ABSTRACT
The author argues that the sight of fallen or falling bodies and, in some instances, the representational emphasis placed on the particular body parts that lead bodies to fall have something to tell people about the status of the war on terror. It provides a critique of the role played by the image of the fallen/falling body in prevalent representations and interpretations of terror and security politics. DeLillo's novel provides is a counter-iconography of terror. DeLillo's depiction of the scene at times seems to evoke the image or sensation of the planes bursting into the Twin Towers. DeLillo's Falling Man is an iconoclastic moment. It confronts the ideology of substance and human permanence/resilience represented by the icon of terror with a deconstructive vision and narrative about the human body and life in a seemingly endless aftermath of terror/terrorism, war, and prevention performed through everyday security politics.
