Matthew S. Monahan
3.1 Outline: Texts and Methods
Students will engage with such texts as Dave Egger’s non-fiction
Zeitoun
, Cynthia Brown’s
Lost Liberties
, documentary film including but not limited to the award-winning
Citizenfour
, and graphic novels ranging from
The 9/11 Report
and
AD: After the Deluge
. The unit will pair some of these works with the case law that served as the crux of this year’s seminar.
3.1.1 The Curious Case of Ellison’s “Battle Royal”
Seminar Leader Professor Jill Campbell made multiple references to Ralph Ellison’s novel
Invisible Man
while delivering a talk on literature and identity.
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Although I am unsure (actually I am pretty sure) if I have as yet to make it through the work in its entirety, I do often teach its first chapter: “Battle Royal,” which was originally published as a stand-alone short story. The reason I make mention of this is because this is where my mind turned when reading Danielle Allen’s prologue to
Our Declaration
, especially her discussion of the Mitt Romney anecdote where the then-presidential candidate referenced this foundational text all but omitted “all men are created equal.” For those unfamiliar with Ellison’s work, the narrative centers on a young black man, a recent high school graduate, who is being ‘honored’ by the town’s elite (white males). Having been lured to a ‘smoker’ under the pretense of receiving accolades, Ellison’s protagonist is subjected to unfathomable abuses and humiliation. Finally, when all but hope is lost, he is called back to deliver his address. Beaten and bloodied he stands and delivers his speech to a roomful of drunken power-brokers. At one point he misspeaks; whereas, his original text included the phrase ‘social responsibility,’ he uses the phrase ‘social equality.’ He is then badgered and harangued into ‘correcting himself’ before being presented with a new leather satchel that contains a scholarship to the state university for ‘Negroes,’ where presumably he will acquire the requisite leadership skills to keep his ‘community’ acquiescent.
Although the narrative of Ellison’s story neither deals with surveillance nor questions of national security directly, it does explore the themes of race, citizenship, and democracy. Prior to the myriad humiliations the protagonist must endure, he recounts the story of his grandfather, who on his deathbed made the following statement:
Son, after I'm gone I want you to keep up the good fight. I never told you, but our life is a war and I have been a traitor all my born days, a spy in the enemy's country ever since I give up my gun back in the Reconstruction. Live with your head in the lion's mouth. I want you to overcome 'em with yeses, undermine 'em with grins, agree 'em to death and destruction, let 'em swoller you till they vomit or bust wide open."
This is turn reminds me of the important work that Booker T. Washington was doing behind the scenes on behalf of the Black community, and as discussed in seminar Civil Rights leaders Malcolm X and Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. et al were the subjects of FBI (and in the case of X possibly CIA as well) surveillance and wiretaps during the reign of J. Edgar Hoover. One may wonder how much less these great men would have been able to accomplish in their short lives were they subject to the level of scrutiny possible through contemporary methods of meta data collection used by the NSA and other security organizations.
3.1.2 Citizenfour AKA “Sometimes It feels like Somebody’s Watching Me”
Senior English students are required to create writing portfolios that demonstrate competency across three distinct modes of writing: narrative, analysis, and argument. While Snowden’s insisted that his own story should remain separate from the larger narrative of governmental abuses of power and subversion of individual constitutional rights, Poitras’s film begs to be both analyzed and argued on these grounds. The best support for this claim is a clip appears in the third act. President Obama is asked by a reporter whether or not he believes Snowden is a patriot.
“Just because you’re paranoid, don’t mean they’re not after you,” Kurt Cobain.
IRONY- under government surveillance the film’s director went into self-imposed exile in Berlin, former East Germany, to complete the film. Additionally, the film ends with Snowden taking refuge in Russia, in the former USSR and the home of both Stalin and the KGB, symbols and stalwarts of secret government repressions. One way to incorporate this material into a lesson, especially for advanced students and those that attend Metrocinematek: The Film Society of MBA (meets every Wednesday in the lecture hall) is to present the work of and background information on Soviet filmmaker extraordinaire Sergei Eisenstein (he is credited with conceiving the cinematic technique of
montage.
“The Odessa Steps” from his early feature
The Battleship Potempkin
is oft imitated; notable homages to this scene are included in director Brian De Palma’s
The Untouchables
and
The Naked Gun 33 1/2: The Final Insult
). Eisenstein's magnum opus
Ivan the Terrible: Parts I and II
is particularly relevant. Although the production of these films would not have been possible were it not for the fiscal and material support of the
Stalin regime, Eisenstein was eventually blacklisted and imprisoned after Stalin viewed
Part II
and believed that it was a social critique of the then contemporary USSR.
