61 min listen
The Politics of Victimhood: Two Sisters on 9/11, National Memory, and Tragedy as a Spectacle
The Politics of Victimhood: Two Sisters on 9/11, National Memory, and Tragedy as a Spectacle
ratings:
Length:
100 minutes
Released:
Feb 9, 2023
Format:
Podcast episode
Description
In Part Two of their series on spectacular death, Ellie and Carrie speak with sisters Jessica and Leila Murphy, who lost their father Brian in the North Tower of the World Trade Center on September 11, 2001. He was 41 years old, Jessica 6 and Leila almost 4. Since that terrible day, Jessica and Leila have had to grow up not only without a father but also with the complexities that come with losing him in the attacks. From their inability to grieve privately to the invocation of their father’s name to justify two wars and countless acts of violence, Jessica and Leila have struggled with the meaning and responsibilities of victimhood. Now 26 and 25, they are part of 9/11 Families for Peaceful Tomorrows, which advocates nonviolent options in pursuit of justice, including closing the prison at Guantanamo Bay.We discuss Leila’s 2021 piece in The Nation “Lost My Father on 9/11, but I Never Wanted to Be a ‘Victim’” as well as Jessica’s 2019 essay in The Indy, “Among the Iguanas: On life and the pursuit of death in Guantánamo Bay.” The sisters also offer thoughtful insight into successes and shortcomings of the 9/11 Memorial & Museum as a force of public instruction.Other works cited are “The Aesthetics of Absence” by Marita Sturken, Ambiguous Loss by Pauline Boss, The Land of Open Graves by Jason De León, Julia Rodriguez’s 2017 op-ed for the New York Times “Guantanamo Is Delaying Justice for 9/11 Families,” Rachel Kushner’s 2019 feature on Ruth Wilson Gilmore and prison abolition for the New York Times, The Ten-Year Nap by Meg Wolitzer, and My Year of Rest and Relaxation by Ottessa Moshfegh. Films mentioned are World Trade Center (2006), United 93 (2006), The Mauritanian (2021), and The Report (2019).
Released:
Feb 9, 2023
Format:
Podcast episode
Titles in the series (26)
Fan Behavior: In this episode, Carrie recounts to Ellie a learning experience in which a parasocial relationship morphed into an unnatural in-person one. Enabled by Carrie's loneliness and lack of boundaries, "Meredith's" visit to Mom's house in East Hampton during the second major COVID surge left Carrie feeling entrapped in a cycle of panoptical performance (see Jon Mckenzie's 2001 work "Perform or Else"). Ellie helps her sister understand what she did wrong in the situation and stresses the importance of communicating clearly, even when it feels awkward or cruel. by All Each Other Has