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A Level Media Studies. The Media – post 9/11. September 11 th 2001. A co-ordinated series of attacks on the USA by al-Qaeda. Hijackers crashed planes into the twin towers at the World Trade Centre, the Pentagon and Pennsylvania. 3,000 victims
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A Level Media Studies The Media – post 9/11
September 11th 2001 • A co-ordinated series of attacks on the USA by al-Qaeda. • Hijackers crashed planes into the twin towers at the World Trade Centre, the Pentagon and Pennsylvania. • 3,000 victims • The US responded by launching the ‘war against terror’ and invading Afghanistan.
The News • The footage of the second plane crash was seen live by millions. • These images have become the most documented and watched event in TV history. • Impact of new technology. • At the time news reporting was selective – focused on the powerless victims of the Twin Towers. • This emphasised the illegitimacy of the violence. • References to the Pentagon and Pennsylvania crash sites were often marginalised.
Realism • Amateur nature of footage gave it VALIDITY and CREDIBILITY. • The shaky hand held images taken by the public affirmed the reality of the disaster. • The realism of the event was seen through the prism of disaster movies previously watched. • Initially it was felt that audiences would no longer be able to derive pleasure from these in the future. • Schwarzenegger’s Collateral Damage was withdrawn from release.
After 9/11 • Representations of violence in both fictional and news texts have changed. • Representations of New York were also altered. • Friends (TV) and Spiderman (film) removed images of the twin towers from the New York skyline. • New York started to be represented in a more complex and less upbeat way. • The Day After Tomorrow (2004) • 24 – series (2001- ) Shift in focus on threat from terrorism rather than threat from crime.
War Against Terrorism • After 9/11 journalists and politicians represented the Western world as involved in a ‘war against terrorism’. • This representation has been used as a justification for invasions into Afghanistan and Iraq. • Increased security measures at airports/borders.
War Against Terror • REFLECTIVE • Focus on the selectivity of representations of 9/11, • The ‘war on terror’ and • Wars in Afghanistan and Iraq • CONSTRUCTIONIST • The ‘war on terror’ is a product of media representations, constructed through media language and political discourse circulated in the media. • Such a perspective suggests a heavy involvement and culpability of the media in politics.
New media impact • New media can offer new outlets for divergent views in contemporary society. • Satellite channels – Al Jazeera • Websites – the Baghdad Blogger, LiveLeak