Snowden faces three felony counts of espionage under an Act that originated during World War I. According to the filmmakers, the Act predates claims of the rights of whistleblowers and fails to disambiguate disseminating of government secrets to the press to further the greater good and trading information for money with foreign powers. The DOD’s joint publication Dictionary of Military and Associated terms that Rumsfeld relishes as a reference source does not contain the term ‘whistleblower.’
3.1.3 The Unknown Known: Former Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld Takes on the Interrotron
“In writing if it takes over 30 minutes to write the first two paragraphs select another subject” (Raymond Aron) from “Rumsfeld’s Rules.”
During Donald Rumsfeld’s final six-year run as Secretary of Defense, he dictated and sent out tens of thousands of memos often referred to by him and others as ‘snowflakes.’ Most of the ‘snowflakes’ I have read bear the FOUO (For Office Use Only) classification, which is “a DoD dissemination control applied to unclassified information when disclosure to the public of that particular record, or portion thereof, would reasonably be expected to cause a foreseeable harm to an interest protected by one or more of Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) Exemptions.” They have since become ‘declassified’ and serve as a jumping off point for Academy Award-winning filmmaker Errol Morris’s documentary. Morris won the Oscar for his film
The Fog of War
which centers around the life and ‘accomplishments’ of another former defense secretary, Robert McNamara, oft-cited as a key architect of the US’s policy in Vietnam.
When Errol Morris first set out to make
The Unknown Known
his primary purpose and goal was to discover the root causes that led to the invasion of Iraq and the Global War on Terror. Morris reportedly conducted 33 hours of interviews with the former Defense Secretary. In addition to making the film he wrote a four-part essay for
The New York Times Opinionator
entitled “The Certainty of Donald Rumsfeld.”
Rumsfeld is fond of the term “a lack of imagination;” this is his reasoning for our failure to properly anticipate and adequately prepare for both Pearl Harbor and the attacks of September 11, 2001. He is also well-known for his missive about the “unknown unknown,” things that we don’t know that we don’t know. This raises an essential question(s): are Rumsfeld and his cronies correct in their assertions and policy decisions? Or is he [are they] capable of committing to falsehoods with such conviction that he ultimately accepts and believes his alternate narrative?
Moving from content to form, I have read conflicting reports on whether or not documentary filmmaker Errol Morris did in fact invent the “interrotron,” he has both perfected its use and has a patent pending. His wife, art historian Julie Sheehan, coined the term, a portmanteau that blends the concepts of both interview and terror. Ironically Morris claims that his device, essentially a teleprompter that streams a live video image so that the interviewee is simultaneously looking directly into the camera and having the experience of making eye contact with the interviewer, does not make people uncomfortable:
People, if anything, feel more relaxed when talking to a live video image. My production designer, Ted Bafaloukos, said, ‘The beauty of this thing is that it allows people to do what they do best. Watch television.’ We often think of technology as working against the possibility of intimacy. But there are so many counter-examples. The telephone is a good counter-example. There are things we can say to each other on the phone that we would never say if we were in the same room…. The Interrotron is like that. It creates [both] greater distance and greater intimacy. And it also creates the
true first person
. Now, when people make eye contact with me, it can be preserved on film (Morris).
SPOILER ALERT! At the film’s conclusion Rumsfeld makes the claim that many of Bush’s policies that were once condemned by Obama are given legitimacy by their continued practice under Obama as Commander-in-Chief; these policies include but are not limited to: Guantanamo Bay, drone strikes, the USA Patriot Act, use of ‘enhanced interrogation techniques’ and ‘indefinite detentions.’ See more on this in the Other Print Texts section esp. Kate Martin’s “Secret Arrests and Preventive Detentions.”
3.1.4 Zeitoun
Author David Eggers award-winning book
Zeitoun
was to go into development as an animated film project directed by Jonathan Demme in 2009; however, its protagonist has experienced both personal and legal troubles since the time of its publication which has called his character into question and hence the film project has floundered in pre-production. Regardless of the accuracy of its portrayal of Zeitoun the man, a Syrian born painting contractor who chose to stay in New Orleans during and in the wake of Hurricane Katrina, the book’s description of the ‘emergency’ prison facility erected at the city’s transportation hub is both fascinating and disturbing. One gets to witness the seemingly overnight conversion of the depot into what was a stockade under the control of various state and federal agencies ranging from but not limited to the National Guard, Louisiana Department of Corrections, and the Department of Homeland Security.
