Stateless within the States: American Homeland Security after 9/11 and Francis Lawrence’s I Am Legend
This essay attempts to place I Am Legend (2007) in the context of American nationalism and aggressive enforcement of the immigration laws after 9/11. The apocalyptic world of I Am Legend reflects the post-9/11 American society that is driven by the urge to make America “one nation” and haunted by th...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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European Association for American Studies
2015-08-01
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| Series: | European Journal of American Studies |
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| Online Access: | https://journals.openedition.org/ejas/11117 |
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| _version_ | 1841558118042959872 |
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| author | Eunju Hwang |
| author_facet | Eunju Hwang |
| author_sort | Eunju Hwang |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | This essay attempts to place I Am Legend (2007) in the context of American nationalism and aggressive enforcement of the immigration laws after 9/11. The apocalyptic world of I Am Legend reflects the post-9/11 American society that is driven by the urge to make America “one nation” and haunted by the fear of people who might harm the “unity.” The film tries to draw a clear boundary between “us” and “them” by completely othering the infected, but in the context of American homeland security after 9/11, it becomes a complex issue to decide where to draw the line. The shifty boundary between “us” and “them” reflects the post-9/11 American dilemma: the United States has to close its border while maintaining its identity as a nation of immigrants. This essay also discusses how geographical markers, instead of racial markers, are utilized to symbolize the infected as the stateless people within the United States. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-76dd78efa371481ca7b9f62a3e398628 |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 1991-9336 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2015-08-01 |
| publisher | European Association for American Studies |
| record_format | Article |
| series | European Journal of American Studies |
| spelling | doaj-art-76dd78efa371481ca7b9f62a3e3986282025-01-06T09:10:51ZengEuropean Association for American StudiesEuropean Journal of American Studies1991-93362015-08-0110210.4000/ejas.11117Stateless within the States: American Homeland Security after 9/11 and Francis Lawrence’s I Am LegendEunju HwangThis essay attempts to place I Am Legend (2007) in the context of American nationalism and aggressive enforcement of the immigration laws after 9/11. The apocalyptic world of I Am Legend reflects the post-9/11 American society that is driven by the urge to make America “one nation” and haunted by the fear of people who might harm the “unity.” The film tries to draw a clear boundary between “us” and “them” by completely othering the infected, but in the context of American homeland security after 9/11, it becomes a complex issue to decide where to draw the line. The shifty boundary between “us” and “them” reflects the post-9/11 American dilemma: the United States has to close its border while maintaining its identity as a nation of immigrants. This essay also discusses how geographical markers, instead of racial markers, are utilized to symbolize the infected as the stateless people within the United States.https://journals.openedition.org/ejas/11117immigrationcolorblind nationalismhomeland securitynation-stateNew York City |
| spellingShingle | Eunju Hwang Stateless within the States: American Homeland Security after 9/11 and Francis Lawrence’s I Am Legend European Journal of American Studies immigration colorblind nationalism homeland security nation-state New York City |
| title | Stateless within the States: American Homeland Security after 9/11 and Francis Lawrence’s I Am Legend |
| title_full | Stateless within the States: American Homeland Security after 9/11 and Francis Lawrence’s I Am Legend |
| title_fullStr | Stateless within the States: American Homeland Security after 9/11 and Francis Lawrence’s I Am Legend |
| title_full_unstemmed | Stateless within the States: American Homeland Security after 9/11 and Francis Lawrence’s I Am Legend |
| title_short | Stateless within the States: American Homeland Security after 9/11 and Francis Lawrence’s I Am Legend |
| title_sort | stateless within the states american homeland security after 9 11 and francis lawrence s i am legend |
| topic | immigration colorblind nationalism homeland security nation-state New York City |
| url | https://journals.openedition.org/ejas/11117 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT eunjuhwang statelesswithinthestatesamericanhomelandsecurityafter911andfrancislawrencesiamlegend |