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The Shadow Rules of Engagement: Visual Practices, Citizen-Subjectivity, and America's Global War on Terror

Adelman, Rebecca A.
http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1243903538

Abstract Details

2009, Doctor of Philosophy, Ohio State University, Comparative Studies.
Like all wars, the Global War on Terror (GWOT) (2001-present) has resulted in upheavals of culture and politics. What makes the GWOT unique is the degree to which these disruptions coincide. This dissertation explores their convergence in visual culture, a key medium through which Americans confront terror in everyday life. "The Shadow Rules of Engagement" is an interdisciplinary project that integrates insights from cultural studies and political theory to provide a comprehensive account of the American visual culture of terror and how it shapes the experience of citizenship. Out of the vast archive of visual cultural production about the GWOT, I discern five kinds of what I call ‘visual practices,’ approaches to the visual and its expression of terror. The first of these, the illuminating, is an antiwar strategy that demands publicity for graphic images of the GWOT on the assumption that these sights will arouse opposition to the War. While those practices seek to traumatize viewers into action, dimensional practices presume that the controlled sight of terror can be healing, and so they transform it into two-dimensional artifacts designed to aid in the process of coping with it. Similarly, diagnostic practices quantify terror by rating its intensity and regulating its appearance. Terror is difficult to manage in this way, but temporal engagements seek to correct for its disorienting consequences by forcing it into linear narratives to deprive it of momentum and power. Finally, there are juridical responses to the unauthorized imaging of terror, which employ legal (and extralegal) means to respond to visual threats. Various actors—from private citizens to federal officials—and institutions—from the Motion Picture Association of America to the United States Department of Justice—partake in these practices. Consequently, evidence of their engagements is present across the spectrum of American visual culture, and I document a representative variety of sites, artifacts, and events, cataloging primary sources ranging from federal indictments to ‘jihad’ videos, popular novels, virtual reality simulations, and beyond. Despite their diverse manifestations, I demonstrate that all of these practices (and the artifacts around which they are centered) are concerned with redefining American citizenship through the experience of terror.
Ruby Tapia (Advisor)
Philip Armstrong (Committee Member)
Maurice Stevens (Committee Member)
370 p.
American Studies; Mass Media
American citizenship; Global War on Terror; visual culture

Recommended Citations

Citations

  • Adelman, R. A. (2009). The Shadow Rules of Engagement: Visual Practices, Citizen-Subjectivity, and America's Global War on Terror [Doctoral dissertation, Ohio State University]. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1243903538

    APA Style (7th edition)

  • Adelman, Rebecca. The Shadow Rules of Engagement: Visual Practices, Citizen-Subjectivity, and America's Global War on Terror. 2009. Ohio State University, Doctoral dissertation. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center, http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1243903538.

    MLA Style (8th edition)

  • Adelman, Rebecca. "The Shadow Rules of Engagement: Visual Practices, Citizen-Subjectivity, and America's Global War on Terror." Doctoral dissertation, Ohio State University, 2009. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1243903538

    Chicago Manual of Style (17th edition)

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This open access ETD is published by The Ohio State University and OhioLINK.