How the film industry reacted to the events of 9/11 and how it was represented in the following years

‘Horror and Heroics: The Cinema of September 11^th” was written by Pete Turner and shows how the film industry reacted to the events of September 11^th and how filmmakers have represented the tragedy since. 

I chose this article because it shows a history of ‘Post 9/11 cinema’ and shows how the perception of 9/11 has changed in terms of the portrayal of the event in films since September 11^th 2001.

The article is almost a timeline of film and shows how Post 9/11 cinema has developed from the months after the attack when filmmakers were reluctant to use any material that could be related to the World Trade Centre, to years after when filmmakers have began using 9/11 to make films and explores whether this is morally correct or whether filmmakers are wrong in using such an atrocity to entertain audiences.

The article begins by explaining the reaction of the media and the public to the events of September 11^th and how filmmakers were fearful of their films having links to 9/11. One example he uses is of Spider Man and how the producers pulled a poster that featured an image of Spider Man with the World Trade Centre reflecting in his eyes. This shows that the producers thought the image of the World Trade Centre is the film would have a negative affect on the perception by audiences. I agree with this point because as Spider Man was released so soon after 9/11, the events were fresh in everyone’s mind and the use of the buildings could have been perceived as disrespectful to those who lost their life as they are being used as a ploy to draw audiences in.

The article then illustrates how filmmaker’s perception of 9/11 changed and how they were willing to incorporating it into their films.

‘25^th Hour’ directed by Spike Lee was one of the first films to use imagery from 9/11 and use it to show life in a post 9/11 America. Although the film seems to be about a drug dealer, we can see that it is in fact a portrayal of life after 9/11 in America. Lee uses imagery from 9/11 such as ground zero and the blue searchlights in the film and uses non-diegetic Islamic wailing in the background. Lauren Blumenfeld said:

“We simply see the sight and hear Middle Eastern wails of grief in the background, underscoring the devastation of the event on both sides of the ‘war on terror’ making us see and hear the dual tragedy”

The idea that Lee uses this scene to convey the emotions of the tragedy and exploit emotions of the American public and make the character of Monty more relatable and give him more potency in the film.

I don’t really agree with the view of Lauren Blumenfeld because I don’t think Lee included the Middle Eastern wailing to show that both sides were affected. I believe he included the wailing to link in the Islamic extremists and show that the site is still haunted by the presence of evil, and because the terrorists were Islamic extremists, the wailing taps in to the emotions of the audience and therefore makes the experience more emotional and seem real to the audience.

When ‘United 93’ was released it was the first film to portray the events of 9/11 directly, almost like a documentary of the events. The film was purposely directed by Greengrass in a way that showed the events in an extremely pro-American, patriotic way, which allowed it to resonate with Americans, and was a film that they could relate to emotionally.  ‘United 93’ was relatable to audiences because it used actual timings and movements of the plane on the day. The use of handheld cameras and unknown actors made the film seem realistic and gave the impression that the film was a realistic interpretation of Flight 93. In 2006 Timmons said that:

“Greengrass (the director of United 93) incorporates information about the disaster, including the plane’s exact movements in the air, the times and content of phone calls to family members, recordings from inside the cockpit and reaction on the ground from air traffic controllers and the military, as well as details about the passengers’ personalities and mannerisms provided by the families.”

In my opinion he included this because he wanted to remind the American people about the pain that families who suffered grievances felt and are still feeling many years later. The inclusion of information from victim’s family members showed that the film had their support and therefore people accepted the film, whereas 5 years prior directors were apprehensive of have any material in their films that could be linked to the disaster.

I mainly agree with the article because it shows how filmmaker’s views on 9/11 have changed and how it has developed into almost its own genre. However I disagree with motive behind the changes that the article states. I believe the motive for the change was as the disaster became less prominent in the news and media, the films brought it back to the public consciousness and in my opinion were used as a tool to keep Americans supporting the war on terror in Iraq and Afghanistan.