Performans, który wymknął się spod kontroli : relacje "intymnego" z "publicznym" w zamachach z 11 września

Abstract

The article describes the phenomenon of contemporary terrorism in the context of science and performance studies, with special regard to the dynamic relation between the “intimate” terror as a category related to the private, and “public” terrorism, with emphasis on the social. The starting point here is the definition of terrorism as a communicative process, which gains the “spectacular” feature, which in turn functions as a connector with a performative approach to the issue. The author describes propositions of images and phenomena related to terrorism as performances, and later focuses on “terror” as a pro-theatrical category, which is a basis of emotions and attitudes that shape terrorism. The author subsequently utilizes theoretical tools to describe the origin, the course, and the result of the September 11th attacks. In conclusion, he states that the intimate terror, related to experiences, which can be found at the basis of theatricality in culture, was a vital factor in shaping narrations, which were used in the public sphere to define and interpret the attacks, and performances announced and caused by these narration — the most “spectacular” of which was the so-called “war on terror” — were a kind of a public catharsis, channeling and “clearing” the initial feeling of dread, which was caused by the “spectacle” of September 11th.