National Geographic Does 9/11: Another Icon Debased in Service of the Big Lie

The 2009 iteration of this spectacleis notable for the contrast betweenthe designated brand and the obligatory message. That brand, best known for its high-brow photojournalistic National Geographic Magazine, has existed since 1889, complete with a non-profit Society dedicated toeducation in geography, archaeology, history, world cultures,and natural science.One can't help but wonder how National Geographic's many benefactorswould feel if they understood how the brand was beingused to prop up the "War on Terror"with its Popular-Mechanics -style attack piece to be aired on August 31, 2009.

A web feature on the website of the National Geographic Channel provides a preview of the showand a window into the methods and goals of the show's producers.Those methods are so heavy-handed that the critical readercan't help but seethat those goals are something very different from educating.As an exercise, the reader might want toread the one-page feature first,and then compare notes with my analysis of it below. ⇒