Thoughts on 9/11

I went to see the 9/11 movie U93 yesterday, and I gotta tell you: it was majorly impressive. Half the time you're watching it with the idea in your head it's just another disaster movie, and then at some points you realise that all this has really happened just 5 years ago. It feels a bit voyeuristic to sit there with your popcorn and watch real people die, or at least, watch actors die who represent real people. The most disturbing part of it is, that this plane was the one that got the least attention from the press, since it didn't actually crash into a building, so it's easy to forget there were many passengers inside the actual plane suffering. This may not be as spectacular as the planes crashing into the World Trade Center or the Pentagon, but nonetheless it's just as tragic for the people inside, and of course their relatives.

I remember my parents always telling me about how the shooting of Kennedy was some sort of defining moment for their generation, with everyone remembering exactly where they were when they heard the news. I never really believed that, until Princess Diana died from a car accident. I remember being at a friends house when we turned on the news that morning and found out of that tragic story.

Still, I guess this was just peanuts compared to the death of so many people by such a useless act of terrorism. I remember when the first plane hit the towers, I was in class, and we heard the news during the break. Then a friend of mine called up to say I had to come immediately. So I went, and CNN was on, and I came in just when the second plane flew into the Twin Towers. I remember thinking 'this is gonna be World War 3' and I was terrified of what was happening. As more news came in, the Pentagon plane, the U93 plane, I decided not to go to sleep that night, and keep watching CNN. Then there was a bombing in Kabul that evening, and I really thought this could be the end of the world as we knew it. Fortunately, as we all know, World War 3 didn't commence, but it's not exactly as if the world has become a safer place, either.

Watching that movie yesterday was basically the first time I thought about the people inside the planes. You know, this may sound harsh, but no-one saw those people, while we all have the image of the man waving the white flag from inside the tower, or the people jumping to their deaths. The people inside the planes remained pretty much anonymous to me, so I'm glad that this movie has given them a face, which shines, at least to me, a new light on the events.

I urge you all to go and see this movie, as it documents in painfull detail an event which qualifies as one of the defining moments of our generation. It's definitely not a fun movie to watch, but it is an important one and deserves an audience.