RADIO // Conversations with Writers
Susan Willis
Charles Ruas interviews social critic and author
Susan Willis about her latest book, Portents of the Real: A Primer for Post 9/11 America. In this work Willis analyzes events that reveal the state of mind of American culture and the changing nature of our society: She tracks the patriotic passion for the American flag right after 9/11, tracing the flag from the World Trade Center to Afghanistan and the launching of flags into outer space to consecrate them. She analyses the fascinating figure of the Washington D.C. sniper and how he is a typical product, but who has turned against his own society. Susan Willis looks at the ways to protect the government from attack by hiding it, and also looks clearly at the Abu Ghraib photos of prisoner torture and discusses how they reveal our culture and reflect the state of our present society.
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