Never Forget

When I think about the war on terror, my initial reaction is one of indifference; the war doesn’t affect me. However, if I take a minute to think about it, I realize how I’ve been affected indirectly. I may not voice my thoughts all the time, but the war has definitely put a lot of “what ifs” in my mind. Paranoia, if you will. It’s not that I am constantly living in fear and looking over my shoulder all the time, but I’ve noticed that my imagination tends to imagine deadly theoretical situations. I don’t like to think of myself as paranoid; I’m not usually scared easily and tend to think rationally, but 9/11 and the war on terror has made me subconsciously fearful.

No one will ever forget the attacks of 9/11, and people will especially remember the infamous footage of the towers crumbling to the ground in seconds. I can remember watching the videos on the news like it was yesterday. Before this, I had never even heard of “terrorism” or even imagined a plane crashing into a skyscraper like the Twin Towers. The image is so powerful, and so engraved into my memory that now I can’t get it out of my head. When a clock reads “9:11,” when someone mentions “terrorist” or “terrorism,” or “World Trade Center,” my mind automatically imagines that day in 2001.

When I say that I have become paranoid or fearful, it’s not that I’m afraid of flying, as many people are now, but that I tend to imagine the worst at random times. Every time I see a plane in the sky, I imagine watching it crash into the nearest building. When I hear a plane flying low over me (usually if I’m inside) I think about suddenly seeing it burst through the wall and essentially, kill me. I’m really not usually a morbid person either. Everyone let’s their imagination run wild occasionally, but I worry that my imagination is the result of some sort of post traumatic stress, though very mild. I was only ten years old at the time of the attack. Like I said, I had never been exposed to terrorism and didn’t even know what hijacking meant. As a result, my impressionable and observant young mind absorbed everything being thrown at me. Even if I didn’t completely understand it, I held onto the memory.

Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, or PTSD for short, is “an anxiety disorder that can develop after exposure to a terrifying event or ordeal in which grave physical harm occurred or was threatened. Traumatic events that may trigger PTSD include violent personal assaults, natural or human-caused disasters, accidents, or military combat.” Watching a building burn while a plane crashes into a second building and then both towers literally turn to dust is pretty traumatic. Not to mention seeing the hysteria of people near the towers and people jumping out of windows. Basic symptoms include flashbacks and frightening thoughts that could cause a person to feel physical symptoms such as a racing heart or sweating. I don’t have intense flashbacks that cause these physical symptoms, but I am frequently reminded of 9/11. I do tend to psyche myself out for no apparent reason. Aside from wondering if every plane I see will crash, I’ll wonder if wherever I am will be bombed. I automatically associate loud noises or crashes from outside my window as life threatening; gun shots, a bomb. Sometimes, I manage to convince myself so completely that my heart actually does start to race with nervousness.

This is actually something I recently started thinking about. I noticed that I tend to imagine things like this, but I never thought to associate it with 9/11 or the war. Now, though, I believe they are related. As far as the literal war—the actual fighting overseas, not the ongoing “war on terror.” I honestly tend to forget it’s even going on. I don’t remember hearing that we invaded Iraq in 2003 (where I was, the specific newscast, nothing) and the only news stories I tend to hear are of soldiers dying in explosions from road-side bombs. I was older than I was when I witnessed 9/11, but I can hardly remember it. Friends of mine tend to have similar views that they are unaffected by the war. When you can’t see your enemy it’s hard to imagine actual warfare going on. In fact, hearing “war on terror” reminds me more of 9/11 than soldiers in Iraq. Yes, we are fighting humans, but our enemy is an action, a feeling.

While we can never truly forget the war on terror, I think it’s gradually fading away (unfortunately. Troops aren’t getting enough credit or support; but I digress). I distinctly remember hearing more information than I do now about the status of the war. Especially since Obama was elected President, the war in Iraq has taken a back seat to recession, health care, and other problems closer to home. And speaking of home, I think that’s why we will never forget 9/11 but ignore the actual war. The World Trade Center was on our soil. The entire country (not to mention the entire world) saw it happen. Everything happened suddenly and quickly. Thousands of lives were taken in seconds. We were also peaceful. The attack was completely out of the blue. Yes, lives are being lost overseas but at a much slower pace. We can only read, watch, or hear about what is happening after it has already happened. And we’re in the middle of the war; it’s nothing new. By now, we’ve adjusted to being in war and expect bad news.

Whether you were ten years old or seventy years old on September 11, 2001, the memory of that day will forever be engraved in everyone’s mind; sometimes, a bit too deeply. So deep that it manifests into an abnormal fear. So deep that simply looking at the time triggers a memory. Some things you just never forget.

Sexual Imagery

Rihanna’s latest music video for her song “Hard” has a very strong war theme but as most music videos are, is heavily stylized. While it is not explicit, it’s still pretty obvious that the video is referencing the current war. The entire video is filmed in a desert and Arabic writing on the side of a building suggests that Rihanna is dancing and singing in the Middle East.

The images in the video are very memorable because they are suggestive and sexual. Rihanna’s costumes are dramatic and revealing; a short black dress with spiked shoulders and a very deep neck line, a bold shouldered long sleeve “shirt” covers her torso but leaves her legs bare, a nude leotard with an open military style jacket over it, and, of course, a “top” made from lines of machine gun bullets. She usually has a helmet or military cap of some sort on as well.

