Afraid to Cry?

The movie United 93 premieres this Friday in theatres nationwide amid much controversy; the story of the film of course deals with the plane that crashed September 11th in a Pennsylvania field and became famous for the heroic actions of its passengers. There are many out there saying that the movie is inappropriate because it is making a profit from tragedy and that it is too soon after that horrible day in American history.

On the first point, I somewhat agree. I wish that studio would do something worthwhile with the profits instead of filling their coffers. Universal Studios is giving ten percent of opening-weekend revenues to the Flight 93 Memorial, and they are also encouraging people on the movie's website to make donations to the foundation. I think they could go a little further though; they could donate more than just some of the money made on one weekend. What about donating ten percent of profit from the entire theatre run of the movie?

I tend to disagree, however, with the second argument that it is too soon to tell the story of those brave passengers. I don't understand why it would be too soon. Do we dishonor the dead by talking about them four years after their death? Are we still too scared to look at our fears? Are we afraid to cry? Do we not want the thought of tragedy to interrupt our hunky-dory lives? Do we just want to forget about that terrible day? I think that this movie is appropriate on this aspect. We can honor those passengers-turned-heroes by telling their story on a national level; their spirit will live on through film. We can honor their resolve. Not only would they be honored, but our nation needs a story like this to be told. I think many are too scared to look at their inner-selves and discover their fears. Isn't this the only way that we can resolve our nightmares by confronting them head-on? We shouldn't go on with life ignoring our fears and problems; when we forget our fears, our guard is let down and then disaster happens. I think that many in America has forgotten the pain, the anguish, the terror that we felt on that warm September day. Our unity is crumbling; our fortitude is failing. We need to remember the terror so that we can prevent from ever happening again.

UPDATE (Apr 28): The Tennessean explores the same movie and again here

filed under: thoughts, terrorism, entertainment

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