Tuesday, November 20, 2007

Living In A Post 9-11 World


On September 11, 2001 I was in Sydney, Australia, and as the planes hit the World Trade Centers it was just past 11pm and being that I was only 9 years of age I was neatly tucked in bed. I remember waking up just after 8 the next morning and my Aunt, Mom, and Dad were sitting on the couch watching the news with the greatest interest. There was a great deal of smoke and fire on the television and I saw people running in fear, so I knew something awful had happened. My parents were in shock, my dad was yelling, he claimed it was outrageous, and I kept asking, "what, what happened" though, of course no one told me until we got back to Canada. My family thought it was fake, they were in disbelief, I on the other hand thought nothing of it considering I didn't know what had happened. When I did find out what had happened I was surprised, very surprised, though I still didn't know how bad it really was, and how fast the world could change because of something like that, and oh it did, it changed very fast. The world is much more protective and protected, no thing's safe, and no thing's trusted. Fear has taken over.

In Alan Jackson's song, "Where Were You When The World Stopped Turning" he mentions a fair amount of things that only relate to certain people, such as " Did you look up to heaven for some kind of answer?" Well, let's face it, not everyone believes in heaven, nor does everyone believe in God, or a higher being. Sure, a lot do, in fact, the majority of the earth's population does, but that doesn't mean that they were the only ones affected on "that September day." Obviously Alan Jackson was only referring to Christian, adults, but he could have been more vague. Then again, the majority of people who enjoy country music are Christian adults, so it fit perfectly. It came from his heart, it's what he felt, and sure, it may be tacky, but it's hard not to be when Hollywood becomes reality.

United 93 and World Trade Center both came out 5 years after 9/11 in 2006. Both movies are based on true events, they're to make you more aware of what really happened that day, to show that people actually risked their lives, and people died doing it. They're to make that day seem more real for people who weren't there and to show younger generations, who don't understand what happened and who possibly weren't even alive. Producers created these movies to make people feel for the people who lost their families. Sympathy and empathy are the emotions producers want their audience to feel. They're horrific, heroic and the opposite of tacky, more touching, and they're aimed towards everyone, to inform them of what September 11, 2001 really was.

September 11, 2001 was a horrible day, 2,752 people died, and it's really unforgettable. It was like a movie, it didn't seem real, but it was, it was very real, and very devastating. People, in general are used to seeing things like that in movies, and on television, but suddenly it wasn't just a movie, it wasn't just television, it was real, it was actually happening. History was being made and Hollywood and reality didn't seem so different anymore.





Works Cited:

911research. .. . http://911research.wtc7.net/wtc/info/docs/twin_towers1.jpg.