





One of the worst tragedies in America was on September 11, 2001. Two different planes struck the Twin Towers at separate times. This was the largest terrorist attack in American history. The terrorist did not only strike the Twin Towers that day, they also hit the Pentagon. Also another plane could reach the Capitol it crashed in an open field in Shanksville, Pennsylvania. Americans will always remember this day as one of the worst days in American history. Lee Greenwood’s song, “God Bless the U.S.A” became a symbolic song for 9/11. This song portrays how we came together as one and how we are proud to be an American. And in the music video by Joe Sessamen he portrays this song with pictures that resemble this song. “God Bless the U.S.A.” was an inspirational song, which gave Americans hope that we will overcome our grief and rise up stronger.   

In the music video by Joe Sessamen of God Bless the U.S.A. by Lee Greenwood, one of the first scenes was the Twin Towers being attacked. The photo Joe Sessamen used was the Twin Towers after the second plane attack. He used a bugs eye view shot because he wanted to show what people actually saw that day. The contrast in the picture of the dark smoke and the white building makes it stand out more. It also makes the picture go from dark to light and that always contrasts better. The Twin Towers were the first buildings attacked and were remembered the most because of the number of fatalities lost that day. Many Americans died in this attack and it drastically affected our stock market. The Twin Towers were a symbol of New York and were two of the tallest buildings in the world. Thousands of people worked and visited those building everyday and  the World Trade Center was the hub of the Financial District. It was also a tourist attraction to many. When the plane hit the first building, every American started to panic and didn’t know what had just happened or why.

 

The second picture I picked was the picture of the soldiers coming together and raising the American flag. The photo was from WW II of 6 young men raising the flag on Iwo Jima. This picture represents then and now that we are proud of our country and will fight for our freedom. The picture was also an establishing shot because they wanted to get every soldier in it to show that we came together to defend our country. Also the picture uses contrast in which the sky is white and the soldiers are darker to make the soldiers pop out more. Soldiers defend our country every day and makes us feel safe. The days after the attacks were chaotic but like in this picture we became one. In Lee Greenwood’s lyrics he wrote, “From Detroit down to Houston, And New York to L.A” (Greenwood), he tells how we all came together from all around the country. After the attacks many people joined the military so that they could defend their country and make sure that attacks would never happen again on American soil. Even though the attacks were in New York, Washington D.C. and Pennsylvania, it affected all of America. America became one big family by helping those in need and standing together to put a stop to this terrorism. In Lee Greenwood lyrics he sings, “And I gladly stand up next to you and defend her still today” (Greenwood), he states that it doesn’t matter what race or gender you are, Americans will stand together and protect this country. This is where we live and we will protect our home soil.

This song became symbolic after the tragic 9/11 attacks and it helped Americans get back to where they were. It brought us closer together and showed how we united together after these attacks. Joe Sessamen’s uses strong pictures for this music video to showed America what happened on 9/11. He showed the devastation of the attack on the Twin Towers, the Pentagon and Shanksville, Pennsylvania.  His main point is how we as Americans came together in a tragic event and stood as one to help put a stop to any future attacks. Also to find those that caused this horrific day in history.  He had many pictures of soldiers with the American flag in the background or them in the battlefield; this represents Americans defending our country. The pictures he used worked perfectly with Lee Greenwood’s lyrics because Greenwood talks about standing up with fellow Americans and defending our country. And our military is there for us to defend our country. Greenwood also sang, “And I won’t forget the men who died who gave that right to me” (Greenwood), he expresses that we appreciate all of the soldiers who gave their lives and defended this country. Sessamen’s video pays tribute to all of those soldiers who gave us the opportunity to live in a land where we are free. We should also be respectful for those lives lost during their fight of freedom.

Lee Greenwood wrote a brilliant song, which became a symbol after the 9/11 attacks, which gave us hope and inspiration when we needed it. Joe Sessamen portrayed this song perfectly. This song was about how we came together and overcame these tragic events. The song also showed how many Americans joined the army to defend this country from outside enemies.  We should always pay our respects to fallen soldiers because they died so we can have our freedom. God Bless the U.S.A. is a very patriotic song and has strong meaning to many people. 


