posted May 01, 2006 12:32 PM              

I tend to agree with what the U of Berkley article says regarding the scenes in this movie that makes it appear to be a Christian vs Muslim type of thing. That only feeds into more religious intolerance and makes it appear to be a holy war instead of what it truly was.

I also feel that 5 years is too soon for the families of 9/11 to be making these movies. The history is too recent. The wounds have not yet healed mainly because there are so many unanwered questions regarding the events of that day. That has not really allowed the families of the victims to put closure on it.

911: Once History, Now A Movie

THE USE AND ABUSE OF 911

There is no stopping the exploitation of the horrors of 9-11 with that new movie on Flight 93 set to open the Tribeca Film Festival tomorrow and then “go wide” on the weekend. The studio expects a bonanza in part because of all the pre-release hype and the fact that the cable network A&E scored its highest-ever ratings last fall with an airing of Flight 93, another movie based on the events.

Bear in mind it is only a movie, a dramatized version of a heroic narrative that could be a myth. As the New York Times noted, ”in truth, no one can know precisely who did what during the rebellion that prevented the hijackers from reaching their presumed target in Washington. None of the 33 passengers and 7 crew members survived when the plane crashed into a spongy field outside Shanksville, Pa.”

Most of the media focus is on whether Americans are “ready” to see this harrowing recreation/creation with many reviewers calling it “therapeutic.”

The Daily Californian newspaper at U Berkely featured a discussion which went deeper:

"What surprised me was that (Director Paul) Greengrass avoided pro-America rhetoric, choosing instead to portray Sept. 11 as a human tragedy instead of a national one. As the events unfold, the little we learn about the passengers' lives is given to us in snippets of small talk and phone calls home. In choosing to avoid theatrics for the sake of a focus on mundane details, Greengrass emphasizes the fact that the passengers are not movie characters, but actual people.

“Still, there were some interesting choices made, particularly concerning the theme of religion. As the film reaches a climax, doomed Christian prayers are set against nervous Muslim ones. The choice portrays the event as a clash between two faiths, and will likely make Greengrass a target of criticism.