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Richard Drew's iconic 9/11 falling man photograph is an example of the collective perception of reality of a society being
irrevocably altered. Before 9/11, America had never been attacked on its home grounds. This image epitomizes the reality that however
strong we are, we are still vulnerable. This man who has flung himself out of a window as the last resort for any possibility of being saved
represents anyone in American society. This could have been any of us. He is seen dressed in work clothing because he had just been at work.
He was at work, like any other day, then his live ended and our society's perception of safety was altered. He is vulnerable. Andrea Fitzpatrick says in her article, "The Moment of Vulnerability: Images
of Falling and September 11th," "When different media capture such fragile subjects, in liminal moments that cannot be adequately named, vulnerability
is neither prurient nor nor morbid. Vulnerability is a complex condition centrally tied to agency, to the subject's ability to exert or extend itself in the world and
to be recognized by others. Images of falling make acutely evident the body's simultaneous potential for vulnerability and its capacity for agency" (Fitzpatrick
85). Fitzpatrick's discussion of vulnerability applied to this photo is an intricate part of what makes the image so powerful. This body felt like it had no other
option but to jump from the building. Fitzpatrick goes on to say, "Images of falling challenge codes of representation on two significant levels: visually, in terms
of the viewer's ability to respond and identify what is seen. Vulnerability therefore implicates the subject of representation and the viewer: while the falling
subject is left in a state of suspended animation in the image, the viewer is held in a state of speechlessness, unable to name what or whom is seen" (Fitzpatrick
85).
Our nation's perception of America was irrevocably altered when the 9/11 attacks occurred. Susan Buck Morss says in her book "Thinking Past Terror: Islamism and Critical Theory on the Left," "What disappeared on September 11 was the apparent invulnerability, not only of the US territory, but of US, and, indeed, Western hegemony" (Buck-Morss 22). Fitzpatrick goes on to say, "With the destruction of a financial capital market and a manifestation of modernity's highest architectural aspirations, as well as its working, human subjects, the exposure of the vulnerability of the nation-state was achieved not only at the symbolic level (as image), but also at a concrete, physical level; further, "the photographically mediated experience of the attack was both the symbol and the real, antagonistically superimposed" (Fitzpatrick 86). |
| Another example of a photo that marks an event that fundamentally altered collective perception is amateur photographer, Charles Porter's image of a firefighter
carrying an injured infant after the Oklahoma bombing, which occurred in 1995. This image is perhaps the most difficult to analyze because it is very emotionally charged. The child
engages Fitzpatrick vulnerability conception in images of falling in a different way. While falling is not present here, vulnerability certainly is present. The
vulnerability of the child is the most obvious source, but this child is a symbol for all individuals who were injured in this attack; she symbolizes collective
vulnerability. Josh Benner says in his blog post about the incident, "Immortalized with his expression are the concern and mourning of the people and a desire to rush to
the aid of those in need" (Josh Benner).
Of all the images taken this day, this photo was the most widely circulated. |
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But what is it about these particular images that makes them powerful? What I see happening across these images is a juxtaposition between what "should" be and what is captured. In other words, that man dressed in a yellow button down shirt and slacks should be working in the building and under any other circumstances he would be and a few moments before the plane crashed into the side of the building, he was, but instead, what has been captured is him falling to his death. There is something so fundamentally incongruous with this and it is impossible not to understand that this one particular unnamed man died because of this attack. Because he is nameless and essentially faceless in the photograph, personal identification has been emptied out, which allows this man to be a symbol for all the innocent people who died in the 9/11 attack and also all Americans in general.
This same concept can be applied to the image of the firefighter and the baby. As discussed in the semiological analysis, children signify innocence. This photo challenges the cultural myth that children are immune to adult problems or that children are protected or have some kind of shield to ward
off atrocities. The incongruity happening here is that this child should be with her parents somewhere else. She should be wearing shoes. This child should not be in this state in the arms of that
firefighter under those circumstances. The clash between what should be and what is captured demands that the image be looked at and it is impossible
not to consider what is and what should be regarding what is captured in the image.
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Works Cited
Fitzpatrick, Andrea D. "The Moment of Vulnerability: Images of Falling and September 11." Art Journal 66.4 (2007): 84-102. Print.
Buck-Morss, Susan. Thinking Past Terror: Islamism and Critical Theory on the Left. N.p.: Verso, 2003. Print.
Benner, Josh. "Infant in iconic photo would have turned 18 today; story behind
the picture." Josh Benner. Josh Benner, 18 Apr. 2012. Web. 21 Apr. 2014.