The Falling Man
Why is this photograph unique?
Captures motion.
Eerie silence.
Documents the final moments of the man's life.
Controversies
The photograph was too graphic
It invaded the man's privacy
It made people feel sick
Captured the horror aptly
Aid in recovery from public trauma
Drives political goals
Research Question
Given the debates, should The Falling Man be censored?
Thesis
The Falling Man photograph, amongst all other 9/11 photographs should not be censored due to its potential contribution to the nations' recovery from public trauma.
Outline
Why it should be censored
Why it should be published
To censor or to publish?
That is the question
Why it should be censored
Invaded the man's privacy
- Offended the dignity of those who died in the attacks
- "It betrayed a private moment, what should remain the most private moment of his life" (Faulkner 71)
- We are publicizing the final moments of his life to the world
Disrespectful to affected families
- Man's identity is unknown
- Affected families may see the man as a loved one whom they lost
- Publishing the photograph without their consent is disrespectful
Positive images were preferred.
- Images such as this by Mike Segar were more well received
- Depicts unity and the sacrifices people made
- Gives hope to the people
Compared with...
The image of despair
Why it should be published
Honor the Dead.
- The photograph represented a group of people who chose to die by jumping rather than burn to death.
- By censoring the photograph, it is as though we swept them under the carpet.
- Removing them from public's eyes is a greater injustice than acknowledging the existence of this group of people
Alleviate Public Trauma
But first... How did the trauma come about?
It was very sudden and unprecedented
Many were worried of another potential terrorist attack.
The impacts were widespread
Many may personalize the event and think of themselves as potential victims.
Bearing Witness.
An act of witnessing that enables people to take responsibility for what they see
-Barbie Zeliezer
Placing this in context...
- The 9/11 photographs helped prolong the act of witnessing
- Central to the larger aims of moving towards recovery and mobilizing support
- Played its role in facilitating the post-traumatic recovery of America and the world
But why The Falling Man in particular?
The Traumatizing Nature of the Photograph
- Fine details about the man
- Shocks the viewer out of an aesthetic response to an emotional one
Repeatedly shock the viewers
- Nobody who witnessed the jumpers wanted to witness it again
- Desensitizes viewers and amplifies the impact of alleviating trauma
- Moves the public from an initial state of disarray and shock towards a post-traumatic state
The Clash
To censor or to publish?
Publish > Censorship
- Inevitable that family members will feel hurt, regardless of the censorship of the photograph
- There are too many optimistic images of hope, which gives people a false sense of security
- By publishing the photograph, the society as a whole can overcome the trauma and move on
In conclusion...
The Falling Man should not be censored.
Further questions
Can we apply the same analysis to other photographs which were censored in the same way?
Why does this matter?
Photohistorians can identify more of such societal impacts when it comes to analysis of controversial photographs.
Thank you :)
Questions?
IEM Presentation
By Xu Bili
