Monday Morning Poll: 9/11 Movies

Erik: If you think answers and probes concerning 9/11 will be over in five years, you aren't paying attention to how secretive the current Bush administration has been and how new rules have been put in place concerning classified material that goes back to covering previous administrations. That said, my feeling is that the films will speak for themselves. Based on Paul Greengrass' previous films, I am looking forward to "United 93". I suspect it will be most similar to his documentary style "Bloody Sunday". Just "From Here to Eternity" was followed by "Tora! Tora! Tora", which in turn was followed by "Pearl Harbor", so we will see films on 9/11 based on both different filmmakers interpretations of events as well as the release of new information.

Reply

I don't think there's such a thing as too early or too late. The intent of such a movie is to tell a story, and with 9/11 as a subject matter, it makes the story that much stronger, if the film is done well. I don't think that casting celebrities would be a mistake, as many of them became famous (this is far from being across-the-board true; it's more an exception to the rule) because they are actually talented actors. If audiences are willing to put aside their prejudices against a 9/11 movie, I suspect that they may end up appreciating them more. I know I will definitely be interested in Flight 93, as it will follow one of (in my opinion) the most poignant stories from that day. As to the Oliver Stone film, I recommend that audiences do not get offended by how ridiculous that the man who brought us JFK is now moving onto a fresher wound; rather, let's view it as just one more silly excess of a man with a bloated head.

Reply

I live in New York City. I was in Manhattan on 9/11; I was one of those people you saw on TV walking over the bridge to Queens. I did not lose any family or friends that day, thankfully, nor did anyone in my closest circle of friends. But not a day goes by that we don't consciously think about it. I get angry when people in the rest of the country smugly say "Get over it," like it was a bad break-up or something trivial. This is not something you get over easily and we're all reminded of the threat that something else could happen every time we get on a bus or a subway.

I know 4 1/2 years seems like enough time to start making movies about it but I don't know that it is. All I do know is they showed a behind-the-scenes thing on United 93 in the pre-movie advertising before V For Vendetta and my girlfriend started crying immediately. I'm not going to protest and say "How dare Hollywood do this?"; I don't view this the way I viewed those tacky and disgusting songs that were smeared all over the radio within days of 9/11. But I don't see a purpose for it, except to provide a cathartic experience for people who need it. And since not that much time has passed, and that we still see it on the news every so often, I don't think that that cathartic experience will happen. But I really don't know how it's viewed outside of New York, so...

I think Paul Greengrass is a hell of a filmmaker and, in his capable hands, I'm sure the subject will be handled with care. But I don't think I can see this or any other 9/11 movie for at least a few more years.

Reply

Those trailers were moving and powerful, and I could see how some people would be "offended." I think what gets to most people is the frank reality that they seem to be using in this movie. Nothing's romanticised.

If the first 9/11 movies came out in 2050, people would still be upset and outraged. But it's what Hollywood does. And occasionally, they do make historical films that actually reflect and honor what happened. I'll wait for reviews, and maybe the chance to see the film myself, before passing final judgement on the movie. That being said, it looks extremely powerful, and to me, it looks like it could be a very moving tribute to the heros on Flight 93.

After the terrorist attacks, America vowed to Never Forget. This movie could help keep that promise alive.

Reply

I too was living in NYC on 9/11 and even though I no longer live there, I won't be seeing any movie on the subject. It doesn't matter how many years pass, I will still be too emotionally involved to see a film about the events. That said, I understand that people want to use it as a basis for movies and that others will go see them, and that's fine.

Reply

I think that this is a great story to start with...it's simple...it tells a story that was largely ignored the day of the event and films of this nature are inevitable...i hope Greengrass' treatment of it tells a respectable but true story.

--RC of strangeculture.blogspot.com

Reply

I was one of the first people to march on our legislators to demand an investigation of 9-11, only to witness Bush and Cheney ask Daschle to limit the investigations and have them overseen by the very men who should have been investigated for their role in 9-11. We have had a very hard time getting the basic facts about 9-11 out to the public, and the most success that we have had has been through films, events, and in the print media- in the Arts rather than the News section of the newspapers. Unfortunately, those of us who have been raising the serious questions and doing research do not have the enormous resources behind our films that the gvernment and corporations intent on selling the official "myth" have. In the Bay Area, where the 9-11 Truth Movement is the strongest, David Ray Griffin just spoke to 3 full houses on the topic of- 9-11 The Myth and the Reality. In the entertainment section of the SF Chronicle the headline was- Out Loud- AN INSIDE JOB? (beneath a photo of the WTC wreckage)David Ray Griffin: Theologian scoffed at 9/11
conspiracy theories, then looked closer. Here, there is a hunger for the truth. I dread the upcoming films, which will do little or nothing to cast much light on what really happened.

Carol Brouillet
Organizer of the San Francisco International Inquiry into 9-11
Producer of "Behind Every Terrorist- There is a Bush"- the musical/comedy/benefit for the SF Int'l Inquiry into 9-11.

