Post-9/11 Counter Culture on The Onion

With the September 11th attacks came a national inability to process any type of dissent or counter culture in light of such a tragedy. The normality of an American counter culture and political satire in response actions made by the American government was halted after the event, and it’s first sign of response came on September 29th, 2001 when Saturday Night Live released its first 9/11 Tribute show. The episode opened with former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani and writer Lorne Michaels as Michaels posed the question whether it was “okay for the show to be funny again?” Giuliani responded by saying, “Why start now?” With this comedic performance, American popular culture slowly moved back to accepting counter culture and satiric responses.

Many of these satiric responses, however, do not utilize the role of terrorist in their comedy. In the Onion’s videocast, “'9/11 Conspiracy Theories Ridiculous' - Al Qaeda”, the satirical news network approaches the issue of conspiracy theories surrounding the 9/11 attacks. In the video, the moderators brings in two guests — an American conspiracy theorist and a leader in the al-Qaeda terrorist cell which is responsible for the World Trade Center attacks. The conspiracy theorist argues that the 9/11 attacks are the product of a U.S. government conspiracy, while the al-Qaeda leader defends that his terrorist cell was proud of their attack, and it is insulting to him that there are conspiracy theories.

This satirical response is one that would not be allowed shortly following the attacks. In the Saturday Night Live tribute show, satirical sketches like this one were not portrayed due to the complicated emotional responses surrounding the event. However, seven years later, when this video came out, the counter culture had already redeveloped. The use of an al-Qaeda terrorist as a guest, and even more so, the seemingly “sane” guest of the two, is still controversial. This satire attempts to not only show the ridiculous nature of conspiracy theories but also reverse the binary opposition that placed the United States as the victims. Instead, the al-Qaeda terrorist claims that his terrorist cell is being victimized by not receiving credit for the 9/11 attacks. The video goes even further past political correctness, towards the end as the terrorist leader indirectly threatens another terrorist attack on the Washington Monument.

In response to the conspiracy theorist, the al-Qaeda leader actually takes the role that a normal American would in the situation. It is often the place of conspiracy theories as a joke in American culture, and the al-Qaeda leader makes a farce out of the theory. The moderator even begins to chastise the conspiracy theorist for not allowing the terrorist leader to talk. In this, we can see that Orientalism and Islamophobia have become simply a source of satirical material for The Onion writers, allowing for those who watch to approach the issue with a different level of comfort, one that allows them to critically analyze the media messages given surrounding Americanism and the threat of terrorism.

With the massive change from a vulnerable and sensitive culture following the attacks of September 11th, it’s clear that with videos such as The Onion’s, that there is truly restlessness in culture. Edward Said refers to this in regards to the creative provocation that changes cultures on a consistent basis. The value of this redevelopment of counterculture is exponential in the sense that comedy gives people an avenue to speak out about serious subjects. By doing watching videos such as The Onion’s, Americans are given the satirical framework to question the government and further understand the inequalities in the post-9/11 world.