Abstract
The attacks of September 11 stand among the most rhetorically charged events that have shaped the collective imagination and political discourse of the twenty-first century. The global aftermath redefined national security, identity, and, crucially, the rhetorical function of borders. In the post-9/11 landscape, borders became discursive constructs, rhetorically framed to delineate justice from injustice, inclusion from exclusion, and served as rhetorical tools of exclusion and control rather than protection and unity. These shifting borders targeted marginalised communities, particularly migrants from third-world countries and those of Muslim descent deemed as a threat. Guantánamo Bay came to embody this ambiguous rhetoric of confinement, where language and law were manipulated to evade accountability. This study analyses how the film Rabiye Kurnaz vs. George W. Bush (2022) displays the formation and enforcement of physical and ideological boundaries. Through the lens of American exceptionalism as a rhetorical strategy, the film exposes how national security discourse redefines borders to justify exclusionary practices and extraordinary legal measures. Drawing on Giorgio Agamben’s theoretical framework of the ‘state of exception,’ the study examines how sovereign powers suspend legal norms while strengthening systemic control. Crucially, the analysis investigates how the film enacts rhetorics of resistance through its portrayal of the agency of migrants such as Rabiye Kurnaz, and the demand for visibility, dignity, and voice. By focusing on the rhetorical dimensions of national security, legality, and citizenship, this article contributes to an understanding of how borders are lines on a map but powerful rhetorical devices that shape lived realities.
- Journal
- Res Rhetorica
- Published
- 2025-10-05
- DOI
- 10.29107/rr2025.3.4
- CompPile
- Search in CompPile ↗
- Open Access
- OA PDF Gold
- Topics
- Export
- BibTeX RIS
Citation Context
Cited by in this index (0)
No articles in this index cite this work.
Cites in this index (0)
No references match articles in this index.
Related Articles
-
Res Rhetorica Oct 2025Alma Vančura
-
Res Rhetorica Jun 2025Language as a front of conflict: Russian discourse on the Ukrainian language in the context of the Russian-Ukrainian war ↗Nadia Gergalo-Dabek
-
Philosophy & Rhetoric Apr 2025Nirvana Tanoukhi; Nicholas Dunn
-
Rhetoric & Public Affairs Dec 2024Randall Fowler
-
Rhetoric & Public Affairs Dec 2024Certainty Through Compromise: Wilderness Debates in the Utah Public Lands Initiative and the Search for “Stable Ground” ↗Joshua Smith