ding the scene. The perceptual technique of reading dots requires a high amount of participation to begin with. Trying to process a picture of a plane flying into a skyscraper is even more difficult. Furthermore, the major television networks were effective in disguising the event as theater. The media portrayal of the attack erased some of the horrors of conflict, such as the loss of so many lives, by treating it as a major television event filled with drama, heroism, and special effects. In a movie the medium is hot, being highly visual, logical and private. Everything is already organized for us in a way that we can process the information more easily. Since we are only used to seeing that kind of violence and destruction in the movie theatre, it may become too traumatic to process it in a different medium where more thought must be used. On the other hand, others are still glued to their televisions in search of yet another bite of information to digest. So much energy is used to process the individual faces of victims on television that we become attached and feel a direct connection as if it were happening to the viewer as well. For some, television validates existence. Take a single sled ride down a hill, for instance. The experience is fleeting and elusive. By tomorrow it will be forgotten and it may as well have never happened. But if it were on television, countless viewers would share in the event and confirm it. The ride would become a part of mass consciousness since the impact of an event on television is determined by the image, not its substance. Perhaps this is why the incident of September eleventh is so frightening. Because it is so deeply embedded in the minds and senses of the world. When watching the faces of the on lookers viewers can be alone and yet not feel alone. There is a deep connection to the image and to the face. Cool media, such as tv, clarify the surrounding context and let perceiver...
