The Terror Dream March 15, 2008

So, I actually read a book.

I’ve long been interested in Susan Faludi. I’ve liked the topic of her previous books, Backlash and Stiffed, but have never finished them (I’ve read around the former). I’ve also been interested in reading some of the analyses of 9/11, but also have not gotten to them, either because they seemed morbid or simplistic.

But, this one was recommended on a few sites, so I decided to dig in.

The Terror Dream’s thesis is that our bellicose response to 9/11 should have come as no surprise. Moreover, that that bellicosity was supported through narratives of brave masculine heroes saving helpless women should definitely come as no surprise, as that has been our national narrative since before we were a country. Finally, that these narratives of masculine heroism and feminine helplessness are largely fictions should come as no surprise, as some of the most foundational stories of our culture, particularly captivity narratives and Daniel Boone, are completely made up and often warp factual narratives of female independence and heroism.

Faludi structures the book in an interesting way, spending the first half on the reactions to 9/11 (in an “Ontology” section), showing methodically how certain narratives — like the one about how America wanted to “nest” after 9/11, or the automatic labelling of first responders as heroes, when they didn’t want the label — were media-driven and largely invented. She spends a lot of time on two other stories: the demonization of the “Jersey Girls” and the canonization of Jessica Lynch. It’s a persuasive argument — that our response to 9/11 quickly became a gendered response.

But Faludi does not want to merely say that, which is laudable. The second section, “Phylogeny,” goes back to the very beginnings of a (white) America and spends a lot of time showing how narratives of female heroism (and even violence) quickly became subsumed by the need to show that men were in fact protecting “their” women from those whom they would consider to be terrorists — the Native Americans who would engage in a series of surprise attacks on the settlers. At the same time, Faludi shows how narratives of male terrorism basically had to be created out of nothing — particularly the story of the largely irresponsible Daniel Boone.

I have to admit that the second half somewhat drags, but that may be because I just wasn’t as interested in going back in as much detail as Faludi provides. However, the overall argument is interesting; it’s almost as if we cannot help ourselves — like it’s in our blood to revert to these tropes and this language. However, Faludi does end the book with a “What if?” chapter, asking what if we had denied our history and engaged in true soul-searching and fact-finding? Her answer is that we might be safer than we are right now — and perhaps would not be engaging in a losing war that will continue to necessitate division along gender lines.