Post for 11-12-07

Kamala Randjelovic
Posting for November 12th, 2007
Question # 2
The story “Baeder-Meinhof” by Don Delillo trails two individuals observing paintings of a terrorist group (“Rote Armee Faktion”) who exercised guerilla warfare in the nineteen seventies in Germany. In a post 9-11 world, particularly in New York City the threat and most importantly the memory of the attacks and of the fear it instilled in the inhabitants of the city and world remains present. In a way, the perceptions of the paintings of these two people can reflect an attitude that many have regarding the threat of terrorism. When viewing a painting the woman remarks about “…the state- in the ironclad context of supreme public power” stating “This was not her vocabulary”. From this statement one can see the disconnect many experience in the relationship between the “state” and individual”. As she says “there’s so much sadness in these pictures” and “…I feel helpless. These paintings make me feel how helpless a person can be”, the paintings seem to awaken feelings induced by the present day threat of terrorism. On the day of 9-11 there was a strong sense of loneliness and disparity throughout the city. I remember the day like it was yesterday, I will never forget walking through the east village which was completely empty and void of the regular crowds inhabiting the streets. That emptiness of people remained for days after the attacks, the city streets felt deserted and it seemed that people had resorted to their own worlds. In the story, when “…she didn’t tell him that she was out of work, because it would give them a situation in common. She didn’t want that, an inflection of mutual sympathy, a comradeship”, it occurred to me that in viewing these pieces of art in some ways they were both distancing themselves from the outside world. The outside world, where the threat of terrorism is constantly projected from politicians, and the media. When one looks at a piece of art, there is always an absence of comradeship in the perception of art since everyone has their own interpretations of what is being represented and its meaning. When it comes to acts of terrorism and living in a world after all sorts of terrorist attacks, very rarely are people allowed to make their own meaning of the events. In many ways, society seems to project images and information geared at influencing how people think about terrorism and who and what a terrorist is. An individual can either experience an immense sense of loneliness with their own internal struggle to find what they believe is threatening. Or they can experience a strong sense of community and patriotism by joining with the beliefs of the majority in the external world. This story seems to be representative of two individuals who are each trying to make sense of the world around them by not merging with each other and those around them. By observing the art and struggling to find its meaning, their own feelings are awakened and they choose to sit with those feelings instead of joining with each other.