(Untitled)

[agentrosecotton]

...

::points to this link, and then to icon::

W. T. F.

That is all.

P.S. Oh, yeah--sorry I haven't been aboot lately. The 'net is down for the moment. Will be back later.

Comments

[hoppytoad79]

It's still too soon for something like this. *sigh* Some people just can't leave well enough alone.

[agentrosecotton]

I tend to think that it'll always be too soon for something like this....

[crazilyinsane]

*bewildered*

But anyway, you're a sexy beast and I want to jump your bones in a very kinky fashion.

[agentrosecotton]

::knuffle::

I heart you....

[windcedar]

I don't know. There's a video clip here ("A Look Inside," not the trailer) interviewing the director and family members of people who were on that plane. They talk about whether it was the right time for a movie like this. Personally, I don't know that it is. But...I do think the stories of the people on United 93 deserve to be told, as long as it's done well and with sensitivity. And it looks like this is what they've tried to do. I don't think they mean to trivialize what happened by making a movie about it, certainly, and they did talk to the families first to see how their feelings ran.

It probably is too soon for very many people, and my first reaction was that it is - but no one has to go see the film. I don't think I will myself. But that doesn't mean there shouldn't be a film.

[agentrosecotton]

But the thing is, we don't even really know what happened on that flight. We can patch some things together from the recorded phone conversations, but that's about it. Maybe the people making the movie don't mean to trivialize the event, but that's what they're ultimately doing. Yes, those stories need to be told, but which stories are we telling by making a Hollywood hero-vs-villain motion picture out of it?

I do think the people on United 93 were heroes, but...using their legacy to perpetuate the recent fervour of overzealous patriotism and identification of enemies as a unifying cause is not the best way to honour their memory.

Of course, I haven't seen the movie. I may, so as to have a better perspective on the whole affair, but the very idea of it just seems repulsive to me.

[windcedar]

I don't think the movie is necessarily a bad thing - depends how it's done - but like I said, I haven't seen it either. ...I also think my point of view on it is affected by the fact that that kind of overzealous patriotism is primarily theoretical for me - it's something I only hear about, read about, or see on television, and I don't expect the movie to stir up, um...violent feelings among people up here.

And while 9/11 was horrible and tragic, it did not and could not have the same emotional effect on the rest of us as it did on Americans; it is something that happened over there. So I suspect I have more emotional distance from films about it than I would if I were an American, or even living in the States.

[agentrosecotton]

I don't mean crazed violent patriots, specifically, I mean...the sticker on the back of the car down the street. "We are coming. We do not forget. God may forgive you; we will not." I mean the way the government has manipulated the tragedy and made it into a buzzword that they use to justify all the crap they've been doing recently. I guess it's really hard to describe to someone who hasn't lived down here. The movie seems to me to be taking that 'eye for an eye' mentality and running with it, saying "See! Look! We have heroes who sacrificed their own lives to stop the evil, evil evildoers from doing evil in evil ways, therefore we are good and they are bad and we can bomb the hell out of them and still be good guys!"

Of course, that may totally not be what the filmmakers are trying to do, but that's the message a lot of people will be getting. Justification.

[ramblin_rosie]

The families have approved it, though. And Debra Burlingame has endorsed it, even though she doesn't feel she can see it herself. From the reports I've heard, it's very well done, in good taste, not political or otherwise exploitative.
I can understand why people would think it's too soon. But I also understand--and share--the concern that people are already starting to forget.
A group of my friends is planning to go see it opening night. I'll probably go with them and post a review when I get back.

[agentrosecotton]

I could understand making a documentary out of real facts and letting the audience draw their own conclusions. But turning this tragedy into entertainment, especially when we don't really know everything that happened on that plane anyway? 9/11 as a buzzword has been used to stir up extreme patriotism to dangerous levels, encourage a very black-and-white us-vs-them mentality, not to mention justify all kinds of evil, and that's what I see this movie capitalizing on.

Of course, I'll have to see the movie before I can make judgements, but I really don't like the concept.

[ramblin_rosie]

Oh, I agree that the tendency to exploit exists, and if it's as bad as you fear, I'll condemn it just as loudly as you will. All's I'm sayin' is that what I've heard from people who have seen it is that this screenwriter and director really were trying to do the right thing by the victim-heroes. It's not even clear if there will be screen credits for the actors (the screening report I heard said there weren't, but that could change).
The transcript of the cockpit voice recorder has just been released, btw. Didn't know if you had heard about that. Might be interesting to compare the screenwriter's speculations with what actually happened.
Oh, and the screenwriter is a Brit. Dunno if that makes a difference.

[agentrosecotton]

Yes, I did know about the release, and that was my point. If you have to make a movie about it, make a documentary about the real facts. Doing it this way, no matter how honourable the intention or how well it's carried out, it will still be a movie making entertainment of, getting money from, and otherwise exploiting a tragedy. And that's wrong, at least in my humble opinion.

The fact that the screenwriter's a Brit does give me hope that the movie won't have me banging my head on the wall, but still.

(Er...sorry if I've been a bit of a bint in this thread. :) I'm not having the best week as far as political angst is concerned.)

[lacontessamala]

Psssst...

The honour of your presence is requested at my LJ for an all-day birthday party for Abatha (aka iamspecial) Bring booze!

[agentrosecotton]

::packs up the leftover Smirnoff in her frig and heads off:: =)