Author's Note: Davide Girardelli is a Fulbright Fellow graduate student in the Graduate Program in Communication at the University of Kentucky, Lexington (USA). His main research interests include semiotics, postmodern theory, Italian and European identity and organizational communication.

ABSTRACT

This paper analyzes September 11th tragedy through the concept of "intertextuality," which is one of the main processes of creation and attribution of meaning according to postmodern theory. From the outset of the tragic events, numerous intertextual references to the film Independence Day appeared on American and international mainstream mass media. The main hypothesis of the paper is that these numerous and pervasive intertextual references to Independence Day had a precise "hegemonic" function. They offered to the world public opinion a powerful "global narrative," which reflected the dominant interpretation of the events as well as foreshadowing the political elites' subsequent deliberations. A contrastive analysis of the subtexts of the movies Independence Day and Fight Club and of two George W. Bush's key speeches demonstrate that the choice of connecting the World Trade Center disaster with Independence Day established an ideologically conservative interpretative framework and contributed in building consensus toward the decision to wage war against Afghanistan.

Introduction: From Reality To Movies

“We won in the end. Bring your family. You’ll be proud of it. Diversity. America. Leadership. Good over Evil.”
~~ Bob Dole on Independence Day (Quoted in Rogin 1998, p. 12)

The date September 11th 2001 left a tragic sign in history. In that day, thousands of people have been directly involved in a series of catastrophic events, and millions of individuals, both inside and outside United States, lived with them through the horror via live broadcast. . The confused and amazed eyes of millions of individuals, , witnessed through live broadcasts horrific scenes that are etched in our collective memories: two planes crashing into the World Trade Center, a third one into the Pentagon, a fourth wondering in the skies, the White House evacuated, the World Trade Center transformed into smoking debris, the rising number of fatalities.

When once speechless eyewitnesses and TV viewers eventually attempted to describe what was unfolding in front of their eyes, one of the most common statements was: “It is just like Independence Day” (see Appendix 1). Postmodern theorists, such as Baudrillard (1983), Jameson (1984), and Lyotard (1984), dedicated a great amount of attention to such process of effacement of boundaries between image and reality, coining concepts like “sensory overload,” “simulacra,” and “hyper-reality.” In this specific stance, the connection between the images of the WTC and the ones of Independence Day (Emmerich 1996) exemplifies one of the main processes of creation and attribution of meaning, defined as "intertextuality" (Barthes 1977; Kristeva 1986a, 1986b). Using the postmodern concept of intertextuality, this essay analyses the connection between the events of September 11th and movies as they appeared in mainstream American and International media. Specifically, it explores the hegemonic (Gramsci 1970) valence of intertextuality that emerged after these tragic events.

The Hegemonic Function of Intertextuality

Communication and media scholars interpret the notion of intertextuality in two divergent ways: 1) as interpretative practice and 2) as intentional textual strategy, a reference to other popular cultural artifacts (Ott and Walter 2000). With the first reading, media scholars emphasize the active role of audience in the creation of meaning through analogies or connections with other texts, while the second tradition refers to "the expanding role of intentional allusion in media" (p. 429). Ott and Walter (2000) also identify three major categories in intertextuality conceived as intentional textual strategy: 1) parodic allusion ("a stylistic device in which one text incorporates a caricature of another, most often, popular cultural text," p. 435); 2) creative appropriation ("a stylistic device in which one text appropriates and integrates a fragment of another text," p. 437); 3) self-reflexive reference (“a mode of writing that deliberately draws attention to its fictional nature by commenting on its own activities,” p. 438).

In this essay, I expand the conclusions of Ott and Walter (2000), detailing the rather complex relationship between the two conceptualizations of intertextuality they have identified. I also suggests the inclusion of a fourth category of intertextuality as textual strategy, namely a “hegemonic” function. Gramsci (1971) defines “hegemony” as a process through which a dominant class maintains its position of dominance not just by mere force but also by manipulating consensus. As McQuail (2000) explains, mass media play an important role in the hegemonic process, since “the mass media do not define reality on their own but give preferential access to the definitions of those in authority” (p. 97).

My considerations are based on the intertextual references to the movie Independence Day, appeared in mainstream mass media during and after September 11th. A comparative analysis of the subtexts of the movies Independence Day and Fight Club (Fincher 1999) and of two George W. Bush’s key speeches (11 September 2001; 20 September 2001) evidences that the choice of connecting the World Trade Center disaster with Independence Day (1) established a specific, ideologically marked framework for the public interpretation of these events, (2) reflected am intention to delegitimize alternative interpretations, and (3) eventually contributed to the generation of popular consent to the decision to attack Afghanistan. The interpretation of the events then reflects the interests of the political elites of the Western world, in particular of those in the United States.

Making Sense Of Reality Through Movies

Immediately after the events of September 11th, mainstream mass media have suggested an association between the collapse of the World Trade Center towers and blockbuster movies that fall into the “catastrophic” or “disaster” genre. A vast array of titles, such as The Towering Inferno (1974, directed by Irwing Allen and John Guillermin), King Kong (1976, directed by John Guillermin), and Armageddon (1998, directed by Michael Bay) have been mentioned in newspapers, radio and television broadcast. However, Independence Day collected a particularly large number of intertextual references (see Appendix 1).

These cinematographic references should not be disregarded as meaningless or inconsequential. Instead, their relevancy is described by Denzin (1991):

Members of the contemporary world are voyeurs adrift in a sea of symbols. They know and see themselves through cinema and television. If this is so, then an essential part of the contemporary postmodern American scene can be found in the images and meanings that flow from cinema and TV. (pp. vii-viii)

A newswire diffused by Business Wire (27 September 2001) offers a support to Denzin’s words and indicates that the strong association between reality (the attack to the World Trade Center) and fiction (Independence Day) suggested by the media has not passed unnoticed. The wire reports:

Rental activity for Independence Day . . . was significantly stimulated by the tragedy on Sept. 11. Independence climbed from No. 910 the week prior the attack to No. 393 the week ended Sept. 16 experiencing a (+) 360% growth in weekly revenue. (par. 9)