United 93

            Watching United 93, I was much more shocked than I expected to be. As a person who has been exposed to the culture of 9/11 from a very young age, I expected to see images I have seen before. Yet overall, I found the movie to be somewhat more graphic, emotional, and disturbing than I expected.

            One thing I found surprising is how early command centers knew about the hijackings. Boston Center and New York Center in particular were talking about American Airlines Flight 11 very early in the process. This was interesting to me because I think there is a perception that it was a total surprise when the planes hit the World Trade Center. Granted, it was still surprising and I do not think anyone fully expected that to happen, but it was interesting to hear how much panic and conversation was happening before the crash. The control centers knew the planes had been hijacked; they just didn’t know what to do about the situation.

            This poses another point. If the planes had been shot down, people would have died because they were still passenger planes, but the death toll would have been a lot less than if the planes hit buildings. Those in control are left with a philosophical choice about what the right answer is. I think this philosophical question is one that was not thought about very much before 9/11, but it is now pondered constantly.

            The movie also plays into the humanity of those on Flight 93. Hearing them make phone calls to their loved ones was heartbreaking, especially knowing that this is something that truly happened. This is also important because these phone calls are likely how we know so much about Flight 93 and how the passengers of the flight knew about the World Trade Center and decided to take the plane back. This outside communication is what enabled Flight 93 to achieve its legacy.

            One final thing I found interesting about the movie is that in the final moments, as both the passengers and terrorists know they are about to die, they are praying. The terrorists are Muslim and praying in Arabic and the passengers who pray are white and following the Christian tradition. I found this scene moving because it makes a point about the different kinds of people who participate in religion and their differing motives. Some of the people praying got on the plane with the intention of killing others. Some of the people praying got on the plane with the intention of taking an innocent flight and are now victims of a brutal crime.

            I also think the contrasting prayers make somewhat of a dangerous point in the climate of the post-9/11 moment. The terrorists who hijacked those planes were radicals, not ordinary Muslims, yet this moment allows the audience to view them as Muslim, and I think there are interpretations of this scene that could prove dangerous as the audience is enabled to form opinions and make associations on their own.