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commentary on chapter 4 a record but notruth? recording and re-recording trauma in the real-Llife Struggle for civil rights Montré D. Carodine I. Introduction Professor Caruth’s chapter entitled“Disappearing History:Scenes of Trauma in the Theater of Human Rights”provides an interesting and excellent commentary on Ariel Dorfman’s 1991 play Death and the Maiden.1 Professor Caruth notes, among other important points, that the play “specifically links the question of truth to the nature of its appearance, or the role of ‘performance ’ in the undoing and reconstitution of justice.”2 Indeed, she urges that “at the heart of performance in the play, . . . and specifically in the centrality of a particular kind of performance—the performance of the Schubert quartet . . . is a struggle between the reappearance of democracy and the disappearance of history, between the reenactment of trauma and the possible performance of a new kind of listening.”3 As I read the piece, in which Professor Caruth expounds on her thesis while making specific references to the play, my thoughts kept drifting to the tragic,real-life trauma and death of Trayvon Martin.At the time of this writing, the trauma and death in this case continue to captivate and divide people in this country and beyond even after the trial in which George Zimmerman was acquitted of the state criminal charges stemming from his killing of Trayvon. It remains to be seen whether there will be additional litigation in the form of a civil wrongful death action by Martin’s parents or possibly even federal criminal charges. The Martin/Zimmerman case contains many of the elements that Professor Caruth describes from Death and the Maiden—the elusiveness of rights through appearances, disappearances, and reappearances; the repeated reenactment of trauma; and the importance of the recording and the ability or inability to hear it as a record of truth. It is on these elements that I will 202 Carodine focus in this commentary. I will focus in particular on the issue of the recording of and the ability to hear truth, demonstrating the effect of this problem on the elusiveness of rights and the reenactment of trauma. As the outrage and debate over the jury’s verdict in this case continues, undoubtedly the “truth” will continue to be shaped and reshaped. II.The Tension between Recording Evidence and the Inability to Access Truth Professor Caruth highlights the use of the cassette tape recorder in Death and the Maiden “as the site of a confession” and also as the means by which to “convert the music itself [the Schubert quartet], also played on a cassette , into a form of evidence, the evidence of its own role in the event of torture.”4 Paulina’s performance and utilization of the cassette recorder attempt to convert “an event that cannot be heard into a story that can be told, a story, that is, to which others will be able to listen.”5 The Martin/ Zimmerman case demonstrates the difficulty that recordings of “evidence” present when attempting to reconstruct truth. “Truth” is in the ears of the listeners. No doubt those listeners will bring their biases to the table when interpreting what they hear. To the over two million persons who signed a petition demanding the arrest of George Zimmerman in connection with the death of Trayvon Martin,6 the 911 tapes, which were released only after a battle with law enforcement by Martin’s parents and attorneys,7 said it all. The 911 tapes revealed that the unarmed teenager, who was said to have carried only a bag of Skittles and a can of iced tea,8 was pursued by neighborhood watch captain Zimmerman,who was armed and had been instructed by 911 operators not to pursue Trayvon.9 Zimmerman ultimately shot Trayvon and lived to tell the story.Trayvon died. Or is there another, equally plausible—or even more plausible—narrative that the 911 tapes and other “recordings”reveal? As other bits of “evidence,”particularly “recordings,”started to trickle in (or leak out, depending on how you wish to characterize this), another version of truth emerged. Zimmerman complied with the 911 operator’s admonishment that he not pursue Trayvon.Trayvon became the aggressor and attacked Zimmerman,who screamed for his very life.Zimmerman,facing certain death, had no choice but to shoot Trayvon.This is the version of truth that Zimmerman’s attorneys presented at his state criminal trial. A. The Audio and Videotape Recordings 1. Zimmerman’s...

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