It is a cautionary tale of the increased militarization of our civilian police force and the treatment of US citizens as enemy combatants. Was the preparation and expenditure of resources misguided? Were the national and local governments prioritizing law and order and the criminalization of a significant swath of the population rather than preparing and providing timely relief to disaster victims?
Zeitoun
as presented ties in with
Lost Liberties. Lost Liberties
connects with a recent New York Times article focused on Secretary Clinton’s use of an unencrypted email server. This will be discussed in greater detail in Section
3.15. Other Print Materials
.
3.1.5 Other Print Materials
There have been a number of comparisons made between presidential candidate Hillary Clinton’s handling of classified information and that of other former cabinet members, David Petraeus, and even Edward Snowden. In
The
New York Times
article “Public Scolding of Clinton Fits a Pattern of Taking on Power,” there is a shift in focus. The article moves from the Clinton affair (her use of a privately owned unencrypted web server to send emails, some of which contained classified information and materials related to national security and international policies) to how now FBI (Federal Bureau of Investigation) director James Comey was once deputy Attorney General under John Ashcroft and “the center of a dramatic dispute with administration officials in 2004. He is famous for refusing to re-authorize a secret NSA (National Security Administration) wiretapping program put into place after the September 11, 2001 terror attacks.”
Apparently Comey believed that the program of warrantless wiretapping was illegal. His refusal to comply led two top Bush aides to visit Attorney General Ashcroft’s hospital room in an attempt to coerce him into signing the order. Although
The Times
fails to comment on the resolution of the matter, the Patriot Act is as of the time of this writing still in effect. I believe this points to both larger ongoing issues and to dangers of having a small cadre of wonks shaping America’s policies both international and domestic over a long period of time.
Rumsfeld came to work for the Executive Branch during the Nixon administration, was a powerbroker under president Gerald Ford as his Chief of Staff before becoming the youngest person to hold the office of Secretary of Defense and then later the only person to hold the post twice. His second term as Secretary of Defense came during the presidency of George W. Bush. During this final stint at the Pentagon, Rumsfeld attempted to resign not once, but twice (both attempts were rejected by Bush). Eventually, however, he became so embattled over the DOD’s (Department of Defense) ‘enhanced interrogation’ methods and the ‘quagmire’ that Iraq had become that he was ultimately fired and replaced by Robert Gates, former director of the CIA under George HW Bush.
Reg Whitaker’s essay “After 9/11: A Surveillance State?,” [t]he security-industrial complex has a stake in joining with government in pumping up the threat level just as defense interests and the government pumped up anxiety over the soviet threat in the past including “missile gaps” that never were.” Although not mentioned by Whitaker, Rumsfeld had a hand in increasing the perceived threat of thermonuclear war and the ramping up of American defense spending from the 1970s onward.
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Whitaker goes on to suggest that the mastermind and ‘true visionary for a post-9/11 surveillance state’ may have been Vice Admiral John M. Poindexter of Iran-Contra notoriety not John Ashcroft or another head of an existing intelligence gathering agency. The position of director of the Information Awareness Office within the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) was created with Poindexter in mind. DARPA scientists were those responsible for the development of the computer communications network known as ARPANET which over time has morphed into the civilian Internet.
There is something decidedly missing here. It is hard to decide where to stop waxing poetic on history that I have experienced firsthand. My good friend from grammar school went to high school at Woodberry Forest with the son of Oliver North. I remember being at a Cub Scout meeting when Reagan was shot. I was riding the B-61 bus from Red Hook, Brooklyn to Brooklyn Heights when American Airlines flight 11 crashed into the North Tower of World Trade Center (WTC). I spent 9/11 on the island of Manhattan and walked home that night across the Brooklyn Bridge. Although I saw Tower Seven fall in real time I have to question our country’s continued response. When I first started teaching my students had memories of that fateful day; next year my seniors will have been three at the time of the attacks. Regardless what conclusions my students come to it is of utmost importance that they consider their rights especially in terms of citizenship, surveillance, and democracy in post-9/11 America.