The extras’ costumes in the video are a bit more accurate but still off. The “soldiers” wear tank tops or t-shirts and camouflage pants…and that’s about it. Most aren’t even wearing helmets. In reality, even when not in the middle of combat, soldiers are suited up: jackets, backpacks, helmet, gun, ammo—everything. Having these men just sitting in the background holding a gun and looking pretty is almost as bad as Rihanna walking around in a skin tight dress.

Obviously, this is not what war is like. Even though this video is stylized, what kind of message is it really sending? The next time we think of war we’ll think of Rihanna’s cleavage? At one point Rihanna is straddling the barrel of a tank…a bit over the top, no?


What's more is that Rihanna treats the subject of war like it's a fashion statement: "It’s couture military. Everything is surrounded around the idea of something military. We have tanks, we have troops, we’ve got helicopters, we’ve got explosions. We’ve got lots of cute outfits, lots of bullets. It’s crazy." (http://gossiponthis.com/2009/12/16/screenshots-from-rihannas-new-hard-f-young-jeezy-music-video/#ixzz0fhBysqXK) Do you have the long term effects of war on soldiers such as PTSD? Hmm...


However, Rihanna is not the only one endorsing a more “laid-back” idea of war. In the September 2007 issue of Vogue Italia, a pictorial entitled “Make Love, Not War” was featured. It was photographed by Steven Meisel and featured over a dozen male and female models, such as Agyness Deyn. The title may seem like it’s sending a good message, but looking at the images, I’m not sure.

Let’s just say the photographs are highly sexual.


Most pictures feature at least one female model that is topless, while there is a shirtless male model in every photo. The photos are of soldiers in a desert camp surrounded by women in designer dresses. There are many problems with this editorial…

First of all, the soldiers are messing around in every picture. Yes, soldiers have some downtime while serving, but a kegger in the middle of war? Really? The women in the photos are also total sexual objects. Especially in one photo where a model is just standing in the middle of a room full of soldiers. A soldier behind her is in the process of removing her gown with another watching. Another photo is a soldier and woman apparently wrestling in mud. Though the woman is lying on top of the man, his arms are wrapped around her arms and she has a pained expression on her face.

Both the editorial and Rihanna’s video do not depict actual warfare, but what soldiers could do with their free time. A card game and a little booze, okay. Full on orgy? Don’t think so. There’s nothing wrong with a little creative license, but frankly, I believe these artists have taken it a little too far. Especially with a subject like the Iraq War, so many people have a negative view on it already.

Are the soldiers in these photos really fighting for their country? Or dibs on the woman tattooing the ass of one of their own?

Since when has something as devastating as war become the object of sexual fantasies? There is nothing sexy about death and destruction.

View full editorial here: http://www.paranaiv.no/inspiration/2009/03/make-love-not-war

Emotional Imagery

There are countless news articles and photojournalism printed everyday about the War on Terror. We are flooded with images of warzones, troops, and the daily life of Middle Easterners. For those of us who want to be involved as indirectly as possible, we rely on these articles to stay informed on what’s going on overseas. War can be experienced from the comfort of our living rooms by simply turning on CNN, Showtime, or popping in a movie. Films about the war haven’t necessarily been as accurate as they could be, perhaps because it’s been less than a decade since 9/11—until now.

Kathryn Bigelow’s (K-19: The Widowmaker) newest project, The Hurt Locker, depicts the daily challenges of an elite bomb squad with frightening accuracy. After a long standing leader of Bravo company’s Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) team is killed in action, Sergeant First Class William James takes over, joining Sergeant J.T. Sanborn and Specialist Owen Eldridge. While Sanborn is focused and concerned about getting the job done as smoothly as possible and Eldridge is usually nervous and on the verge of breaking down, James’ reckless approach to missions puts both men on edge and creates an uncomfortable setting throughout the film.

As a visual person, I tend to gravitate towards photojournalism as a means of staying involved in the Middle East. If a picture is worth a thousand words than each frame from The Hurt Locker is worth two thousand. Bigelow captures the emotion and intensity of the actors, but also gives an accurate glance to the soldiers’ surroundings. Footage is dedicated to the “action,” which, in this war, is not copious amounts of gunfire and explosions. The action is the soldiers fight to make it to the next day; to be able to return home. While some imagery is so subtle you almost dismiss it, some shots seem to have come straight from a news article. However, it’s the subtle imagery that makes the biggest impact and leaves a lasting impression.

One of the most disturbing and emotional scenes involves an Iraqi boy that James befriends earlier in the film. While an image like this would be too graphic for a newspaper or television news story, photos of this nature exist. Soldiers aren’t the only casualties of war.

Bigelow takes advantage of close-ups, everything from the actors’ faces, to an extreme close-up of the shell of a bullet colliding with the ground. The focus on the soldiers and not the action is what makes the movie interesting and realistic. The soldiers are the ones fighting, not bombs and guns.

Maybe some would argue that The Hurt Locker doesn’t have enough action for a war movie. Saving Private Ryan has been accepted as an excellent depiction of World War II and has many scenes of intense violence, but that was a different war in a completely different time. You can’t see terror. You can’t shoot down terror like a German soldier. That makes this war all the more frightening. It doesn't just hurt physically, but emotionally.