Israel’s News Blog Magazine: Daily Stories Video and Photos
September 11, 2001 started out as any ordinary day: Clear blue skies and nice weather. On 8:46 am flight number 11 of American Airlines crashed into the northern tower of The World Trade Center (also known as The Twin Towers) in New York. The plane hit floors 93-99 and created a fire of 1000 degrees. The collision ruined the elevator shaft and prevented access to the emergency stairs. About 1300 people were trapped on the floors above the crash. At 9:03 am another plane crashed, this time into the southern tower. Another 600 people were trapped inside the second building.
Richard Drew, A photographer of Associated Press (AP) news agency, took many pictures from the scene. Amongst them, were photos of people jumping out of the burning towers. It’s estimated that 200 people jumped out of the towers.
The movie “9/11: The Falling Man”
The movie “9/11: The Falling Man” focuses on the most famous photograph of them all. It depicts a man falling from the World Trade Center, head first, with his legs stretched up gracefully, as if he was diving into a pool. The picture was published the next day on newspapers around the world. It provoked many angry responses from citizens, mainly from the US, and was censored immediately. The public felt that the camera invaded the falling man’s privacy before his death.
The first part of the movie exposes the viewer to the media’s debate whether to publish the photo. Editors felt that it was a decisive picture, portraying not only the last moments of a man’s life, but catching the big tragedy in this brutal terror attack.
Drew commented about the varying opinions, saying, “This is how it affected people’s lives at that time, and I think that is why it’s an important picture. I didn’t capture this person’s death. I captured part of his life. This is what he decided to do, and I think I preserved that.”
The second part of the movie deals with the attempts to find the identity of “The Falling Man”. The movie ends suggesting that this picture was not a matter of the identity behind the man, but how he symbolized the horrifying events of 9/11. The people that were trapped in the upper floors had to make a choice, and the deaths of those who jumped were and still are much more difficult to deal with.
This is the main reason why this film is worth watching. It deals with a morally controversial matter that is mostly ignored on this day of remembrance. It’s not easy to watch, but it shows a different and important aspect of to the 9/11 events.
(”9/11: the Falling Man”, Director: Henry Singer, Aired on channel yes doco, 11.9.)
One Comment
I’ve seen the film last week, it was aired on our local swiss channel. I can highly recommend it!
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