The argument being made in this website is that the emotional turmoil of an event that brought a nation to its knees needs to be recorded. By listening to the actual sounds of survivors, victims, and bystanders, we incarnate the bravery and sacrifice the world witnessed that day and form an audio monument to those who passed.
This interactive website that allows you to listen to ambient sounds and archival recordings appeals to both pathos and ethos. It primarily appeals to emotion since by listening to sounds from 9/11 people are able to mentally reconstruct that events that transpired that day and remember where they were and what they were doing. The user is forced back into the mentality of fortitude over tragedy and Sonic Memorial proves to be a testament of hope in the face of despair that tugs at one's heartstrings. In a way that is tasteful and never trite, people are reminded to pay homage to the voices and sounds in these audio archives. Sonic Memorial can also appeal to ones morality because to forget these sounds, images, and memories that formed such a defining moment in our nation's history and to discount them as relics of a disappearing past is immoral. These sounds emphasize the moral imperative of giving reverence to September 11th and to those who were affected by it.
What I found most interesting about the Sonic Memorial's form was the organization of the home page. All of the criss-crossing lines seem to form a web that connects all of the links together. It is symbolic of how all of these saved sounds collectively form a portrait of 9/11 and the range of emotions people felt that day from grief to rage. All of the photos featured on the site are partially cut off, making the scenes they depict more abrupt which also forms a striking parallel to the abrupt and unexpected attacks that rattled the American spirit and served as true test of a nation's resilience.
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