On September 11, 2001, as the first plane hit the first tower, I was asleep. I was asleep cozy in my warm bed. I was in college but the school year would not start for another week. My mother came into my room, around 8 am to wake me up by telling me in Spanish, “wake up son, we are under attack.” But then the second plane had hit so there was no question this was an attack and not some horrific accident. At least that is what the narrative of the last twenty-one years has been. Now I am not prone to whacky conspiracy theories but in this article, I want to explore how the first generation of this millennium, Gen Z aka zoomers, view the events of that day.
I used to go to school with someone who was present in New York City on 9/11. I also met someone who was at the Pentagon. To them, the events of the day changed their lives. In a certain sense, they carry a certain pride, one as a New Yorker and the other as a member of the US military. Most of the Baby Boomer generation also feel some sort of national pride over the immediate aftermath, when the country was united as one with a resolve to avenge the attacks. I don’t really know how the majority of Generation X feels about the events. For Generation Y aka Millenials, it was the second national trauma we were subjected to, the first being the Columbine massacre in 1999.
Bit Generation Z, who were born from approximately the mid to late 1990s to late 2010s, have only ever known a world without the Twin Towers in the NYC skyline. I started teaching in 2008 so most of my students have been from this generation. As a whole, they really do not feel the pride or confusion about this event.
They have turned it into a meme.
Generation Z humor and meme culture
According to the Oxford English Dictionary, an internet meme is:
a humorous image, video, piece of text, etc., that is copied (often with slight variations) and spread rapidly by internet users.
Generation Z is probably the first generation to have grown up their whole lives with memes dominating the internet. In general, most memes are supposed to be funny. In my time teaching that is what appears to be the main purpose. I have used some memes to teach or draw the attention of students.
You can find memes on all kinds of national events and current news. There are even places that specialize in making memes of historical events (check out reddit.com/r/historymemes). So how did a national tragedy become a meme? (as the image above shows.)
Reasons for Gen Z humor in memes
Reason #1: Humor
First, Gen Z has a strange sense of humor. It tends to often be abstract and surreal. It is really “in” humor, by which I mean if you are not already part of the subgroup or subculture that finds a joke/meme funny no amount of explanation will make it funny. (Overview and explanation of Gen Z humor)
Reason #2: Nationally televised events have become harder to believe
Second, most of us saw 9/11 on TV. Most of Gen Z has only seen replays and pictures of the event, the smoking towers, the hole in the Pentagon, the crumbling of the buildings, and the firefighters and police helping people. It is difficult to believe something that is that far removed and that was televised. Most of the entertainment Gen Z engages in is on screens. They can tell reality from fakery for the most part. They also know that many of the movies and videos they see on YouTube, Instagram, and TikTok are scripted. So they tend to see still images and see them as potential memes.
And that is exactly what has happened. Go look up Google Images and type in “9/11 memes.” Be careful though, as I said, memes are meant to be funny and elicit a humorous response, so if you get triggered by people mocking death it is probably best to not look up those memes.
This brings us to our final reason for why Gen Z has turned 9/11 into a meme.
Reason #3: Youthful rebellion
Turning a national tragedy into a meme may be gallows humor but it is also simple youthful rebellion. Every adolescent tends to rebel against the older generation by mocking what the oldsters revere. Old people’s music, old people’s movies, etc. are something we all used to mock and make fun of. 9/11 loomed so largely over people’s minds and imaginations that it resulted in it becoming part of American history. Its aftermath resulted in the longest American war and in the lives of millions. It affected countless American veterans and their families. (I only focus on America for now but I know America’s actions as a result of 9/11 affected millions in the Middle East and Afghanistan.) So as a historical event of course it is going to receive the same treatment that past events have received from the meme lords.
How to use memes in education
So what is the takeaway then? The attitude Gen Z shows towards current events and historical dramas can teach us about how we teach history in schools. History is consistently stated as one of the most boring subjects in most schools. This is disheartening not only to a history teacher but also should be to everyone in education. Imagine if math and science were considered the “boring” subjects that everyone just had to grind through in order to graduate. There would probably be congressional hearings and editorials in the New York Times about this great national crisis.
Rather than bewail how disrespectful such memes can be, turn it into an educational opportunity. Ask questions such as “why do you think this event is significant? What did it result in? Are there any other events that can be compared to in importance?” Do not teach history as if it is dogma. Like science, history can be questioned. Go where the truth leads you. Do not be afraid of leading students down rabbit holes. By extension, a lesson on 9/11 can also be used to teach students about how to read history. “Why do people believe in conspiracy theories? What makes someone reach such conclusions?” This is what education by inquiry is. Not just transmitting knowledge, facts, and dates but encouraging everyone to ask questions and seek out the truth. If we return to this type of education we can inspire students and maybe history learning wouldn’t be so boring anymore.