The Bush Doctrine And The ‘Defense’ Of Democracy In Post-September 11th cinema

Abstract

In this article will be discussed one of the highest profile events in this short twenty-first century, the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001 in the US. Initially the exploration of the images of the event as a new milestone that shook the American nation and democracy; afterwards, terrorism took over the agenda, many political speeches by former President George Walker Bush on the “new” enemy, terrorism, were appropriated by various governments, becoming an international counter-terrorist strategy, which justified legislative changes in the USA, boosted the conflicts in Afghanistan and Iraq, incorporating, still, other discussions, referring to the Middle East and Islam. It was understood that this chapter of US history is impossible to write without the images, since the spectacularization of the images of the attacks had a major impact on American society. The films in this process constituted a significant practice, either for or against such clashes. At first, there was escapism / silencing / estrangement, recalling important conflicts in US history (such as World War II, the Vietnam War and US conflicts in Africa and the Middle East) applied in other contexts, while Hollywood distances itself from still delicate themes. Due to the large number of films about the War on Terror, this article will deal with some of the films that were aligned with the Bush Doctrine and the defense of democracy during the George W. Bush administration.