Laura Poitras’ Astro Noise amalgamates a collection of different post 9/11 documents, interviews, and footage that are left at the reach of the viewer to see and explore.

Walking through an almost labyrinthine black space, I felt as though I was not supposed to interact with all the media that was laid down by Poitras for me to see. In the major section of the exhibit, black walls have narrow rectangular openings from which only one person can comfortably see what is almost hidden inside the wall. Some revealed what appeared to be classified documents, and others showed videos: two interviews, some showed footage taken in Yemen, and another an eight minute video taken by Poitras in a visit to Iraq.

The exhibit not only looked dark but felt purposely dark. The set-up felt calculated. When Poitras presents a limited selection of evidence, and showcases each individual piece of evidence on its own, she forces the viewer to confront the evidence as he or she choses to see it. Furthermore, because the evidence has no introduction, and one is not given an explanation of its significance, this exhibition forces the viewer to make independent and immediate judgments of what it is they are looking at.

I know that Laura Poitras is an excellent documentarian and an ethical journalist, but if one makes a final judgment of how the United States handled the persecution of terrorists after the 9/11 attacks based on the evidence displayed in this exhibit, we would be as irresponsible and as undiscerning as the NSA agents and politicians we have learned to not trust. This is where this exhibit gains its journalistic strength. We no longer look at the events in 9/11 from an estate of ignorance and desperation. As informed citizens we know how significant each piece of evidence displayed in this exhibit is, and how they all connect to form a conclusive perspective on the aftermath of 9/11.

The two large projection images at the beginning of the exhibit warn us of what is to come. These images show the expressions of disbelieve and horror that Americans have felt through different stages of post 9/11 American life. At first the terrorist attacks perpetrated by terrorists on the United States horrified us, then the mistreatment of prisoners in Abu Ghraib and other irresponsible acts of war perpetrated by the United States on foreign countries shocked us, now Edward Snowden’s account on how the American government spies on its own citizens uncovers a new state of horror that remains a continuation of 9/11. The solutions the government has made to protect its citizens from future terrorist attack have comeback to hurt its own citizens. In leaving Poitras exhibit one asks oneself, whom is the government watching now?