I am up in arms about the movie United 93, and plan to not see it, (although I haven’t been watching many new movies anyways.) As a supposed defender of free speech, I guess I really can’t fault any individual for exercising their free will to spend 10 dollars on this film. But I hope those that do carefully consider why they are choosing to see this movie, and more importantly, have a firm grip on reality when they walk out of the theatre.
I am sure that United 93 will be a jarring experience for those that choose to see the film. A movie like Schindler’s List, which brings to life the experience of being in a concentration camp 50 years ago for us in the present day, and truly shocks and disgusts all who see it. But I feel that this film has the potential to symbolically resonate to an even greater degree, as it deals with a historical experience that the members of the audience all lived through. No doubt that day was an emotional experience for everyone in the U.S., and seeing this movie will recall the feelings of that day: shock, horror, anger, the question of why anyone would do something so terrible to anyone, then specifically, why anyone would do something terrible to Americans.
Moreover, I have read a detailed account of what happened on Flight 93 in the 9/11 Report. The actions of the people on that flight were absolutely brave and heroic: from calls made on cell phones and those crappy plane phones, they were able to understand that this hijacking wasn’t a solitary action, decided to storm the cabin in a last ditch effort to save their lives, and caused the terrorist pilot to crash the plane into an airfield in western PA rather than it’s intended target.
But do we really want to see this play itself out on the screen? What is the point of this film? To make an artistic statement? Doubtful. To make money? Of course. I am sure that big studio execs started making plans for this film on about…oh September 12, 2001. A bunch of suits sat at Universal in Hollywood and asked each other, “How can we make money off this?” And they would tell you, if they weren’t going to do it, some other studio would. (By the way I heard that Universal is donating a whole 10 percent of the first weekend profits to the families of flight 93 who are attempting to buy 1200 acres of land to build a monument. Seems a little low to me don’t you think?) That’s just capitalism mixing with media. God knows how much money the news industry has made from fear-mongering and flag-selling from 9/11; it’s only right that the movie industry gets their share of the pie.
For some, like residents of New York who got trailers for the movie pulled from theatres, this movie comes too soon after the event, and thus seems exploitative. I agree of course, but that is not what really concerns me about the movie.
What really concerns me about “United 93,” is how the movie fits into the context of what has happened since 9/11, the times we are living in, and how this movie, unintentionally or intentionally rekindles an attitude and manner of thinking that is destroying this country. And it is high past time to stop fucking around with this shit.
Never Again. Ok I get it. But step by step, the calling card of 9/11 has been used to justify more and more egregious actions on the part of our central government, particularly the executive branch. We began by toppling the regime that directly harbored the man ultimately responsible for the deaths of those on flight 93 and elsewhere on that day. Five years later, when I pick up the paper, I read little about Afghanistan, and Bin Laden remains at large, yet the War goes on and the credo remains the same. We are no longer fighting Al Qaeda specifically, that stopped happening three years ago when we expanded the war on terror to include Sadaam Hussein and Iraq. But the “enemy,” has undergone further expansion since ‘03. Iran is the next frontier, but that is not a terrorist organization, but a state, with laws, sovereignty and millions of people.
Moreover, we face the dual challenge of anti-U.S. insurgency in Iraq combined with secretarian conflict between Sunnis and Shias that we inadvernantly sparked in Hussein’s removal. (I am not saying we were the cause of this, it was clearly Hussein’s oppression, but we sparked and must deal with it if we wish to have a peaceful Iraq.) Where do Hamas and Hezbollah fit in: “terrorist” organizations with their own agendas that now have political legitimacy amongst their own people? What about Syria, are they harboring terrorists in the same manner we accused Sadaam? What and who are we fighting against? What are the limits of foreign intervention to keep America safe, before said intervention actually makes America less safe?
And domestically, the credo of 9/11 has been used to pass through the PATRIOT act, to imprison people at Guantanamo indefinitely without any counsel or right to trial, to sanction torture, and to spy on the American people illegally. How much do we want to compromise our freedom? These are difficult questions the American people should get a chance to determine before the Bush Administration makes the decision for them.
On both the national and international fronts, the issues of the response to 9/11 have morphed into much more complicated issues than when the planes smacked into their relative targets. At that point, it was us versus them, Americans versus Bin Laden, good versus evil. Nowadays, it’s not so easy to tell who is right and wrong, and who are the bad guys and the good guys, because mistakes have been made, the American public has been misled into a war, certain sectors of the economy have been profiteering off the war, and many, many, more people on both sides have died. To do the right thing, to navigate out of this situation correctly, where Americans security at home, and leave Iraq as a strong state rather than a wasteland, without compromising the principles which we claim to stand for as elicited in our Bill of Rights, is very difficult, and may require unpopular decisions. It may even require concessions and compromises. But it is crucially important to America’s future, its place as a benign leader of the world, and defender of freedom and democracy, that we act correctly, with peace and justice as our overarching goals and freedom as our overarching principle.
So to spend our time rehashing 9/11, even on the acts of heroism on that day, is dangerous and irresponsible. The world, as Roland Deschain would say, has moved on. Focusing on the day itself, specifically one event that has been used to exemplify the heroism of ordinary Americans, brings us back to the emotions of that day and eventually, to our original paradigm of thought that initiated the War on Terror. That being a good citizen is as simple as supporting your troops and applauding your President. That any actions taken that curtail civil liberties and constrain personal freedom are simply small sacrifices, burdens to be bared to “make America safer.” That preemptive war is justified.
The times today demand much more from ourselves and our leaders. Know yourself: if cannot handle the images of United 93, the shocking visual experience without experiencing simultaneous rising of the feelings, I have described above. Don’t see it. Stick to the news headlines. We need you now more than ever.
# posted by Marmaniac @ 10:29 AM
