Jasbir Puar, in her article “On Torture: Abu Ghraib,” deals with the concept of exceptionalism and explains the case of the Abu Ghraib photos as an example of this idea/ideology, and particularly as an example of how the US constructs (or reinforces) its own identity as an imperial power and the subjugation of non-white/American bodies through visual culture/visuality. As we discussed in class, the concept of exceptionalism has to do with a certain type of distinction and a superiority that comes with/is embedded/ is reinforced with the formation of this distinction. In a way, the articles we read from Carby and Mirzoeff work in conjunction with Puar to prove her point behind the idea of exceptionalism.
The overriding discourse that came out of this whole scandal was that these photographs – taken as self evident truths, but let me return to this later – showed, or documented, was an anomaly in military behavior. As Puar points out in her article, the president himself stated, “This is not the nature of the American people”. Puar’s, Mirzoeff’s, and Carby’s work in fact claim the opposite and that in fact, this has been “standard operating procedure” all through out history as part of colonial enterprises. But what they are talking about is not only torture itself as a tool of imperialisms or war, but also the idea of the “spectacle of torture”, and how this helps create discourses and frames of seeing the world. These photographs evidence, for example, a position of power over bodies, these bodies are non-white and are being dominated and manipulated by whites. This of course, is the story of our culture, and the world (sadly). To believe that these images represent an abnormality is to ignore the deeply rooted imperialistic and racist undertones they contain. Carby, and others, for example, talk about the photos of lynching that were so popular back in the day and that are evidence of a socio-cultural desire of showing off superiority and of sharing the torture of inferior bodies.
I think that the film Standard Operating Procedure, for various reasons, is trying to dismantle the notion of this incident as “exceptional”, “out of the ordinary”, but in a more superficial way than the critique Puar and others construct. In the documentary the interviewees provide us with their own take on the story and try to save their own behinds as they do so, trying to take off the blame from their backs. That nobody did anything to stop them from doing these things clearly shows us that there was no intention of stopping them. Through the testimony we learn that many people, interrogators, for example, came into the premises repeatedly, that nobody thought to condemn this seems a bit strange. I think the film is superficial, however, because it doesn’t get at the core of the problem, as Puar works does. The film presents the events, the testimonies, the images and lets us do the rest, without real critique of any of it.
I mentioned this in class, but to construct this issue as an anomaly in military procedures is a cheap trick that indeed is obscuring the nature of the military and of war and imperialism: to dominate, conquer. With peace the military loses its purpose. It’s winning or losing, some get to write history, some don’t. So how can your power over a group be best exemplified than by invasion, than by doing as you please with physical bodies. But it not only becomes and issue of real tangible bodies, but an issue of territoriality, of the real space these bodies occupy themselves. The power is also exerted by doing the conquering over there, by invading far from home, by torturing from a far, in the land of the occupied, because they are the threat. At the same time, for me, this is also an issue of non-physical territoriality, of the space bodies occupy in a socio-historical continuum, in an imaginary. How are we remembered? How are we understood?
I think my brain has been dried out after talking about it so much.
Talking about technologies and digital media today reminded me of the scandal behind some pictures of Puerto Rican doctors working in Haiti posing with caskets, soldiers and guns and mutilated bodies.
http://beinglatino.wordpress.com/2010/02/01/the-puerto-rican-doctor-photo-scandal-is-no-big-deal-really-2/
I agree with you. I think that there is an obvious trend between American racist imperialist history and the way the non-white imperialistic prisoners were tortured at Abu Ghraib. This country has a long standing history of taking over "less competant" countries and the people in it. During this history countless non-white bodies were tortured and forced to comply by the American way. This american way to what we know displayed tortured non white bodies during lynchings- showing off their superiority like you mentioned. I agree with yout hat standard operating materials could also be a way of displaying superiority by toturing non-white bodies in this century.
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