United 93

This wasn’t what I was intending to post this week. I had something else all ready to go and was going to kick back and enjoy a relaxing weekend. But then something happened. I saw United 93. And now I sit here typing away ignoring the fact that I already had something perfectly fine typed and ready to go. Because now things have changed. Now I actually have something to say. And that something is this - Go see United 93. Well actually it’s a little more complicated than that. What I have to say I mean. Not the seeing of the movie. That remains quite easy. Just go to your nearest theater ask for a ticket. And then sit down and say goodbye for a few hours to your cynical complacent self-involved life. Because United 93 will take you away from your every day life and back to the core of what it means to be human, of what it means to be alive in our world today, and to the day when both of those changed forever in some way.

Now I know what you’re thinking - we need more 9/11 commentary like we need another Nick Lachey album. And I agree with you. But…what I was struck by while watching United 93 is how now all of the commentary focuses on the aftermath of 9/11 and what it all means instead of dealing with the actual day itself. Its almost impossible to fathom nowadays that September 11th used to just be a normal day on the calendar, no more or less important than any other and with no weight or significance to it whatsoever. When the people went to bed on September 10th 2001 they didn’t think, “Wow tomorrow is September 11th”. When they woke up that morning and started on their way to work it seemed just like every other morning. But then two planes hit the twin towers and one hit the Pentagon (amazing how we all forget this fact) and the world was forever changed. Changed in ways we could have never predicted or imagined. In the hours, upon days, upon years of coverage and analysis and commentary and debate that have followed 9/11 we seem to have only proven how unknowable human nature and the nature of tragedy are. I remember people at the time saying in all seriousness that Americans would never be able to fully laugh again. I remember great predictions of a new age of national togetherness, bipartisanship, and patriotism. Now five years later we all hate each other, but damn it if we don’t love to laugh about it. We swore we would catch those responsible for the attacks, but now we’re in war with Iraq that may never end and Osama Bin Laden is STILL on the loose. George Bush’s approval rating soared to 90%, but now he’s being openly considered one of the worst presidents in U.S. history. There was an unprecedented outpouring of global sympathy and support for the U.S., but now we’re one of the most hated countries in the world. If you were to go back to September 11th 2001 and tell them what the world would be like five years later as a result of that day, I doubt they would be able to believe you. But for all the ways the world has changed in a global sense, our personal day-to-day lives are pretty much exactly the same. Sure we live in a more fearful society now, and sure our national innocence was lost that day, but in our daily lives - day in and day out – we’re pretty much the same people we were before 9/11. All those people who made radical post-9/11 related life changes; I would wager that most of those people’s day-to-day lives now pretty closely resemble their pre-9/11 lives. I can’t say I or anyone else goes around every day, or even ANY day, thinking about 9/11. And I can’t say that my mentality on life or the way I live my life has been in any way noticeably directly affected by that day. In fact I would really struggle to find almost any way in which my day-to-day personal life and who I am was affected by 9/11. And most of us, if we’re honest with ourselves, would probably say the same thing. And if you do still walk around every day thinking about 9/11 and feeling deeply changed and/or tormented by it, might I suggest you get yourself some serious professional help post-haste. Because life goes on. Human beings are programmed so that we can experience tragedy, mourn over it, deal with it, and then accept it and move on. It’s a gift really. If we weren’t able to do that then none of us would ever be able to make it out of our mid 20’s without becoming too overwhelmed with grief and sorrow to live. Human beings are the most adaptable species on Earth and that’s allowed us to adapt to life in a post-9/11 world. But it’s important in this life to stop and think back. And remember. Because as much as we hear about 9/11 we never really remember it. We never actually sit down and think long and hard about the event itself. Because we’ve moved on. But it happened. It was something real and tragic and we were all there. And on that day, we said we would never be able to get over it. But we did. We hung signs that said “We Will Never Forget”. But we have. And we said there’s no way a movie could ever be made about it. But now one has been. And it’s because we were wrong about the first two things that we were also wrong about the third. And that’s why it’s important to see United 93. To remember. To remember not just the idea of 9/11 and all that’s attached to it, but to actually remember 9/11. To remember that day. Because in all the 9/11 commentary that has followed that’s the thing that has gotten lost. And that is why I urge you all, all six of you who read this, to go see it before it leaves theaters. And then urge everyone else in America to as well.

The other day when I was going to see it, I tried to urge my friend from work to come along. He looked at me like I had just asked him to come with me to watch a guy kill baby kittens. “Why do you want to see that?” he asked with a tone that could best be described as incredulous. And in that moment I felt very, very sad for America. And it’s really what spurred the writing of this piece.

Now the fact that the American movie going public is stupid and doesn’t like good, challenging or sophisticated movies is no news flash. I worked at Blockbuster for three years, so trust me, no one could have less faith in the American movie going public than me. But in that moment I realized how truly soft we’ve become. How self-involved. How coddled and safe and numb and unable to deal with anything that might challenge us or make us really feel genuine emotion, as opposed to the idea of emotion. As Owen Gleiberman points out in Entertainment Weekly, have you seen the list of movies that have made more money than United 93? You’re telling me people would really rather see She’s The Man and Silent Hill than United 93? What does this say about them? What does this say about us? How did we go from a country that used to watch live Civil War battles for family entertainment, to a country that cant even fathom the thought of wanting to see a reenactment of the most important historic event of our lifetimes. An event that we CLAIM to be so personally affected by. An event that we CLAIM forever altered out lives. Yet an event that we can’t even take two hours out of our busy lives to revisit and see dramatized. What is wrong with us? Granted it’s horrifying, and depressing, and yes it could even be described as a bit traumatic, but isn’t that what drama was invented for – to provide us with, as Aristotle said, “catharsis”. Isn’t this the very foundation that all dramatic art is based upon? And what event could we all use some catharsis regarding if not 9/11? The Ancient Greeks would have flocked to see United 93 in huge numbers. It would have been the biggest movie of all time. So how then did we get to this place? This place where we seem incredulous that drama would dare depict a horrible tragedy or that anyone would actually want to see it.

