9/11
on Thursday, September 11, 2008 at 4:20 PM.
Laura Tat
September 11, 2008
ART 410 CONCEPTUAL INFORMATION ARTS
9/11 commemoration
Where were you on 9/11? What were your thoughts about the event then, and what your thoughts now? What was/is its impact? What changes have emerged from the event? How has it effected you? How does culture remember? What role does commemoration have in cultural history?
- Research on the event. Get as close to the moment as possible.
- Write an entry in your blog about your thoughts and findings.
- Make a piece that in response to the event in any medium.
When 9/11 happened I was just a freshman in high school. I woke up then morning to get ready for school just like any other day. My dad up already and standing in front of the big screen TV outside watching the news, this was nothing new. He waved me over and said, “a couple of plane crashed into the World Trade Center”. I didn't know that it was a suicide crash at the time so my thoughts were pretty much just “oh, what a horrible accident. When? Just now?”. “At like 5 or 6am.” I figured yeah, it's just a big deal because the World Trade Center is a pretty big building, kind of like if a plane had crashed into the Statue of Liberty. Except, you know, if a plane had crashed into the Statue of Liberty less people would have probably died. I'll admit that I didn't think about the people trapped in the WTC. I suppose I figured they were just chilling out on the floors above the fire and all the other floors below it had evacuated. I didn't ever think that both of the buildings would collapse. Or I thought that they'd all seen a big fat plane coming their way or that the airport terminals had been alerted to something being wrong with their airplanes and they were now off course and they in turn alerted the WTC, “hey guys. Uh, you might wanna get out of there just in case. Couple of planes headed your way.” Stupid, optimistic, illogical, naïve old me.
Then my dad said, “There's a 3rd plane that crashed into the Pentagon.” My thoughts were now pretty much. What. Three plane crashes in a row? This has to be some really rare, freaky accident. They were replaying the footage of the first tower collapsing, the crash of second plane over and over and cutting to shots of the debris at the Pentagon and my dad said, “yeah, probably everyone on the planes died.” Ouch. Just as I was getting ready to leave for school, the 2nd tower collapses. Around this time, my girlfriend Jessica called, “oh my god! Are you watching the news?!” I said, I was. “Are you still going to school? I'm not. My dad is making me stay home.” I was a bit baffled by this, what are the chance of a plane crashing into our tiny high school with it's what? 200 or so students? When I arrived at school of course everyone was talking in the halls about the plane crashes, I found a lot of my friends had actually stayed home from school today.
The remainder of the school day was spent listening to our teachers update us with what was happening as it goes. I don't remember if we really did anything besides talk about 9/11. It was in class when we learned that these were “terrorist attacks”from Palestine and their “holy war” and how it might probably lead to an all out war. A lot of reactions were touchy about the WTC and terrorism. I remember the trailer for Spider-Man was pulled because there was a scene where Spidey caught a helicopter in a web between the two towers (even though that never even happened in the movie). There was talk about renaming the 2nd Lord of the Rings movie from The Two Towers. A lot of movies and shows edited out the WTC from scenes. You had to be careful with bomb jokes, anthrax jokes, plane jokes. I remember hearing that a radio station banned “Walk Like an Egyptian” and my response was just “oh, come on.”
My thoughts now are mostly about the soldiers over in Iraq. A lot of them are my friends. So far everyone has come back okay enough with stories about how they killed a live goat for Thanksgiving and narrowly avoided bombs. I know there are a lot of of conspiracy theories about 9/11, even if I sometimes feel like they might be true that doesn't change how I feel about my friends. I respect their decision to join the army, the navy, and the air force.
I love comic books. Culture remembers in many ways but I think the one that touched me the most was me picking up an issue from Spiderman? I think. Or it might have been an anthology. With stories about all the super heroes I knew growing up and how they reacted in the aftermath of the attacks. All the heroes I had grown up with working along firefighters and emergency rescue workers. Even some villains showed up to help out. And it just really touched me and spoke volumes about the firefighters and emergency rescue workers that were just normal people with no super powers.
