Yet another reason to be creeped out by the new 9/11 movie
Every time I see a commercial for Oliver Stone's new movie, World Trade Center, I ask, "Who would want to see that?"
It's really hard for me to imagine that people would be interested in re-living the destruction of the World Trade Center as a paid entertainment experience. Honestly, to my mind, if you can't remember what it was like to watch it fall, you have some serious attention deficit issues.
I do understand, however, that my reactions to these things are generally not representative of the public at large. First, I am incredibly squeamish about movie death and violence in general -- not, oddly, because blood and gore bother me, but because I have a weirdly over-empathetic reaction to seeing people in pain (even fake pain). Second, I readily acknowledge that my status as East-Coaster-in-exile might make the whole deal a lot more visceral and real for me than for someone who never set foot in the Trade Center or didn't know anyone there.
But still . . . .
There's just something unspeakably weird about our impulse to quickly translate actual tragedy into entertainment. And, if you happen to share my utterly liberal and biased view of the world, you can feel affirmed in sensing that weirdness. Because The Washington Times, newspaper bastion of conservatives everywhere, is heartily endorsing Stone's movie, as are lots of other conservative pundits.
Comments
Has there ever been a more self-involved person in the history of the universe than Debra Pickett? "I readily acknowledge that my status as East-Coaster-in-exile makes the whole deal a lot more visceral and real for me." Please Debra. You felt the pain of Sept. 11 so much more than us mere Chicagoans? Guess what Debra. There are Chicagoans who used to work in the Trade Center. There are Chicagoans who had relatives who died in the Trade Center. I'll never forget where I was or what I was feeling when I watched the buildings come down. It was NOT MORE REAL FOR YOU. Please.
PICKETT replies:
There probably have been a few more self-involved people in the history of the universe. But, stunningly, that's not really the point here.
I'm not interested in playing the "I grieve more than you" game, merely in pointing out that, for some, "New York" is more of a concept (as in, let's say, "New York liberal" or "New York elite") than an actual place.
Posted by: Mary Burke | July 26, 2006 02:40 PM
I can't decide which is most annoying - that you think New York is the center of the universe, that you think you are, or that you fail to see this in your writing. I'm not going to waste my time reading this nonsense any more.
Posted by: Peg | July 28, 2006 09:06 AM