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ANZCA 2011: MEDIA & CITIZENSHIP 7 th July, 2011

ANZCA 2011: MEDIA & CITIZENSHIP 7 th July, 2011. “Yippee ki-yay , al-Qaeda! 9/11 and its effects on the Hollywood cinematic mediation of terrorism.” Presented by: Jay W. Reid, B.Media ( Hons ) The University of Adelaide. WHY STUDY TERRORISM?. Not the first ever terrorist attack, BUT...

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ANZCA 2011: MEDIA & CITIZENSHIP 7 th July, 2011

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  1. ANZCA 2011: MEDIA & CITIZENSHIP7th July, 2011 “Yippee ki-yay, al-Qaeda! 9/11 and its effects on the Hollywood cinematic mediation of terrorism.” Presented by: Jay W. Reid, B.Media (Hons) The University of Adelaide

  2. WHY STUDY TERRORISM? • Not the first ever terrorist attack, BUT... • This single act forever changed human history (Dixon, 2004; Giroux, 2004: 9; Young, 2007) • Scale of attacks could not be comprehended (Aretxaga, 2001: 140; Dixon, 2004a: 9; Muntean, 2009; Rich, 2001) • World now split into pre- and post-9/11 (Young, 2007: 44)

  3. WHY STUDY TERRORISM IN FILMS? • First site of mediation, and most appropriate medium to explore the events of 9/11 (Schoop & Hall, 2009: 13; Young, 2007: 31) • Industry has forever been changed: • Release dates changed • WTC removed • Accuracy & realism > special effects • Villains quickly changed • Films able to shape public opinion, especially considering reach and distribution of Hollywood productions (Shaheen, 1987: 148-56; 2001: 1, 5-11, 30; 2003a: 171-6; 2003b: 80; 2008: xvi-xxii, 18-9, 42-3) • Currently large gaps in academic literature!

  4. WHY STUDY DIE HARD? • Not the first terrorist movie by any means... • BUT: • Hugely successful • Redefined the genre • ‘Culturally significant’ • (Crawford, 2007: 44; Parshall, 1991; Stilwell, 1997: 551-4) • Franchise has been focus of little academic research

  5. TERRORISM WAVE THEORY (1) • Proposed by David C. Rapoport in 2004 • Divides history of terrorism in 4 waves • Each lasts ~40 years before being replaced • Waves have differing motivations, techniques and targets • Some opposition to theory, though supported by empirical evidence • Considered best model (Kurtulus, 2011: 484) • Possibility of a 5th wave in 2025

  6. TERRORISM WAVE THEORY (2) • (Rasler & Thompson, 2009: 31)

  7. THE TERRORISTS • Motivation • All after financial gain, BUT... • Secular  religious/ideological objectives • Structure • Vertical hierarchy  deniable cells • Composition • All teams are multi-national (post-2nd wave) • Women appear in 4th but not 3rd wave, opposite to Wave Theory. Why?

  8. THE ATTACKS • Methods • Kidnappings  weapons of mass destruction • Closely follow contemporary terror attacks • Reach & Escalation • Dozens  hundreds  thousands  billions/trillions • Timing • Christmas holidays  Labour Day weekend

  9. THE HERO • Representation of law enforcement & the press • Negative  Positive • Need for public support (Reid & Cover, 2010) • Portrayal • While John McClane has barely changed... • Duty • ... the reasons why he fights terrorism have

  10. CONCLUSIONS • Terrorism, in particular 9/11, is an important area of study • Films mediate events & shape understanding • Rapoport’s model is adhered to by Hollywood • While 9/11 didn’t mark a change in terrorism, it marked a change in it’s cinematic representation

  11. QUESTIONS? And thank you for your time.

  12. REFERENCES & WORKS CITED • Aretxaga, Begoña (2001). "Terror as Thrill: First Thoughts on the 'War on Terrorism'". Anthropological Quarterly 75.1: 138-150. • Crawford, Amy (2007). "Q&A". Smithsonian 39.6: 44. • Dixon, Wheeler Winston (2004). "Introduction: Something Lost - Films after 9/11". Film and Television After 9/11. Ed: Dixon, Wheeler Winston. 2004: 1-28. • Giroux, Henry (2004). "Terrorism and the fate of democracy after September 11". Cultural Studies ↔ Critical Methodologies 2.1, 2004: 9-14. • Kurtulus, Ersun N. (2011). "The “New Terrorism” and its Critics". Studies in Conflict & Terrorism 34.6: 476-500. • Parshall, P.F. (1991). "Die Hard and the American mythos". Journal of Popular Film & Television 18.4. • Rasler, Karen & Thompson, William R. (2009). "Looking for Waves of Terrorism". Terrorism and Political Violence 21: 28-41. • Reid, Jay & Cover, Rob (2010). "The Art of War Reporting: Theorising Contemporary Embedded Journalism as Public Discourse". Reconstructions: Studies in Contemporary Culture 10.4. • Rich, B. Ruby (2001). "Back to the future". The Nation 15 Oct. 2001: 44-45. • Schoop, Andrew & Hill, Matthew (2009). "Introduction: The curious knot." The War on Terror and American Popular Culture. Eds: Schopp, Andrew & Hill, Matthew. Cranbury: Associated UP: 11-44. • Stilwell, Robynn J. (1997). "'I Just Put a Drone under Him...': Collage and Subversion in the Score of 'Die Hard'". Music & Letters 78.4: 551-80. • Young, Alison (2007). "Images in the Aftermath of Trauma: Responding to September 11th". Crime Media Culture 3.1: 30-48.

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