Corporate Complications

Abstract

The “few rotten apples” argument, while voiced in relation to the soldiers of Abu Ghraib, had served, at least in sentiment, as a metaphor for dismissing economic problems that began to emerge with the onset of the War on Terror. As businesses began to fail, post-9/11 CEOs became the rotten apples, who must be weeded out for the economy to grow; and consumers must continue to be good consumers and consume. Indeed, shortly after the fall of the Twin Towers, President Bush suggested that Americans should “go shopping” as a means of performing their patriotic duty. This appeal echoes throughout various post-9/11 cultural productions, including Sex and the City, which, in its first post-9/11 episode, depicted Carrie, somewhat ambiguously, urging the “girls” to help their city by “throw[ing] some money around downtown.” Outside the visual or televisual media, however, post-9/11 citizens simply did not have as much money to “throw around.” Thus, while the stock markets managed to reopen during the week of September 17, the bull market that had buoyed investors throughout the 1990s collapsed, and it collapsed rather rapidly.