Discussion of the film United 93 starting on March 3, 2007.

I found United 93 to be a heavy film (obviously). However, I think that it was not only well acted, but also well written. It wasn't overdone in a Die Hard VII way, nor did the film undervalue the passengers' struggle. The film United 93 was a way for average Americans to appreciate what the passengers on the flight did to protect the country and try to lessen the damage for other Americans, no matter the cost to themselves.

As I brought up earlier in the class, I also think "United 93" worked towards a sympathetic characterization of Zin Jarrah. I'm not sure it was a mistake that he was the most attractive terrorist and the only one who seemed hesitant to act out the mission. I wonder if there is any proof of this hesitancy in the days before the attacks?

Personally I think the idea that Ziad was the "most attractive" terrorist is very subjective; he was certainly portrayed in an unusual light in the movie in comparison to the others, however. I have never heard of any evidence that he personally hesitated to take the cockpit. It is certainly true, though, based on the factual accounting that we have from the Commission Report and other sources, that while the other terrorists hijacked their flights as soon as possible, United 93 continued on course and undisturbed for something like half an hour before the hijackers made their move. Perhaps the movie was simply trying to come up with a rationale for this delay by portraying Ziad as hesitant. In a fictional storyline sense, the fact that in the movie one of the other hijackers acted without Ziad's permission, and that Ziad was upset with him for not waiting until the right moment, provides a sort of cosmic reasoning for their failure: they acted too soon, Allah was upset with their haste, and so they were overtaken and killed without martyrdom. Whether or not this actually happened, it certainly makes for a tidy plot.

The movie that we watched in class was an important part of understanding what we are fighting against in the Global War on Terror. The movie shows the evil nature of the people involved in the events of that day and the lengths that they are willing to go to destroy American lives. It showed how indiscriminately they will kill and what savages they truly are. The courage of the passengers of Flight 93 was unbelievable, as they realized that they were on a suicide mission. I can only imagine what those poor people on the plane thought as they accepted their fate. I guess besides the telephone calls that were made no one really knows what has happened, but it makes me feel better to believe that they forced their way into the cockpit and helped that plane from hitting Washington D.C. Films like that are important I believe because they give us the historical account of an event. This I believe helps us understand these things. Overall that was a real powerful film with a powerful message and story.

Let me qualify my statement about Jarrah being the "most attractive" terrorist.

While I, of course, agree that looks/attractiveness are subjective, I don't think there can be any doubt that Jarrah was portrayed as the most attractive to American audiences. He looked more intellectual than the others (he wore glasses while the others tied scarved around their heads), was neatly dressed throughout almost the entire film, and was the most quiet and subdued. This characterization certainly goes against the grain of how most Americans view terrorists. And I think, for most people: the less someone looks like a terrorist, the more attractive they are.

But that's just my take.

I found it strange that in United 93, the Hamburg Cell, and even Amis’ short story, they involved Ziad’s wife Aysel. Maybe it is this personal connection that we know about him that lends for our sympathy; the phone call where he tells her he loves her, “Ich liebe dich”. We know he hesitated to hijack the plane; maybe he was thinking of Atta drinking the holy water, and the absence of his own. Looking at the maps in the 9/11 commission report, it is clear to see that United 93 went much further away from Washington by this waiting and being hesitant. Did Jarrah’s conscience save the Capitol? And if it did, maybe we should sympathize with him.

-Drew

One of the more interesting aspects of United 93, at least for me, was the lack of any black and white stereotyping in the case of protagonist vs. antagonist. While it could be argued that since each of the passengers on the planes were seen only through the glass of their final ordeals and therefore "free from sin," the same can be said of the hijackers, if only from the POV of their religious motivations. There is no undue demoninzing or hero-worship on display here, merely an account of what happened. In that way, I found this movie to be an interesting exercise in moral ambiguity. The filmmakers do not bias themselves, though I am sure all of us can understand that the hijackers are the "bad guys," and because of this all the motivations are seen as a kind of gray area.

Just something to think about.

--A.d.McKay

My immediate reaction to the film United 93 was one that contained a lot of emotion, and never before have the events of that day been better reproduced. I was sitting there, while watching the film, and a thought occurred to me which said that rarely have I thought about the people on the planes and how they must have felt knowing they were going to their death. It causes me to wonder what I would have done in that situation? This causes me to think that the film was undoubtedly authentic, but how accurate were the events which occurred on the plane? The answer is that it is irrelevant. According to the 9/11 Commission Report, there was a great deal of noise and subsequent turns and twists of the plane and many passengers screaming, in addition to one passenger making a phone call telling a family member that they took a vote and decided to rush the cabin. After seeing the film, I am reluctantly dissuaded from my previous idea that the plane was shot down. Basing that conclusion with the compilation of information from the 9/11 Commission Report and the movie, I believe that the terrorists did attempt to roll the plane, and being inexperienced, were unable to recover. In a situation where tension was incredibly high and the hijackers were certainly on edge, it seems logical that someone who was inexperienced would be unable to react in the chaotic environment. Another element the film brought light to, assuming it was an accurate depiction, was the complete lack of communication between the airlines, NORAD, and the Executive branch. However, it does raise the question: would United 93 have made it to Washington had the passengers not rushed the plane? It seems possible. However, that is the only statement that could be made, keeping in mind that the fighter planes were 100 miles away, the hijacked plane was off the radar, and that NORAD had 100 other planes to deal with. However, it does seem possible.