Is it ok to make movies about the events that happened on september 11th?

Question

I heard rumour that several were in the pipeline. Or one may have already been released. Is it ok. The events are so tragic and callous one wonders if a money making movie should be made especially when the subject is such a sore one. But I guess there are loads of individual stories of bravery, survival and heroism.

Answer 1

Of course it's okay. I may just be a bit too soon for most people. I mean, there are plenty of movies made about WWII and the Holocaust, right? And many of them are great movies (Saving Private Ryan, Schindler's List, Band of Brothers, The Pianist...). I think people just need more time to deal with the whole 9/11 thing...

Answer 2

This, here, is America. Although our Administration is doing it's best to squash most of our rights, nevertheless we're still theoretically a free country.

As a result, it's OK for people to make whatever movie they want... and it's OK for anyone who objects to not go see that movie. That's the nice thing about freedom. I can choose to be a stand-up comic and do an entire act on the events of 9/11.

If I can find audiences who think my jokes are funny in spite of their topic, then I will succeed. If I'm the only moron out there who thinks it's funny to joke about that many people dying so tragically, then I will have to find a different job.

But is it OK? Certainly. To say anything else is to do more damage to ourselves as a country than any terrorists (or Bush Administration) could ever do.

(I realize, this answer is U.S. centric, but since that's where I live and where the events of 9/11 occurred, I think it fits.)

Answer 3

It is a very hard thing for people to keep reliving but it is still something that does not make a lot of sense. There are many things that don't add up, especially to do with the pentagon and the collapse of building no. 7 at the WTC. As long as the films are done in a tasteful way and that a large percentage of profits go to charity, it seems okay, but the last thng anyone wants is a market flooded with them. There are some phenomenal tales of bravery and the stories of survivors are as important as those who died.

Answer 4

I think it is OK as long as at least some profits go to 9/11 charities, rebuilding, and families of victims. I think America has had enough time to recover from the real event and should be accepting to a movie based on things that happened. And the stories in the movies should be truthful to the events but not disrespectful and of course should have tact and taste. They should not in any way try to make a laughing matter or mockery out of the events.

Answer 5

They've already released Flight 93 and someone I worked with went down with that plane. I think that movies need to be made, so that people will remember how shocking and terrible that day was, and there is nothing wrong with that. Movies cost money and there's nothing wrong with making it as long as there's a story to tell or some point to it. There were a lot of hero's and heroines, and there are so many stories. Also, our nation still hasn't healed and it helps with the process.

Answer 6

They've made movies regarding Vietnam, WW I and II, Korean War, Napoleonic Wars, Civil War, French-Indian war, etc. This is a movie regarding a "happening" where the younger generations today experienced it first-hand.

I'm sure people who were around during WW I and II, the Civil War, Korean War, or Vietnam probably felt a little weird watching movies regarding something very intimate to them.

The same can hold true for movies like Munich. You were probably not even born when these Olympics took place. But yet, it's an event that still affects people alive today.

Answer 7

They are not trying to keep the memory alive. They are simply profiting from a tragedy. Why they have to pick Nicholas Cage to play a Police officer on the upcoming "World Trade Center" movie? because he's a washed out actor who demanded the role along with a hefty paycheck. He knows this movie is going to have a lot publicity due to the subject. Hollywood in it's tradition of making everything bad is making a hype fiction mockery of a very delicate subject.

Answer 8

I think that it's OK as long as they don't exploit the day for commercial gain. Personally, I felt that United 93 (the big-screen version) and Flight 93 (the TV movie) were great tributes to the heroes of flight 93. An while I don't always appreciate Oliver Stone, I do think that his new movie will be a fitting tribute.

It really all depends on the purpose.

Answer 9

i have just watched United 93 and before I went into the cinema I felt uneasy as if I was intruding upon the grief of the families - but having watched the film - i felt it was a good and honest representation of 9/11. We live in a media age, news is given to us in seconds - I watched the twin towers fall and read the harrowing stories day by day as did billions around the world - it was instant pain and instant loss, there for all to see. But I agree with others on this site - saving private ryan, shindlers list is no less a powerful and harrowing testimony to those who died. 9/11 was immediate and in your face- whereas the events of WW2 were muted by the medium they were commuicated by -millions of jews died, hundreds of troops died on the beaches as did the civilians who perished - we need to show what happened. 9/11 movies will happen because the publc dictate they will, partly out of a sense of the macarbe and partly out of remembrance

Answer 10

It's still a bit raw in some people's memory, but wouldn't it be nice if they made the movie & all the proceeds of the film could go to the survivors who still suffer from the disaster & the deseased victim's family instead of in the pockets of the movie makers & actors? Somehow, I don't think that would happen - but it is a nice thought.