Melanie Roth - Baudrillard and Zizek

I thoroughly enjoyed Baudrillard and Zizek’s readings. The Spirit of Terrorism was the piece that I felt the most compelling, and easiest to break down, into clear ideas. In this piece, Baudrillard discusses the relationship of image to reality, specifically exploring the attack on the World Trade Center towers.

            The images of 9/11 will forever be embedded in my head. It didn’t matter that I was a state away from the terrorist attack. The media hyper-exposed these images, collectively creating the familiar and devastating visual, in my memory. The media exposure on this attack was so profound, and I found it extremely interesting when Baudrillard brought up the theory that “terrorism would be nothing without the media” (229). Baudrillard goes onto explain that “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” (229). I completely agree with this statement, specifically involving terror. The media broadcasted these visuals of 9/11 all over the world, and by doing so, spread terror. I do not see this exposure as a negative thing, and truly believe in the importance of informing the world about current events. Drilling these images into our heads keeps the public in tune. I stop short, catching myself before I finish that last sentence with the commonly misused word ‘reality’. This attack was real, but as Baudrillard states, “Reality and fiction are inextricable, and the fascination with the attack is primarily a fascination with the image” (228).

The image of the two World Trade Centers burning is what we connect to the September 11^th attack. It was the most popular image, and received the most exposure from the media. What about the images of the pentagon that was attacked? To tell you the truth, I had to look up a photo of the pentagon on 9/11 because I failed to retain that visual from my memory. These photos of the Pentagon were not advertised nearly as much as the World Trade Centers were, and with its lack of appearance in the mass media, this image has been forgotten. This example relates to one of Baudrillard passages, stating, “The image consumes the event, in the sense that it absorbs it and offers it for consumption. Admittedly, it gives it unprecedented impact, but impact as image-event” (228).

Below are images, of both the Twin Towers and the Pentagon, each pictured on 9/11. It would be fascinating to see how many people recognize the Pentagon, followed by the well-known image that defines 9/11.

The Pentagon

The World Trade Center