Post 9/11 Cinema

In what ways can war of the worlds be considered a post 9/11 cinema?

War of the worlds can be considered a post 9/11 cinema film due to the allegories within the film and Steven Spielburg saying that '9/11 set the tone'. There are many ways within the film that show its true intention such as the aliens. The aliens are an allegory for the islamic terror that took place and the trauma it caused. By connoting the aliens in this way, it creates a strong visual link to 9/11 and the events that took place. The aliens are also an allegory for the terrorists due to the fact that they both communicate with a language American society doesn't understand and that they have different cultures from us. War of the worlds could also be considered post /11 due to the camera shots. Within the first tripod attack, we see an extreme close up of the tripod about to attack. For the audience, this is a visual link to the past events and a reminiscent of the helicopter footage within the media. 

The media sequence in 'War of the Worlds' is considered post 9/11 due to the iconography shown. Iconography is used for the 9/11 terror attacks to create links between the events seen in the film and real life. For example, ''first they hit New York, then D.C went down'' this is an oral signifier of the terrorist attacks as these were the first two locations to be hit. This creates a emotional connection with the audience as they would subconsciously recognise this. When Ray encounters the media for the first time since the attacks, they show him footage of when the aliens first arrived and inform his of future attacks and about the true scale of the assault. Just like the after-math of 9/11, this left Ray more afraid and paranoid.