This week in our ASTU class we discussed the first chapter of Judith Butler’s book, “Frames of War: When is Life Grievable?” and much like Oskar Schell, a protagonist of our class novel Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close, I had my fair share of “what the?” moments while decoding her cryptic writing. Nevertheless, Butler’s theorizing has stimulated critical questions that are helpful in considering issues we face today.

Butler uses the term “Narrative Framing,” to describe how we view trauma through socially constructed “frames” that condition our interpretations of the event, whether we recognize it or not. In her book, she asks why we mourn some lives while treating others with indifference, what social factors influence this decision of how we value one another, and how we can become more unified?

After the tragic 9/11 attacks on the world trade center, large-scale public grievance and memorializing of the lost American lives took place. However, as Butler points out, Non-American nationals and illegal workers who were among the victims, were sidelined or excluded all together from this public grievance. It is disturbing to think that these equally innocent individuals were somehow cast aside as not being “American enough” to be mourned, but if they were left out of the narrative frame, it would be impossible for their lives to be nationally recognized. I think this exemplifies how the decision of who “we” are when we fall victim to tragedy, is a politically decided concept rather than an interpretation we construct free of influence. Butler states that “it is only by challenging the dominant media that certain kinds of lives may become visible or knowable,” (Butler, 51) as media portrayals of complicated issues are often selective in what they draw attention to and from, and can reinforce the binary thinking of “us” vs “them”.

Butler believes that we are all vulnerable beings and if this is realized by us as individuals, we can become interdependent on a generalized condition of precariousness. Although her theorizing is understandable, it’s rather utopian. It is clear that even with the force of globalization linking us together, our world is heavily divided and full of conflict. However, one aspect of life in which we are becoming growingly aware of our precariousness, is in the environment that we all share. So perhaps Butler’s generalized condition of precariousness will come about in our future when we realize the greatest threat to us, is our own destructiveness.

Thanks for reading,

– Lauren

Works Cited:

Butler, Judith. Frames of War: When Is Life Grievable?  London: Verso, 2009. Print.