Television Culture and The 9/11 Reports

I really enjoy reading graphic novels.  Looking at graphic novels through the theory that we have read in class so far is actually really interesting.  I read the graphic novel “The 9/11 Report:  A Graphic Adaptation” by Sid Jacobson and Ernie Colon for another class this semester, and I feel like it can really be looked at through a cultural lens.  For this blog post I will be specifically looking at it in comparison to John Fiske’s “Television Culture.”

Whenever I read graphic novels, I think of it as a movie almost.  I hardly realize that I’m moving from frame to frame and I get too caught up in the story.  In “The 9/11 Report:  A Graphic Adaptation,” though it is very fact based instead of story based, I can still very much see how Fiske’s essay “Television Culture” relates to Jacobson and Colon’s graphic novel.

Fiske’s “Television Culture” is split up into three different levels.  The first level being “Reality.”  This includes things such as appearances, dress, and expression.  In this graphic novel, there is a specific section called “Heroism and Horror” (it starts on page 86 if anyone was interested).  This section is based on the actual attacks of September 11.  In this section we see the first responders as well as the people who were working in the World Trade Center at the time.  The environment of the scene is very grim and also chaotic.  We also are able to see the expressions of the different people who are being affected by this attack.  The faces of the first responders are stoic, calm, and angry looking.  While the people who are being rescued have expressions of sadness, despair, disbelief.  Because the first responders were dressed in their uniforms, the reader is able to tell the difference between who is who.

Fiske’s second level is “Representation.”  An example of this would be the camera angles, lighting, and dialogue.  Like movies and television, graphic novels can have very similar “camera” angles.  In “The 9/11 Reports:  A Graphic Adaptation,” we are shown many different angles.  We see close ups of first responders with intense looks on their faces, and we also see shots done from far away, allowing the readers to see the burning towers in the background.  The lighting as well as color choice was also very important within this graphic novel.  In the scenes within the towers it is dark portrayed in black and white, which is similar to what these people were actually seeing while evacuating the towers.  And lastly we are able to see the dialogue.  I believe some of the most important dialogue we see is that of the people within the towers.  At one point we see people trying to escape from the roof, only to realize that the door was locked.  We get to hear their anger and frustration.

Fiske’s last level is “Ideology.”  An example of this would be the patriarchy.  This is something that I definitely noticed within this graphic novel.  All of the first responders from 9/11, with the exception of one, were male.  Why is it that the majority of heroes are portrayed as men or as masculine?  The only first responder that was a female that was portrayed within this book was a police officer who was interviewing someone.  Many women were first responders on 9/11, and many of them lost their lives.  I believe that more women should have been portrayed within this graphic novel.
Overall, I thought it was really interesting how much this graphic novel related to Fiske’s “Television Culture.”  “The 9/11 Report:  A Graphic Adaptation” by Jacobson and Colon definitely followed Fiske’s three levels:  reality, representation and ideology.