Letter from America was successful in increasing the western society’s awareness of issues which affect them by focussing on the opinion of civilians from many different backgrounds, whose voices are usually not heard. For example, when interviewing a Muslim hairdresser she introduces the idea that “Islam is a peaceful religion…many Muslims died in the terrorist attacks, just like Christians and Jews.” This criticises westerner’s tendency to value religion as a way of stereotyping people and their beliefs and values. Chuckman also emphasised the idea that, many members of society who are usually overlooked were also adversely affected by the terrorist attacks when he declares “…there will be a moments silence…an Elvis impersonator and chorus girls…the $8 dollar an hour student dressed up in a mouse-suit…will all remember loved ones they lost.” This reinforced the common value that the terrorist attacks’ effects were spread far and made it clear that this was one of their underlying themes. By reflecting this value I believe, that, like me, the audience is more likely to accept other issues presented to them through the documentary.
Most members of western societies value the media as a great source of information. However, Letter from America challenged this value and criticised the role our news media plays in providing information. For example, the university students interviewed complain that they were unable to find any information which is not significantly subjective and biased towards American values. Greer also raises her own concerns about this and while looking through a collection of magazines focussing on September Eleven she refers to the magazines as “comic books” and American politicians to be “super heroes”. Chuckman, the Canadian columnist was also critical of the media’s influence and portrayal. He conveyed this attitude by using examples such as “The television broadcast that American warships were being launched off the coast…they were loaded with cruise missiles. The men at the bar cheered loudly just as they would at a football game.” This excerpt from his feature article shows that media information is often consumed for entertainment value, rather than information and knowledge. I found myself questioning the role of Australian media and news programmes as information sources which are still orientated around America’s military actions. By criticising the media the documentary appeared to be uncensored, more reliable and less biased towards America, therefore successfully presenting a fact-based account of the American audience’s values.
By focussing on a large range of people affected by the events of September 11, Letter from America commented on a variety of values and points of view, engaging the audience and appealing to their interest. For example, while interviewing a news anchor man from NBC we discover he has a contrasting attitude to which he presents as news. He states that “America isn’t an infantile nation…It is a teenager in the world. We still have a lot of growing up to do.” This is not only effective in contradicting and criticising the media, but also introduces an unseen concept that America is not as advanced as they portray themselves to be. It questions the nation’s ability to perform at its claimed standard and contrasts the viewers’ values and attitudes. This is reinforced in the feature article September Eleven where Chuckman suggests that America is “…attached to fantasies which affect its role in foreign affairs, and how they see the world and themselves.” The terms “teenagers” and “fantasies” both have negative connotations of immaturity and ignorance, undermining the ability of the nation. Both texts challenged western society’s views on America’s potential and true strength but were successful in achieving the audience’s understanding and acceptance because they addressed widely-held values in the target audience.
Through my study of Letter form America and September Eleven I discovered that texts have the ability to succeed whether or not they reflect the values of the audience. However, Letter from America reflected the value of equality and freedom of expression which would have been fully endorsed by the audience. By creating a resistant reading documentaries provide a broader awareness amongst members of the society regarding issues which affect them.
