Have a look at this new exhibit at the New York Historical Society.
https://www.nyhistory.org/web/default.php?section=exhibits_collections&page=exhibit_detail&id=3585525
I'm interested to know how people react to these images? Are they more powerful alone, or grouped together? How do we tend to remember September 11, as a static image, or as a moving image?
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After reading the 911 commission report and viewing the photographs and objects from the exhibit, the few images caused much more emotion than the pages of text from the reports. When watching these images, the events come flooding back and I immediatly recalled my own interpretation of the events that occured in my life during that day. However, when reading the reports, I felt distanced, as if I was reading a story that did not touch me personally. They say a picture is worth a thousand words. the comparison of the exhibit and the reports clearly proves that. I feel that photos 7 and 8 are the most powerful global symbols that will forever identfy the severity of September 11th to the future. However, personally, I feel that the fourth image is the most powerful as it exemplifies the pain of the American people in a very raw and humane way.
For me, I typically remember two images when I think of September 11th; the second tower being hit, and then each of the towers collapsing. The grouping of the images on the website really brought back all of the emotion I felt on the day and the weeks following the attack. I will readily admit that my patriotism for our country has declined since 9/11, but seeing those pictures again really hit home. I think because I only have associated two of the major images from 9/11 with the attack, I have removed myself from the pain, suffering, and hardships people dealt with and are continuing to deal with because of this tragedy. This grouping of pictures has reopened my eyes to what happened six years ago, and has helped me remember the day better as a whole, rather then just bits and pieces.
-Bridget Brown
When I think of 9/11 I always think of the image (not in the slides from the exhibit) of a huge cloud of dust and debris flooding all of Manhattan, with people screaming and running in chaos. This shows that the damage was not limited to the twin towers.
The pictures from the exhibit website did bring back intense memories. Its something I'll never completely forget but the slides force you to refresh your memory and rethink about what happened.
After this past Sept. 11th, all the emotions that had faded throughout the past few years came back when on every news channel there was, in some way, a recap of what had occured. For example, MSNBC replayed the news that aired on Sept. 11, 2001. This, paired with all of the images and video clips, brought back a lot of feelings that had lessened as I distanced myself from what had happened. The same occured when I viewed the slideshow of images from 9-11. However, even reading the Commission Report made me saddened because of the emotionless tone in which the death of thousands of people could be stated.
after watching videos and reading the reports and such, it really makes me realize exactly how much the 9/11 attack affected me. at the time i was in school, i heard about the attack, and i really didn't care. i had no family in new york and i knew no one from there so i didn't care. now looking back though i know now how stupid i was back then. seeing these remind of what that one news reporter (I think-heard this quote from sacrificed sons by dream theater) said about this being a life changing event and nothing will be the same after this.
My main thought while reading Section 1.1 was that how did they get through security? Several of them had set off the first metal detector, most of those then set off a second detector, yet they then had passed the wand inspection. To me that just seems out of place. I would of thought that the wand detectors would of been more sensitive than the metal detectors, because the person had set off the detectors already, and a stronger field would allow you to find whatever that was setting it off faster. But that's just me ranting a little.
But I must admire the people who took charge and tired to stop the hijackings. Lewin tired, but was unfortunately stabbed from behind. Ong jumped onto a phone and contacted flight control. On Flight 175 Peter and the flight attendant did the only things that they really could do with the situation, contact people on the outside. Renee May, on Flight 77, also contacted someone outside, her mom, and asked that she contact the airline and tell them what was going on. Thankfully the people on Flight 93 worked together, and overcame the hijackers. It's scary to think what might of happened if they had not of risen up and attack the terrorists.
I find it, well, not relaxing, but I guess a little comforting that the people in the south tower had decided to evacuate after they had heard of what happened to the north tower. I can't decide though if the police, fire, and other parties had been able to react fast enough. They were fast enough to minimize the damage that could of happened, but I always wonder what could of happen. ('The sandwich that could of been' type thing.) But, that's just me.
I know that I've sort of been ranting here, but its just how I view these things.
Now the pictures really don't bring much out of me. Don't call me a cold hearted person, when I first saw the pictures they did bring out emotions, but now when I look at them I just rationalize that its in the past. It is over. But that's how I try to view everything. To me the past is the past, learn from it, don't repeat those mistakes, but don't obsess over it. Its done with, remember it when you need to, but no more than that.
But the one picture that stands out more than any of those other ones was the 8th picture on the slide. It reminds me of the raising of the flag (http://teachpol.tcnj.edu/amer_pol_hist/fi/0000018f.jpg) It reminds me of the perseverance that is the American spirit. The fact that even when things seem bad, and things are not going the way we planned, we can still rise up and overcome those problems. That picture is the most influential, moving, and inspirational picture that I have seen, for the reasons that I said above.
Anyways, I've ranted and raved here long enough, so I'll let the peace and quiet return to the madness of the internet.
When the planes crashed into the twin towers, I had no real emotion towards the event. I had no personal reason to connect with the event, and even though I understood it to be a sad and morbid event, it really did not strike home until much later. One thing in particular about the readings was that you could not help but feel hopeful for the firefighters and police officers who attempted to save so many lives. Even in a situation where you know the future, it seems so simple to think that it might be altered in some way to preserve something.
I think it's interesting that a few images from the day can prompt so much more emotion than an entire report about the actual day. It shows how really impersonal the report was and how it doesn't capture how real the damage done was. I hadn't seen some of these pictures before and it struck me that if I didn't know exactly what I was looking at, I would not have said that some of those pictures were from America but from a distant third world country. Seeing some of those pictures, especially the fire fighters in the black and white pictures made me consciously proud that I am an American. That's something I haven't felt in quite a while.
Tom Peduto
I remember September 11th as a moving picture depicting each persons distinct perceptions. No one person has the same emotions or identical reactions to the event; and no one picture evokes the same emotion. Patriotism, death, fear, instability, disbelief...each photo tells its own story. For me, the photographs bring out a sense of awe and disbelief, as if something like this never happened. It still seems unreal, the photos with people completely covered in ash walking away from the scene they leave behind. It felt like something you read about but would never expect to happen in your own microcosm. September 11 is a distinctive event that I know happened, but the emotions associated with it I tend to leave behind as I go about the days. Now I remember, now I feel the same rush of emotions I felt as a 12 yr old watching the horrifying news reports. In reading the New York Times, which so vividly expressed the previous day's happenings, I look at the photo of the man jumping off the building, scaling the tower head first to his emminent death, I cant help the tears. But in the same breath many of the photos in the exhibit express sense of hope, faith, resilience, a sense that our nation will and does still thrive.
Rochelle Gordon
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