Sufferings Which Have No Tongue: The Enculturation of War, Trauma, and the Disappearing Body

Warfare has always been vital to the state for a number of reasons. Those in power have a vested interest in maintaining control over not only war itself, but also information related to the conflict. One way they accomplish this is by making decisions that restrict, alter, tone-down, or otherwise change content related to human bodies in times of conflict that is meant for widespread dissemination through mainstream media and official government or military reporting. An extreme implementation of this power can make bodies disappear. Drawing on the work of Gusterson (2004), Ehrenreich (1997), Sontag (2003), Chomsky (2002), Scott (1990), Clastres (1974), Foucault (1977), and several others, I argue that this “symbolic disappearance” of the body in Western military contexts is an example of state power exercised to help sustain a hegemonic authority structure. This power can result in several negative consequences for citizens, soldiers, and veterans of the nation-state, as well as for foreign residents and soldiers affected by military actions.