9/11 Saturated with...Humor?

The six year anniversary of 9/11 was a little over two weeks ago. Words alone cannot describe the calamity that unfolded that sunny September morning. Over the next couple of days, weeks and months following 9/11 we all went through several emotional stages. First was shock – how could this happen to the United States of America? Second was mourning - even if we did not know anyone that perished that day, we all mourned as a nation of one. Third, the seeds of anger were sowed. These seeds grew into a war on terror which started in Afghanistan and somehow spread to Iraq. Today, individuals affiliated with the planning of the 9/11 attacks are still on the loose, including Osama bin Laden. New York City in the meantime is still rebuilding, and the nation is still healing…or is it?

While New York City is still literally rebuilding from the destruction of 9/11, are New York City and the nation as a whole still healing? I could not help but ponder this question as I watched an Onion-produced YouTube video in which a news anchor was interviewing two individuals that were upset with the delays in the rebuilding process of Ground Zero. One of the individuals being interviewed was a member of the Lower Manhattan Development Corp. and the other was an Al-Qaeda operative. The issue of rebuilding a sky-scraper at Ground Zero is a controversial subject to delve into, however a satire of a subject such as this that includes a man posing as an Al-Qaeda operative makes this video utterly contentious.

The comments by the Al-Qaeda operative in the video seem to mask an argument, and the argument itself is what generates the humor of the video. The Al-Qaeda operative is slightly disgruntled with the color of the building, he asserts that it will be hard to see on a cloudy day. The operative does, however, laud the proposed height of the sky-scraper and the fact that the subway system is directly linked to the building. The operative also claims that the “large, sharp spike” protruding from the top of the building has “many possibilities”. It is quite clear that the Al-Qaeda operative is pleased with some of the elements of the building’s design that will make another 9/11esque attack both conceivable and devastating. In fact, he states at the end of the interview, “It is our [Al-Qaeda] goal to make places where people can go and mourn the death of their loved ones.” This commentary conveys the Onion’s overall argument that the design of the building that is to be built at Ground Zero pretty much caters to the needs of an individual that wishes to cause mass destruction.

The Onion’s argument is hardly original, however the means by which the Onion makes the argument is very unique and it is what caused me to wonder whether or not America is still healing from 9/11. I am sure the wife of a banker that lost his life that day as the Twin Towers came crumbling down would not find this video to be very funny, for it makes light out of the attacks of 9/11 and she would most likely react on an emotional level rather than a humorous level.

It is safe to say that the meaning of this video changes with the audience. Why is that though? Just six years ago we all felt an indescribable anger toward the perpetrators of 9/11. Now a video that describes the possibility of another attack in the very same location the World Trade Center once stood is put forth as humor. What happened in those six years?

I am not ridiculing the Onion for posting this video, for the argument contained within the video is an argument that should have been considered prior to beginning construction on The Freedom Tower. Also, the Onion achieved their main purpose: they made people laugh. Viewer responses on YouTube for the most part are positive, many found the video to be very funny. However, some responses reflected the fact that the anger toward Al-Qaeda is still present, one response of, “Fuck Al-Qaeda” clearly illustrates this. While I am not quite sure what makes this video humorous (I did, indeed laugh), I am sure of the fact that this video has raised some interesting issues that further validate the study of humor and its origins.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MEvbPJrJyek