9/11 to be very interesting. I was too young to remember the terrorist attacks that occurred on September 11, 2001, so my reality of what happened is constructed by images. When I imagine that day, I can feel as if I were there. This connection is solely due to the images and videos I have seen as I grew up. However, I was only one year old when the attacks occurred, therefore, there is no reason I should have this sense of understanding of that day as if it were my reality. This is due to the fasciation we have with the images. Baudrillard explains that images are our primal sense. We are drawn to the images of the attack because they give us a false sense of clarity and understanding. The events that occurred that day shook our nation and the only way to comprehend what happened was through images given to us through the media. This leads me to my next quote:
“There is no ‘good’ use of the media; the media are part of the event, they are part of the terror, and they work in both directions” (p. 229)
I struggle with this quote because I understand the way the media manipulates situations, but I also understand the need for our nation to know what is going on. The media is a source that provides information, but often that can lead to more harm than good. I believe Baudrillard is saying here that the media immediately covered and exploited the events that occurred on 9/11 and pushed them out to the world; this inevitably gives the terrorists exactly what they wanted: global fear and chaos. This idea made me think about how we might be taking steps in the right direction since 9/11. For example, today, when a terrible incident like a mass shooting occurs, the name of the shooter is often left out of media coverage so the shooter is not glorified. We are still fascinated by images, but maybe now there is less focus on the people behind the destruction and more focus on ways to get through and prevent it from happening again.
Baudrillard’s quotes regarding the media and images produced from it are intriguing, yet also alarming. He suggests, in the first quote, that our reality, or even memories, is shaped by the (reproduced) images we consume. Benjamin would argue that due to the mass reproduction of these images, we lose the aura of the actual event, thus we do not experience it the same way as someone who physically lived through it. 9/11 is one of the most well-known examples of this phenomenon presented by Baudrillard and heavily relates to the successive phases of an image, which are the driving forces behind his argument. For both of the quotations, he certainly appears critical of the media and insinuates that it tends to manipulate the news, information, and images digested by the masses. Furthermore, news sources are guilty of placing heat on stories they cover, even if they come from another platform, like YouTube, and sensationalizing them to a lengthy degree. Look at any story about a controversial YouTuber (e.g. the Paul brothers) who made national headlines for their past or present behavior. News outlets always stretch the truth too far and only focus on the controversy, which never seems to go away. Occasionally, the media completely fabricates stories to get a specific message across, often forgetting the negative impact they can have on viewers. While this crosses into conspiracy theory territory, it has been confirmed, at one point or another, that some sources embellish or dramatize individual events in order to push their overarching narrative/agenda of a certain topic. In my opinion, we, as viewers need to better recognize the terror instilled by the media and actively work to be mindful of the images we expose ourselves to, since they are usually constructed and/or censored for our consumption.
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