September 11 Flip Book is a new project by Scott Blake. It’s a pocket replay of those traumatic few seconds that have been broadcast over and over and over again on TV, etched into our retinas forever.
The work reflects on the media’s part in making this event more traumatic by their endless replay, increasing the “terror” of the terror attack and playing into the terrorists’ hands. It also demonstrates the waning of its affect through multiple reproduction. Yes, there’s a bit of Warhol in it: like a Car Crash silk-screened over and over again until its affect – and image – dulls. Unless, of course, you saw it happen.
The flip book is a controversial little piece of discourse which you can download for yourself.
(Photos: Kyle Chayka)
Thanks for showing an interest in my 9/11 Flipbook. Along with the images, the flipbook includes essays written by a wide range of participants, expressing their personal experience of the September 11 attacks. More importantly, the authors of the essays were asked to reflect on, and respond to, the flipbook itself. One of my favorite essays comes from someone who actually saw the attacks happen, they wrote "We where living in NY at the time of 911. We could literally see the towers from our roof top. Although we had a better view on the TV. What a strange experience."
In the video on the main page it says the media made the attacks worse than they were, and dan gilbert says it's a small scale accident?? I don't see how 9/11 can even be compared to a small scale accident. Yes the media repeatedly showed the planes hitting the towers, but it didn't change how serious the attacks were. See it once or see it a thousands times, it's scared into your memory.
Obvioulsy the bush administration and all the news networks were running it non stop which acted as scare tactics, and nobody needed to see people jumping from the towers, but I wouldn't say that the constant coverage is the reason why everyone can remember where they were when they first heard. I'd think it's more because it's such a devastating and tragic event and an attack on US soil.
People who watched the 9/11 show from the comfort of their homes on their television have a much different version of that day than those who watched getting attacked from their rooftops. Picture books, art shows and whatever gimmicky trick to relive the horror is for the former.
Whether you like my flipbook or not, the point of my project is to get people talking about the role the media played in 9/11. I appreciate Ian and microfeesh for considering my theory. The way I see it, the news did exactly what the terrorists wanted them to do by broadcasting the violent attacks. I'm concerned if a similar tragedy happened again today, the mainstream media would do it all over again.