Assuming our programming that was shown for the past two July 4ths and the last two September 11ths are reshown again, I recommend clicking through the Portland Oregon Public Access television stations (and probably many, if not most, public access stations throughout the nation) to find a program that jumbles various 9/11 related television footage together.

Here are the things you’ll see: BBC broadcast news, showing how the “most religious of nations” is grieving. Footage from a Gore Vidal interview from the Summer of 2000, with Gore Vidal saying that the USA has been living in a security state (close to a military dictatorship) since World War II ended. Some bits from a Vietnam War documentary called “Hearts and Minds”. A press conference with deputy undersecretary of defense William G. Boykin. Bush saying that we would dig out the enemy. (It’s not terribly subtle a juxtaposition.) And, perhaps the most fascinating item I have ever seen from Fox News, an item that future generations are going to be studying to explain the psyche of the moment in history:

The host of the Fox News show says, “And now we leave with footage of an “America United”, which follows with a country artist singing “God Bless America” (though it could be a different song), and a panoply of smaltzy images that seems like it comes straight from “Hands Across America” (and seems like it was filmed before 9/11). The only image that sticks out to me is the proud Native America, twinkle in his eyes.

AND pay close attention to the “news bytes” streaming across the bottom of the screen, and how asinine just about every single item is… “news” items meant to reassure the viewer, meant to tell you how we are about to “kick ass”. (This is footage that Jello Biafro has in mind when he says, and this should probably be airing on KBOO sometime this weekend, “and naturally the worst was Fox News!”)

I trust it’ll be shown again. If anyone sees it, let me know your reaction to the Fox News footage, and help me out with the messages that stream past on the bottom of the screen.

This entry was posted on Friday, September 10th, 2004 at 10:22 pm and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.