Other American Voices
A Film by Corinna Belz & Nel Hollander
First Run / Icarus Films
52 minutes / color/ 2002
Reviewed by Amy Ione
The Diatrope Institute
PO Box 12748
Berkeley, CA 94712-3748 USA
ione@diatrope.com
The global response to the 9/11 attack on the World Trade Center was
an immediate recognition that something unthinkable had taken place.
In the United States we understood how solidly the world stood with
us when we saw the images of Yasser Arafat giving blood and heard that
the headline in the French newspaper Le Monde cried out "Nous sommes
tous américains." Yet today the policies of France and Arafat
are frequently at odd with the approach endorsed by U.S. governmental
officials. The lines that have been drawn inevitably raise the question
why did things happen as they did?
Although Other American Voices, filmed in 2002, does not look
at these questions from our vantage point as the Iraq war draws to a
close (it was produced before the war and the politics directly leading
up to it), the video does communicate the concerns of those within the
U.S. who criticized the course of action taken after that fateful day.
To their credit, Belz and Hollander provide a platform for some who
have articulated pointed questions. The value of this is inestimable.
In the States, I believe, the media has muted critical voices in the
name of patriotism. This production, as the title emphasizes, introduces
Other American Voices. Amy Goodman of Democracy Now sets the
stage with her memory of how people began displaying picture of the
individuals reported missing after the attack. The inexplicable loss
of so many innocent lives remains as hard to reconcile today as it was
then. Goodman's thoughtful reflections and manner reminded me of the
photographs shown to those of us far from the New York area. We were
transfixed by the gripping walls plastered with these signifiers of
those who had vanished into thin air. Goodman aptly compares these heart
wrenching images with those held by the mothers of the disappeared in
Argentina, who would walk around with the photographs of loved children
they had lost, asking if anyone had seen those of their family long
missing. Another voice, Asif Ulla of the War Resisters League, spoke
of the Muslim community's fear after the attack. Noam Chomsky, Richard
Deats, and Katrina van den Heuvel (editor-in-chief of The Nation)
are similarly convincing as they reflect on the curtailment of policy
debate that accompanied the promotion of patriotism after 9/11.
Paralleling footage of the World Trade Center cleanup with all of the
interviews returns the viewer to those days and their aftermath. Although
each interviewee brought a different focus to the events that transpired,
as a whole they articulated how 9/11 brought the face of terror to the
US. One recurring concern was that an Orwellian repression has prevailed
since the attacks. Carmen Trotta of the Catholic Workers Party expressed
this with great passion. His view is that one of the most disturbing
aspect of the government's actions since that day has been its attack
on the Bill of Rights, the very cornerstone of the American democracy.
Somewhat alarming is his statement that, based on his experience, he
now assumes his phones are tapped. Jerry Lefcourt and Joshua L. Dratel
of the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers lament that
we have moved into an era of political spying in which secret evidence
and secret proceedings increasingly deny people basic rights. Overall,
the consensus of Other American Voices is that the United States,
born in dissent, could become exactly what it stands against.
An effective technique adopted by the filmmakers was grouping the responses
by theme. I had the impression they asked each of the figures filmed
specific questions and then collaged their answer to create the script
and pace. While it is hard to say precisely what these questions were,
it was clear they included whether dissent is a patriotic act, whether
the U.S. is once again entering a repressive period similar to the McCarthyism
of the 1950s, and where Iraq fits in the post 9/11 world. What is perhaps
most striking about the opinions presented is their ability to convey
fragments of my own experience of that time and the political climate
that has taken hold since the devastating events of that tragic day.
Even in the San Francisco Bay Area, one of the most radical spots in
the country, there was evidence that times had changed almost immediately.
Looking through my office window in downtown Berkeley shortly after
the tragedy occurred, I saw protestors took to the streets almost as
quickly as George Bush defined a black and white, good vs. evil position
as the basis for the US response. With signs of support for the victims,
and speaking in favor of justice not revenge, the crowds grew larger
each day. Many weeks passed before there were media reports acknowledging
these ongoing protests. Even then the coverage was scant.