Reply

With all due respect to Alex from NY, who says to get over 9/11? Maybe I should clarify, what real person says to get over it? I don't know anyone who would feel that way. I'm a Floridian, and had just turned 21 when it happened. I will never forget every minute of that day, and it changed my life. I've seen 2 trailers and they are very sad, but they are done with the utmost taste and positive intent. I believe that if this movie is done right, it will hopefully serve to remind people that this event did happen, and it was horrible, and we need to never allow it to happen again. If it is able to jar a good portion of this country awake again to the realization that we really do have an enemy and we need to do everything we can to destroy them, this can only be a good thing. Unfortunately, I am saddened every day to see that it seems many people no longer believe there is a grave threat with whom we are at war. If our country could come together as Americans united against evil and terrorism again, as we did in the days following 9/11, I truly believe it would strengthen our fight against the terrorists. I don't harbor any unrealistic notions that a movie will bring this about, but if even a few people are reignited to stand up for America against terror, I'll be glad.

Reply

With all due respects, this film, United 93, is just what we need to FORCE us to remember that there ARE dangerous people out there who want to destroy us..and that there is a war on terror that we do not dare shirk from fighting.

Some say that is too soon to show such a picture. I say it isn't soon enough. Acknowledgemnt of the incredible heroism of the passengers of United 93 is long overdue.Also, too many people want to bury their heads in the sand and refuse to acknowledge the reality of the dangers we face. This picture will be a reminder of that reality and force them to confront it.

We are fortunate that we a President who faces that reality and is willing to do what must be done to protect this country..even when it isn't always popular and it causes him the unrelenting enmity of the media elites in this country.

Reply

Carol Brouillet's comments are precisely why we need films like this - to show what actually happened on at least one flight, not her fantasies about conspiracy theories. (Really, what would anyone have had to gain by allowing 9/11 to occur? It hasn't exactly cemented Bush's political legacy, and who, precisely, has the "frightening" Patriot Act ensnared? I suppose it's somehow going to turn out to be for the benefit of Real Estate developers in New York who got rid of excess office space.)

Reply

i would like to also note that i was living in nyc a few blocks from the wtc on sept 11th. when michael moore's fahrenheit 9/11 came out a few years ago i went to see it in the theatre and boy was i not ready for any footage of the actual day. even the audio disturbed me to the point of having to leave the theatre bawling. i didn't lose anyone on 9/11, but i have close friends who did. i however lost my neighborhood and was one of the people that didn't ditch battery park city for a whole year after even though my view was of the stadium park style lights on the site 24/7. no matter how tough i think i am about the subject, i can't watch footage or see photos without being destroyed. i'm sure there are quite a few new yorkers, wash dc-ers, and other first hand witnesses that would agree with me. perhaps this film is for the rest of the nation.

cheers,
fbz

Reply

The Project for a New American Century, which included the Neo-Cons currently in power outlined their desire for global dominance and a military transformation of the United States noting that "the process of transformation likely to be a long one, absent some catastrophic and catalyzing event, like a New Pearl Harbor." 9/11 was an "opportunity for the neo-cons" to refashion the world and frighten it into subservience.

In order to support a war, people must be fooled or tricked; this has happened throughout human history. The United States of America is not immune to this pattern. A close examination of the Mexican-American War, the Spanish-American War, World War II, the Vietnam War, Gulf War I & II, and the war against Afghanistan reveal a number of hoaxes and false flag operations.

Day of Deceit by Robert Stinnett meticulously challenges the surprize "Attack on Pearl Harbor" recounted in the history books, and the evidence that F.D.R. asked for and received an eight point plan that would provoke the Japanes into attacking America. He also knew, in advance, of the pending attack on Pearl Harbor and did not warn Admiral Kimmel. Admiral Kimmel became the "fall guy" for the devastating attacks.

His grandson, testified at the Toronto International Inquiry into 9-11, and mentioned that the CIA was created to "Prevent Another Pearl Harbor." As Pearl Harbor was used to create the "National Security State" and a CIA notorious worldwide for overthrowing democracies and installing brutal military regimes, 9/11 has been used to expand the official US spy agencies to facilitate a "Global Security State."

The new growing markets are for surveillance equipment, mercenaries, and "private security firms." This trend does not bode well for civil or human rights anywhere in the world and encourages other countries to participate in the U.S. "crackdown on terrorism," a euphemism to opposition to American Corporate domination. These policies increase and exasperate violence globally, which is profitable for the war/arms industry, but very harmful for most people.

One of the greatest threats to U.S. policy, identified by Rumsfeld and the military, is their failure to be able to control all information, and convince people worldwide of the "benefits of US policy and military actions." Despite an enormous budget which allows the CIA to greatly influence news in the United States and abroad, there is such a huge disparity between physical reality and "spin" that people are questioning official statements about policies, the war, the living conditions of people in nations occupied by U.S. forces. Worldwide opinion has turned against the U.S., particularly the new doctrine of "pre-emptive war" against any who might someday challenge U.S. hegemony.

And who crafted the policy of "pre-emptive wars'? None other than Philip Zelikow, part of the Bush National Security transition team, co-author of a book with Condi Rice, director of the 9/11 Commission, who was sure to omit or distort any evidence that contradicted or challenged the official narrative of 9/11, the Big Lie that the Hollywood films are trying to sell to the public.

Reply