To be honest, 9/11 didn’t affect me much. I was living free, down under; many hours away from New York, many hours from anywhere that is in political and ideological turmoil and struggle. I haven’t since tried to travel to America under the highly enforced security structure. I haven’t really taken seriously the threats and warnings to Australia of terrorist threats. Although I will look sideways at an abandoned bag on the train platform.
My Mum woke me up at about 5am telling me that something horrible had happened and she was right. It was horrible, it was incredible. I know no one ever thought something like that would happen (except those that schemed it I assume). Even so, I didn’t know anyone in America, I had no reason to think anything like that would happen here.
It seemed to me that US troops try to keep the world safe and a lot of people that are considered a threat get killed along the way. Maybe it was inevitable that some of them strike back. I’m not saying it should have happened. No way! I hate that stupid mafia logic “You killed my brother, I kill your brother,” but then it doesn’t stop there, they have to retaliate again creating a big cycle when one lot of vengeance maybe shouldn’t have happened but definitely should have been enough.
So, I was wondering is five years some kind of release period for the pain to subside and for them to start making feature films out of the event? At the movies on Saturday night we saw a trailer for United 93. To b honest it doesn’t look that good, it looks okay, but why would we want to see a film about something truly horrible that happened. I know that there are true story films but often they are small mysteries not world infamous crises. To be honest five years is still a bit close to home. Even for someone who wasn’t badly affected. Then a couple of trailers later there was one for World Trade Centre, a movie that seems even more dramatic and graphic than the first. I nearly cried just watching the trailer, I’d probably be bawling through the whole movie!
I guess I’m wondering how Americans that were strongly impacted by the attacks feel about these blockbuster movies.
My experience of the events of september 11 were summed up by Ruth Richie, the television columnist in the saturday SMH. From memory the opening paragraph to the column on the saturday folling the attack went as follows.
“I must have fallen asleep during The West Wing because when I opened my eyes the pentagon was on fire. I thought this is an unexpected plot twist – made even stranger when Jim Wailiey [Channel Nine’s Nightline host at the time] made a guest appearence.”
As for films… I had some friends making jokes within the fortnight. They would always be in poor taste and followed by the statement “To soon?”… So I don’t know about films… but the time to worry will be when one is a comedy.
For mine, people are diverse creatures.
As far as I can see, some people who are greatly affected by tragedy just want to forget and move on. Others “want their story to be told”. Others still don’t want to forget, but also don’t want to talk about it – they want to stay caught in the tragedy.
Movies such as you describe only really speak to the second type of people. I’ve never been through tragedy, so I’m not sure where I stand, and I selfishly pray I never will. I do know that I am fascinated by people’s stories, when well told, and so I usually don’t mind a “as it happened” type movie. The question is whether the history stay as story, or whether it ends up putting some facts into some other story. I think the reviews of United 93 have said that it doesn’t get carried away in American triumphalism, so it could be worth a look. I hope the same for World Trade Centre.
That’s my 2 cents.
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Being that I live in CT and have many, many friends and family in NY, I’d say it is too soon. Luckily I did not know anyone who was killed, but I know people who do. I don’t know why, I just think it’s too soon.
And in my opinion, you never forget something like that if you were there or close to there. The fear of not knowing when and where they are going to attck next, being able to smell the smoke or see the flames, and of course, losing someone in such a tragic way.
Thanks for sharing your opinions! I appreciate it.