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September 11, 2008
ART 410 CONCEPTUAL INFORMATION ARTS
9/11 commemoration
Where were you on 9/11? What were your thoughts about the event then, and what your thoughts now? What was/is its impact? What changes have emerged from the event? How has it effected you? How does culture remember? What role does commemoration have in cultural history?
- Research on the event. Get as close to the moment as possible.
- Write an entry in your blog about your thoughts and findings.
- Make a piece that in response to the event in any medium.
When 9/11 happened I was just a freshman in high school. I woke up then morning to get ready for school just like any other day. My dad up already and standing in front of the big screen TV outside watching the news, this was nothing new. He waved me over and said, “a couple of plane crashed into the World Trade Center”. I didn't know that it was a suicide crash at the time so my thoughts were pretty much just “oh, what a horrible accident. When? Just now?”. “At like 5 or 6am.” I figured yeah, it's just a big deal because the World Trade Center is a pretty big building, kind of like if a plane had crashed into the Statue of Liberty. Except, you know, if a plane had crashed into the Statue of Liberty less people would have probably died. I'll admit that I didn't think about the people trapped in the WTC. I suppose I figured they were just chilling out on the floors above the fire and all the other floors below it had evacuated. I didn't ever think that both of the buildings would collapse. Or I thought that they'd all seen a big fat plane coming their way or that the airport terminals had been alerted to something being wrong with their airplanes and they were now off course and they in turn alerted the WTC, “hey guys. Uh, you might wanna get out of there just in case. Couple of planes headed your way.” Stupid, optimistic, illogical, naïve old me.
Then my dad said, “There's a 3rd plane that crashed into the Pentagon.” My thoughts were now pretty much. What. Three plane crashes in a row? This has to be some really rare, freaky accident. They were replaying the footage of the first tower collapsing, the crash of second plane over and over and cutting to shots of the debris at the Pentagon and my dad said, “yeah, probably everyone on the planes died.” Ouch. Just as I was getting ready to leave for school, the 2nd tower collapses. Around this time, my girlfriend Jessica called, “oh my god! Are you watching the news?!” I said, I was. “Are you still going to school? I'm not. My dad is making me stay home.” I was a bit baffled by this, what are the chance of a plane crashing into our tiny high school with it's what? 200 or so students? When I arrived at school of course everyone was talking in the halls about the plane crashes, I found a lot of my friends had actually stayed home from school today.
The remainder of the school day was spent listening to our teachers update us with what was happening as it goes. I don't remember if we really did anything besides talk about 9/11. It was in class when we learned that these were “terrorist attacks”from Palestine and their “holy war” and how it might probably lead to an all out war. A lot of reactions were touchy about the WTC and terrorism. I remember the trailer for Spider-Man was pulled because there was a scene where Spidey caught a helicopter in a web between the two towers (even though that never even happened in the movie). There was talk about renaming the 2nd Lord of the Rings movie from The Two Towers. A lot of movies and shows edited out the WTC from scenes. You had to be careful with bomb jokes, anthrax jokes, plane jokes. I remember hearing that a radio station banned “Walk Like an Egyptian” and my response was just “oh, come on.”
My thoughts now are mostly about the soldiers over in Iraq. A lot of them are my friends. So far everyone has come back okay enough with stories about how they killed a live goat for Thanksgiving and narrowly avoided bombs. I know there are a lot of of conspiracy theories about 9/11, even if I sometimes feel like they might be true that doesn't change how I feel about my friends. I respect their decision to join the army, the navy, and the air force.
I love comic books. Culture remembers in many ways but I think the one that touched me the most was me picking up an issue from Spiderman? I think. Or it might have been an anthology. With stories about all the super heroes I knew growing up and how they reacted in the aftermath of the attacks. All the heroes I had grown up with working along firefighters and emergency rescue workers. Even some villains showed up to help out. And it just really touched me and spoke volumes about the firefighters and emergency rescue workers that were just normal people with no super powers.
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