Now I’ve heard all the arguments…
* “It’s too soon.”
Oh really? Five years is too soon? How about the two TV movies that came before United 93? Were they too soon? How about the countless documentaries that have come and gone? How about the plays? The short films? The books? Are all of those things too soon too? How long SHOULD we wait then? Ten years? Fifteen years? Would forty years be too soon? Because I would hate for art to attempt to deal with something in a timely and relevant manner. It would be terrible if art to tried to shed any light on real life. That’s not the purpose of art or anything. Oh wait...actually it is. And the ability of movies to do just that – illuminate real life – is what raises them from pure entertainment into the realm of art. So is it too soon, or do you just hate all art?

* “It’s too real.”
Yes I agree. Hollywood should never make any movies about any real events. Actors should never play real people. How dare Hollywood make movies like Born on the Fourth of July or Schindler’s List! Look, to be real for a second, all of the families of everyone who died aboard Flight 93 approved of this movie. So who the hell are you to say it’s not okay? Unless you know someone who died aboard that flight, you really have no right to say whether United 93 should or should not have been made. How would you feel if someone you loved died in a tragedy and people tried to tell you that a movie shouldn’t be made that depicted for the world for all eternity their heroism and bravery? You’d tell them to shut the hell up. So you should do the same.

* “I think its wrong that the movie studio is, in a way, profiting from 9/11.”
Good point. Artists should never profit from their works. All art of any kind done about 9/11 should be done solely for charity. Same with Pearl Harbor. And the Holocaust. Look, it’d be one thing if it was a bad, disrespectful, Hollywoodized version of the events. But it’s an incredibly well done movie that was made with the utmost care and respect for all involved. I think its pretty safe to say that a better movie about 9/11 cannot and will not ever be made. So if you have a problem supporting that with your money then so be it. But just know that if you actually saw the movie I don’t think you would have the same complaint.

* “It’s too depressing.”
Wasn’t Terms of Endearment depressing? Or Love Story? Or Hamlet?

* “It’s too tragic.”
Wasn’t Brokeback Mountain tragic? Or Death of a Salesman? Or Titanic?

Look I could go on with your potential excuses all day and I could have a rebuttal for all of them, but ultimately it doesn’t matter. Because your real reason for not wanting to see it has nothing to with the movie itself. It has to do with you. To paraphrase Owen Gliberman, “it’s not the movie that we should be discussing; it’s our fear of seeing it.”

So I have a challenge for you. Face your fear. Take two hours out of your life and see United 93. It may be painful, it may be sad, it may be hard to watch, but that’s life and I think it’s about time you starting dealing with it. You owe it to the people who died that day, and you owe it to yourself. Because if you can’t even be bothered to see United 93 then how can you claim that 9/11 was a big deal for you? How can you use it as an excuse to justify the war? To justify supporting our current foreign policy? How can you claim it changed your life, or was important, or that you’ll never forget it if you cant even be bothered to take two measly hours out of your trite self-involved life to honor the memory of those that died, to reflect on that day, and to experience some cathartic remembrance of it? You cant.
It’s as simple as that.

Now if you still don’t want to see United 93, well, that’s your call. Everyone is entitled to his or her opinion, and as strongly as I may feel about mine, you’re entitled to yours. It’s your right. As an American and as human being. But let me tell you what you’re missing out on. You’re missing out on experiencing again the feelings of that fateful day and the days that followed. The patriotism. The feeling of togetherness. The renewed love for your loved ones and for your fellow man. All the feelings that have been obfuscated by the events that have followed. But for the few minutes after the closing credits start to roll, they come flooding back. You wipe your eyes, gather yourself, and head out onto the street. And sure enough as you leave the theater you feel connected to your fellow man. You wait for the train and you see the people who walk by not as a mass of annoyances, but as a series of faces, and behind each face a person. A person who shares this world with you and who has a life and loves and is just like you. And as their feet trudge by up the steps and into the dimming light of another quickly fading day you hear each pair of footsteps as its own. A group of individuals moving together in a sea of humanity. A sea capable of great and heroic things. And you’re reminded – this is what it means to be alive. And that’s what makes United 93 essential viewing. That’s why it should be shown in schools. That’s why it should be in every home. That’s why it should be mandatory viewing for every man, woman, and child that calls this country of ours home. Because that feeling is there. It’s there on the screen in United 93.

 
Top 3 & 1/2 of the Week:
(Further 9/11 related reading)
1.) "Manifesto": http://www.slate.com/id/2105672
2.) Owen Gleiberman's article on United 93: http://www.ew.com/ew/article/commentary/0,6115,1195450_1_0_,00.html
3.) Peter Travers Review of United 93: http://www.rollingstone.com/reviews/movie/_/id/9216055/rid/10146749/
3 & 1/2.) CNN's 9/11 Video archives: http://www.cnn.com/SPECIALS/2001/trade.center/day.video.09.html#11th