3.2 Details: Sample Lesson Plans
3.2.1 When National Security Trumps Human Rights
Journal/Motivation (Initiation Set):
Students in small groups brainstorm lists and word-webs (large format chart paper/’post-it’ style preferred) around the central ideas of ‘national security,’ ‘human rights,’ ‘times of emergency,’ citizenship and democracy. Consider where these ideas and related concepts intersect and are in opposition to one another.
Share. This may be done as a series of short group presentations; however, if time is an issue (which it almost always is) consider using a ‘gallery walk.’
Aims and Objectives: SWBAT (Students Will Be Able To…):
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Participate in diverse conversations demonstrating ability to communicate and collaborate.
-
Read and analyze a variety of nonfiction texts.
Workshop (Activity)
Students in small groups
jigsaw
a number of short readings. Small groups (ideally three to four students) are assigned selected shorts from
Lost Liberties
and
The 9/11 Report: A Graphic Adaptation
. Although students are individually responsible for reading their passages, they are also expected to take on a group member role such as facilitator, recorder, or reporter.
Groups are asked to analyze their texts. They must identify the thesis or controlling idea and find evidence in support. Next, they are to refer to the guiding questions of the unit, both those included in Section 1.2 Descriptive Overview as well as any students add to the list. Finally, they are to draw conclusions and generate questions for further research.
Group reporters share findings with whole class.
Summary/Review
Materials:
Jacobson, Sid and Ernie Colón.
The 9/11 Report: A Graphic Adaptation
. London:
Viking, 2006. Print.
Lost Liberties: Ashcroft and the Assault on Personal Freedom
. Edited by Cynthia Brown. New York: The New Press, 2003.
3.2.2 The Unknown Known
Aims and Objectives: SWBAT (Students Will Be Able To…):
Workshop (Activity)
Students critically view and discuss the nonfiction film
The Unknown Known
(approximately two block class periods of 87 minutes each; this should provide ample time for students to complete initiation sets/warm up activities, discuss major themes and genre conventions pre- and post-viewing film sections).
Homework:
Write a blog post of 250 words or more that includes elements of both analytical and argument writing. You are to consider the film’s subject as much, if not more, than the methods by which documentary filmmaker Morris presents ideas.
Summary/Review
Materials:
The Unknown Known: The Life and Times of Donald Rumsfeld
. Dir. Errol Morris. Feat. Donald Rumsfeld (himself). History Films, 2013.
Available streaming for rent or purchase via Amazon; DVD may be ordered or rented from Best Video Film and Cultural Center, Whitney Avenue, Hamden, CT.
3.2.3 Citzenfour: Edward Snowden Hero or Zero?
Journal/Motivation (Initiation Set):
According to the
American Heritage Dictionary,
a whistleblower is one who reveals wrongdoing within an organization to the public or to those in positions of authority: "The Pentagon's most famous whistleblower is ... hoping to get another chance to search for government waste" (Washington Post).
First, individually jot lists of either known whistleblowers or injustices that have been exposed through the practice. Next, turn and talk with a neighbor. Expand your lists to include examples that your partner came up with that you did not.
Share with whole group.
Aims and Objectives: SWBAT (Students Will Be Able To…):
-
Demonstrate an understanding of process writing.
-
Write an argument on a compelling idea or topic that is supported by text based evidence.
-
Participate in diverse conversations demonstrating ability to communicate and collaborate.
Workshop (Activity)
Students critically view and discuss the nonfiction film
Citizenfour
(approximately two block class periods of 87 minutes each; this should provide ample time for students to complete initiation sets/warm up activities, discuss major themes and genre conventions pre- and post-viewing film sections).
While engaged in critical viewing, students are encouraged to take notes. One means that has proven effective in past classes is the creation of a three-columned chart: What I saw/What I noticed/What this means…; Why this is important. Students may find this method to work best if they fill mostly column one (What I saw/What I noticed) and backfill the other two columns during post viewing discussion and as prewriting/collecting toward their blog posts [see both Homework and “A Guide to Evaluating Blog Posts” (Section Four: Assessment)].
Homework:
Write a blog post of 250 words or more that includes elements of both analytical and argument writing. You are to consider the film’s subject as much, if not more, than the methods by which documentary filmmaker Poitras presents ideas.
Summary/Review
Materials:
Citizenfour
. Dir. Laura Poitras. Feat. Edward Snowden (himself), Glenn Greenwald, and William Binney. HBO Documentary Films, 2014.
Available streaming for rent or purchase via Amazon; DVD may be ordered or rented from Best Video Film and Cultural Center, Whitney Avenue, Hamden, CT.
