Acts of terrorism and their presence in mass media have long intrigued scholars throughout a wide range of academic disciplines. The kidnapping and execution of Daniel Pearl and the subsequent release of a videotape that made his execution public on a global scale raise substantive questions regarding the rhetorical nature of such acts and the competing nationalist discourses that make claims on the human body. This essay traces the role of Pearl's body in discourses that constitute Pakistani and American nationalist identities. Through a rhetorical analysis of the execution videotape and news reports in both countries, the role of the human body as a rhetorical resource within the mediated discourse on terrorism is elucidated.
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Grindstaff et al. (2004) studied this question.
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