AMCS 2 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

AMCS 2 - Essay Example Such elites claim that these actions were therefore no worse than fraternity hazing (Tetreault 33). Tetreault does not agree with such US elites. She believes that the photographs reveal something that is more sinister. In this article, she argues strongly that the photographs is an indication of a complex reactions by the US to the September 11, 2001 attacks. This is not all; Tetreault also claims that the actions are an indication of a need to punish those who are viewed by America as an inferior oriental enemy so as to assert U.S. global dominance. Tetreault gives a convincing reasons and evidences for her views of this matter. She begins by stating that images of dead people, dead Iraqis, convey a message of relief and victory. The message that says ‘my enemy is dead and I am alive.’ By looking at Tetreault’s next explanation, one can be convinced beyond doubt to declare that truly, Iraq is America’s enemy and the photos were a sign that US soldiers wer e showing their victory over the Iraqis. Tetreault states that the photographs taken resembled those taken by soldiers in times of war when they were taking photographs of their enemies. She also makes it clear that the photos are not just any other veteran publications because most of the photographs of Abu Ghraib belong to a genre that is rarely published by veterans (Tetreault 34). These photos are therefore a mock to Iraq that even in her own land, she had fallen to the hands of the US. One is likely to ask, why such kind of enemity? As Tetreault puts it, they are a reaction to the September 11, 2001 attacks. With such a view, the photographs cannot be interpreted better than as a sign of successful revenge. One is likely to sound somehow strange and unjustified to interpret such photographs are a sign that Iraq is one of the inferior oriental enemies of the US. However, Tetreault is strongly convinced of this. She states that if they are analyzed in the context of orientalism i n the chain of command of the US, it portrays a situation in which those who are vulnerable are subjected to direct and indirect violence. They are also comparable to rituals of violence orchestrated by elites (Tetreault 34). Rituals of violence here denote repeated acts of violence. they remind members of the points of agreement or core values they share. Furthermore, Tetreault is convinced that the pornographic photos are a strategy of domination by the US. They reveal rituals of violence that evidence power relations between the US and Iraq, occupier and occupied. This is signified by the photos showing naked and lewdly posed Iraqi men, as the subjects, and American women who were clothed and playing dominatrix roles. From creation, the complex cultural norms that define sexuality are feminine subjecting to masculine power. One will therefore not miss out on the point that such photos are a reverse of it all and thus, they are a testimony of the production and reproduction of glo bal dominance by the US. To this point, one will not be biased against the US to say that Tetreault’s claims have some elements of truth and thus, justified. The strongest point of the article is that its arguments are mainly based on critical analysis if the photographs presented and other justifiable truths. This makes the arguments presented highly convincing. However, this article alone cannot be used to make a strong formal accusation against