Last night, Susan Faludi was in Los Angles, speaking at the LA Central Library about her new book, "The Terror Dream: Fear and Fantasy in Post 9/11 America." After an interesting discussion ranging from the stifling of women's voices immediately after 9-11 to the recapitulation of the "lone cowboy" version of hyper-masculinity, there was a question and answer period, during which I had hoped to ask a question about the nature of the mythic origin event itself. I had also hoped to weave in a glance at the philosophical heritage of the neo-cons that pointed to "creating reality" and some of the most nihilistic aspects of Nietszche's "superman" (ubermensch) concept. But my hand didn't get picked. So, I waited afterwards for everybody to get their book signed and then asked her for a brief interview, which she graciously accepted to do. Afterwards, I handed her a DVD (Zeitgeist is what I had in my bag at the time) and a 9-11truth.org pamphlet. Here is the transcript (I'm J (for Jeremy) and she's S (for Susan):

Source: http://www.time.com/time/arts/article/0,8599,1671642,00.html

Monday, Oct. 15, 2007

Susan Faludi on 9/11 Myths and Truths

By Andrea Sachs

Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist and author Susan Faludi has never been afraid of controversial topics. Her two previous books, Backlash: The Undeclared War Against American Women, (which won the National Book Critics Circle Award), and Stiffed: The Betrayal of the American Man, took on touchy issues of gender politics and feminism. Likewise, her provocative new book, The Terror Dream: Fear and Fantasy in Post-9/11 America (Metropolitan), concerns sensitive cultural territory, the nation's myths about 9/11. Does Faludi worry about treading on sacred ground? "I'm used to being beaten up," she says wryly. "You try as best you can not to think about that while you're writing it. A friend of mine stuck on my refrigerator door many years ago this little slogan she had on a calendar, a Yugoslav proverb that said, 'Tell the truth and run.' " TIME's Andrea Sachs spoke with the author at her home in San Francisco.

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