Surprisingly, this very serious, down-to-earth film seemed surreal as
I watched in light of all that has transpired since. Politically, it
was to the point. Each contributor spoke clearly, passionately, and
effectively raised issues that need a platform, ranging from the lack
of foresight in the administration's approach overall to the loss of
civil rights and civil liberties that was triggered by the attack on
the World Trade Center. Several mentioned how clear it was by 2002,
when this project was in production, that the Bush team would use 9/11
as an excuse to wage a second war in Iraq, as they did. These voices
also joined with other critics in noting that the new world that emerged
after 9/11 has aided the present government in obscuring a sluggish
economy, rising unemployment, the growing number of people without health
insurance, and other maladies.
As a US citizen I believe Other American Voices is a tremendous
contribution to social history and the political discourse as well.
As a writer on topics relating to art, science, and technology, this
tape reminded me of the close links between art and politics. Although
artistically shot, and definitely contrived using technological tools,
the theme is explicitly political and not intended to be characterized
as art. Yet it is this tension between the need to ask questions and
the script's focus on a particular point of view that allows the tape
to fulfill a function often associated with art: stirring our emotions
and presenting complex points of view in a way that allows us to wrestle
with a larger picture. In this case, given the current mood in the States,
Belz and Hollander do us a service in bringing together views that are
being drowned elsewhere. Thus this video accentuates what art can do
and why, I believe, political statements by artists are increasingly
important in our world today.
Throughout time all forms of art have raised complex
questions and stirred emotions. Many of us studied the savage lyricism
of Homer's The Iliad in school and recall how Achilles was emotionally
torn when he was unable to fight with his companions. Greek tragedy
as a whole, moreover, invariably comes to mind when discussing the World
Trade Center event and its aftermath. On the whole, Greek tragedy saw
hubris as a tragic flaw and many critics in the states and throughout
the world characterize the Bush approach as hubristic. Greek tragedy
also is known for raising questions about existence, justice, suffering,
good and evil, freedom and necessity, truth and deceit, arrogance, infatuation,
and the tendency of people to overreach. These kinds of questions are
certainly in the air throughout the world now. No doubt this is why
the major Greek tragediansAeschylus, Sophocles, and Euripides
still evoke our emotions and empathy. Moreover, almost two years later,
the complexity of the reactions to the 9/11 tragedy underscore that
tragedies in the theater of art and the theater of life urge all to
bring timeless questions to the forefront.
This film, no doubt, stirred remembered passions. More unsettling was
the way the tape melted into the world that came after it was produced.
Scenes of the New York City workers cleaning the rubble after the attack
reminded me more of the recent footage of US bombings in Baghdad than
the now highly politicized attack on The World Trade Center. As a result
I found myself seeing 9/11 in relation to the footage of the devastation
in Iraq. "Shock and Awe" bombings of Iraqi locations, we were assured,
precisely targeted specific locations, and the word "precisely" was
stressed to underscore that the violence of these actions was minimal.
Seeing the ruins from the Trade Center site with devastated areas in
Baghdad so freshly imprinted on my brain reminded me that the symbolic
towers (and the Pentagon) were likewise targeted sites. Nonetheless,
the impact of the devastation on U.S. soil was broadly felt. Time, I
suppose, will reveal if the war in Iraq has as much impact as the falling
of the towers.
Produced in 2002, Other America Voices captures the shock of
the World Trade Center attack, the humanity of those who cleared the
rubble, and the voices of some who understand that liberty and freedom
only exist when people speak out. It is a tape that is important today
in light of the move to stifle critics. It should be shown in high school
and college classroom. Years from now, moreover, this kind of documentation
will provide future generations with the words of those who saw other
paths were available. America prides itself on its tradition of dissent
and, from this perspective, this film's criticism of the domestic and
foreign policies of George W. Bush celebrate this nation's identity.