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Reading and Film Presentations and Discussion

United 93 ERA

The film United 93 presents a harrowing rendition of the events that transpired on 9/11. The story is told from three different perspectives. First, are the terrorists who committed this vile atrocity. The movie begins with them leading prayers, arming themselves, and heading to the airport. The second is those in the FAA and the military who watched the situation unfold and tried to do something to stop it before it was too late. The third perspective is those on flight 93, passengers, pilots, and stewardesses who directly experience the hijacking. 

The only one of these perspectives which can be confirmed to a true and accurate recounting is the second one; those working from government departments trying to stop the assault lived to tell the tale. The other two perspectives are reasonable depictions for sure, but the film solely points out that we will never know what happened on that flight.  

The most effective medium the filmmakers used to put across their message was the telling of the story by showing the people involved. Even when the first two planes struck the towers, the focus only briefly shifted to a video of the destruction before returning to capture the reactions of the witnesses. No one character was the main focus of the film for a substantial amount of time, yet the personal interactions, encounters, actions, and emotions they showed left audiences feeling like they knew many of them.

The portrayal of the personal human tragedy involved was the perfect way to capture the essence and sentiments of the 9/11 terrorist attacks. While they were a significant threat to national security, the threat did not come close to that of a land invasion or repeated carpet bombing of major American cities. The pain and shock of this attack was felt personally by every American, whether they had loved ones in the towers/pentagon/planes or not. For every passenger on the plane, there were two or three million more Americans just like them. That is who the attacks hurt the most.

3 replies on “United 93 ERA”

I would have to agree with the comments on your post in regards to the film ‘United 93’. I feel as though the timing and scheduling for our class to be assigned to watch this movie is fitting due to the date. I found this work to be quite interesting, especially in relation to the various perspectives that were present. I enjoyed how ‘United 93’ gave the viewer three different points of views because it allowed us to analyze different situations based off of different individuals. The second perspective from that of those working from government departments trying to stop the assault lived to tell the tale the best. As you stated in your post, the other two lenses were reasonable, but nobody from these viewpoints would be able to report their side of the story. Despite the fact that there was no one main character, this film obviously dealt with a lot of emotion. There were many American families that were touched by this travesty disregarding whether or not they knew a loved one involved in the incident.

I also have to agree with your comments about United 93. Your last paragraph reminded me that I thought one interesting part of the film was seeing the raw confusion everyone felt when the first plane hit, and the fear they felt after the second one did. I doubt either of us were old enough to remember 9/11, along with probably most people in this class. I’ve always known and thought about the tragedy and the aftermath of the attacks, but I’m rarely hit with the reality of people on the actual day trying to figure out what was going on and put a stop to it. Watching the FAA and the military trying to discern what was happening, what planes were being hijacked, and how to stop the attacks was heart wrenching, especially since we, the audience, knew what would happen. It is crazy to think about the fear everyone in the country must have felt during that day.

I agree with you there Liz. Technically I did see the attacks because my mom was holding me in her arms while she watched the news that day, but I was one at the time and have no memory of it. The mark of that day has never truly left my family though. I’m sure the same is true for all of us.

Another pivotal moment of the film that shows the human element that we are discussing like the scene you mentioned is toward the end right before the plane crash. As the more able-bodied Americans are fighting their way towards the cockpit, the movie alternates between scenes of the terrorists reciting Islamic prayers and the older passengers reciting Christian prayers (specifically the Lord’s prayer.) This was a very powerful element of an already powerful section of the film, and the prayers intensified as the fighting did till the moment it was all over.

I believe that this moment was an effective affirmation about some of what Huntington discusses regarding Anglo-American culture. In their time of need, Americans reach up towards the God they believe in; the God that their entire society is based around in one way or another. Another key element that Huntington discusses is that the foundations of political liberalism are based in this protestant creed, including freedom of religion. The muslims who perpetrated this attack were allowed into the country and given the right to practice their religion freely. The common ethos would castigate calls to restrict religious freedom following the 9/11 terrorist attacks, and that is a clear affirmation that the values Huntington lays out truly do reach all the way down to our core as Americans.

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