PAX AMERICANA: SEPTEMBER 11 MEMORIALIZATION AND NATION-BUILDING MYTHOLOGIES (Spine title: Pax Americana: September 11 Memorialization and Mythologies) (Thesis format: Monograph) by Elle Kwok-Yin Ting Graduate Program in Media Studies A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy The School of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies The University of Western Ontario London, Ontario, Canada © Elle K. 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While these forms may be included Bien que ces formulaires aient inclus dans in the document page count, their la pagination, il n'y aura aucun contenu removal does not represent any loss manquant. of content from the thesis. •+• Canada THE UNIVERSITY OF WESTERN ONTARIO SCHOOL OF GRADUATE AND POSTDOCTORAL STUDIES CERTIFICATE OF EXAMINATION Supervisor Examiners Dr. Tim Blackmore Dr. Susan J. Warwick Supervisory Committee Dr. Regna Darnell Dr. Sasha Torres Dr. Sasha Torres Dr. Jonathan Vance Dr. Nick Dyer-Witheford The thesis by Elle Kwok-Yin Ting entitled Pax Americana: September 11 Memorialization and Nation-Building Mythologies is accepted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy Date Chair of the Thesis Examination Board Abstract This dissertation explores the ways in which post-9/11 memorial objects and spaces generate ideological capital to contribute to the attendant myths of wartime nation-building. Memorials are the material product of the state-driven enterprise of re-establishing a system of order that is threatened by the spectacular deconstruction that terror introduces. Order, however illusory, is organized in opposition to the entropic elements held out by the established boundaries of a nation (for a nation—any nation—is constructed through exclusionary practices that separate Us from Them); when a surge invades the national membrane, the act of memorializing is also one of border compensation and restoration. The work of this dissertation is to examine, through close reading and analysis, texts that represent instances of mythic, nationalistic rebuilding: the common thread that ties together popular memorial texts, such as the New York Times publication Portraits 9/11/01 and Jessica Lynch's biography I Am a Soldier, Too, with sites for public grieving (Ground Zero, the Pentagon, and Shanksville) is a unified insistence on a patriotic interpretation of events that have taken place since 9/11. I expect to find the same thematic preferences in these memorial objects towards nation-building ideals (of innocence, righteousness, vengeance) that channeled into the larger myths of American exceptionalism to become foundational concepts for the global War on Terror; these artefacts' selection and construction allow the nation an unproblematic understanding of its past, present, and intended events, and will predictably iii continue to suppress domestic dissention and provide the conflict with the necessary ideological energy to continue. Keywords: Memorials, World Trade Center, Pentagon, Shanksville, popular culture, media representation of 9/11, War on Terror, Deleuze and Guattari, exceptionalism, patriotism, New York Times, United 93, Jessica Lynch IV Acknowledgements I can no other answer make... Many thanks to the faculty and staff of FIMS at the University of Western Ontario, both past and present, who took care of me from those first bewildering days in London up to the current (only slightly less bewildering) process I now face concluding my studies. What a grand, crazy adventure it has been! I extend my gratitude also to the supervisory committee members whose guidance and faith made the realization of this project possible: Carole Farber, for her uncanny ability to know exactly what was needed anywhere and at any given time, and whose insight helped establish the foundation for this work; and Sasha Torres and Jonathan Vance, who have always been available with valuable advice and jaw-droppingly great information that helped wrangle the material into something resembling a finished dissertation. Special thanks go out to Tim Blackmore, my academic supervisor, mentor, and dear friend: to paraphrase a line from Forgetting Sarah Marshall (that modern classic!), for putting up with me for as long as he has, he deserves a medal, or a holiday, or at least a cuddle from someone. Whatever I now do well as an instructor and as a scholar I credit to his inspirational example. With a grateful heart I also thank my family for their unfailing support and understanding: to the mums and dads, I send a googolplex of thanks for their love and acceptance and for keeping me grounded (of course, the free pet-sitting v was a welcome perk also). Eon, you are still the most likeable capitalist I know, and I'm not just saying that because I'm your sister. My friends unfailingly came to my rescue with their warmth, humour, and well-timed Showgirls parties—thanks to all. Tom and Darcie need special mention here: over the past two decades, the laughter and good times we have shared have sustained me in unhappy hours and, the rest of the time, have made life that much sweeter and more entertaining. Jason, whenever things came up Milhouse, you almost always had something to do with it. You are my best friend and my life's metronome. Thanks as usual—see you in the kitchen. vi Contents Certificate of examination ii Abstract iii Acknowledgements v Contents vii Chapter One: Introduction 1 Chapter Two: Second Lives: Portraits 9/11/01 and the Democracy 49 of Death Chapter Three: Charm Defensive: The Pentagon Memorial and 88 Administered Memory Chapter Four: Pimp My Dump: Ground Zero's Makeover and the 140 WTC Rebuild Project Chapter Five: Passengers Only: Mastery of Flight 93's Myth through Heroic Narrative 194 Chapter Six: Beauty is Truth: Jessica Lynch and the Reimagining of the Hero 231 Conclusion 271 Works Cited 284 Curriculum Vitae 303 VII Chapter One Introduction The dominant expression exclaimed breathlessly by so many after the September 11 attacks was "It didn't seem real," and certainly, even speaking several years later of planes-turned-weapons and the unimaginable destruction that took place at the World Trade Centre and Pentagon, there linger collective disbelief and free-floating insecurity in America. The legacy of the first terrorist attacks on the continental U.S. is a shattered understanding of the nation itself; suddenly the exceptional ism and impunity that America had realized as the normal state of affairs—its domestic safety, its highmindedness, and its Manifest Destiny—had been radically and unquestionably checked. Genuinely shocked by the hostile spectacle of the attacks and their asymmetrical nature, the nation acted defensively on all fronts, including that of ideology. Thus, the War on Terror was a fuller rendition of a war of ideas mobilized domestically as a means of rebuilding stability in a home environment faced with its potential for self- destruction. The viral pattern of attack saw the erasure between tools and weaponry; planes, box cutters, and even the postal service underwent a theatrical reinvention in the attacks to become instruments of terror. Moreover, those who executed the attacks lived amongst the innocents within national borders. The boundaries between inside/outside, self/other, secure/insecure spaces, once taken for granted, had to be re-evaluated and, more importantly, rebuilt as efficiently as possible. Faith had been shaken and badly needed to be 1 restored: as a country living under the undefined, undeterred threat of terrorism, the U.S. faced the task of reconstructing its innocence. The tribute, and more specifically, the memory that is both its inspiration and its objective, assists in the formation of grand narratives and myths of exceptionalism that are the foundation of American innocence. Before moving any further into my argument, which has as its theoretical fulcrum the notion of exceptionalism, it is necessary first to outline how this dissertation applies and conceives of this term. I refer here to exceptionalism in the a priori sense to describe the set of practices, specifically in the United States as it existed under the Bush administration after the September 11 attacks (and as it continues to shape ideas and actions in the current order), that hinged on using nationalistic myths to regenerate and "sell" an understanding of collective identity that imply a "special" standing in the world community and, therefore, could legitimize unilateral actions as both necessities and entitlements.