United 93 was a new perspective of the 9/11 attacks for me. When the attacks happened, I was only 2 years old. I don’t have any memory of how people felt while the attacks were happening. This movie gave me emotional responses that I didn’t know I had to these attacks. In the beginning of the movie I noticed the lack of preparedness the flight directors had for a emergency situation such as a hijacking. The people on the flight seemed like average Americans to me. Their response to the hijacking was horrifying to watch. In the same situation I would feel just as confused and scared as the passengers. The attempt of the passengers to take control of the plane was the most shocking part of the movie for me. The fact that they found the courage to fight the hijackers for control of the plane was emotional for me. It was horrifying to watch people get stabbed and killed on a airplane.
Another part of the movie that interested me was the lack of communication between the military and the flight controllers. The military had trouble figuring out what was going on and which planes had been hijacked. Some of the military officials tried to get clearance to attack these hijacked planes so they couldn’t attack the capital. It was hard to think that the military was considering attacking these hijacked planes, knowing that American citizens were on board. The attacks caused shock and confusion among all of the responding groups in this movie. The American people could not have predicted these horrifying attacks.
2 replies on “United 93 ERA”
Yes, the flight directors lacked preparation for an emergency situation because nobody ever imagined something that tragic happening. They also weren’t educated from other terrorist attacks and they didn’t happen often so they had little knowledge on how to react. No one ever thought of a type of an attack happening, so they didn’t prepare for it. But, that’s why everything changed after 9/11. The doors on the planes innovated and so did the security and preparation for emergency situations.
I agree, it is hard to think that the military was preparing to attack a plane with innocent people on it. But you have to let yourself think deeply about it. The reality of it relates to the Civil War– we lost lives for the better of our country. In this case, people were going to die and it was a much better decision to choose few rather than many. We know we are United since both the military and the civilians both thought to execute and to take few lives for many.
I think it is interesting to note that although we were only 2 years old at the time of the attack, it has still had an enormous impact on our lives. Many people around us, even at Bucknell, lost parents, friends, and relatives on 9/11. Additionally, we are one of the last few classes at Bucknell that will have students who lived through 9/11. I think it is very important for people our age to preserve the memories of 9/11 for as long as we live. First and foremost, it is because we owe it to those who gave their lives on 9/11. Also, remembering 9/11 often invokes a sense of patriotism within Americans, and serves as a sense of civil religion when we remember and reflect on 9/11. A photo that comes to mind is the one of the firefighters putting up the American flag on top of the pile of rubble. Overall, our country needs to always remember 9/11. In a time where this is so much political disagreement, events like 9/11 undeniably bring us all together.