The horror of United 93
I was reluctant to watch United 93. I thought it would be the latest film in a series of misportrayals of Muslims. And in the current climate of the War on Terror that grows ever-more crazy and violent and polarised, I felt that the film could only stoke the fire. However, I felt it was my duty to at least see the film before I turned my nose up at it. Yes, it's indeed a novel approach to actually see/read/listen to the offending media item before passing judgement, but I thought I'd give it a go.
I was pleasantly surprised by the film - although it was anything but pleasant. The film does a remarkable job of focusing on simply relating the account of what happened on that fateful fourth flight on September 11th. If you recall, the first two aeroplanes flew into the twin towers, the third into the Pentagon. United 93 was destined for Washington, but never made it to its target as the passengers wrestled the hijackers away from the controls. The plane crashed into the ground in Pennsylvania. No-one survived.
You could cynically say that this gruesome tale has all the elements that make it perfect for film. There is the surprise of the whole series of events on that fateful day. The protagonists are all entirely ordinary, real people with ordinary real lives. Even the hijackers are humanised, with misgivings, doubts and weaknesses. The passengers show real heroism and selflessness marrying courage with intelligence. But most horrific of all is the shocking crash at the end. No aeroplane disaster movie Hollywood style would ever be permitted to end in a crash where everyone was brutally killed. This may be the first and the last.
The film takes a neutral stand on the motivations and bigger picture of the events on that day, and does so with surprising success. If anything it lays any blame at the door of military command and those higher up the chain, but only does this in the text at the end of the film. Their slow response, their reluctance to take action, their inability to comprehend the seriousness of the events is counterpoised with what is actually happening, and the horrific experience of the passengers.
What comes across most strikingly is how no-one at the time on that day could possibly have imagined what was happening. The events of that day - the possibility that there were multiple hijackings at the same time, and that the hijackers actually were planning death - completely changed the game. The rules were re-written.
But the turning point of the events is when the passengers find out through air telephones speaking to their loved ones on the ground - saying their goodbyes and knowing pretty much for sure that they would not see them again (hope is rarely annihilated so totally) - that two other planes have been hijacked and flown into the twin towers. Armed with this knowledge their response to the situation changes and they realise that action is a must, because they realise that the hijackers are on a suicide mission. When the passengers realise that death is inevitable the take matters in their own hands. Both the hijackers and the hijacked are suddenly on an even playing field where death is no longer a threat.
The hijackers have no moral judgement passed on them. As a Muslim it made my skin crawl to see them undertaking this horrific and heinous act. But I must accept that the way they are portrayed is most likely accurate: their use of verses from the Qur'an, their turning to God for support. They keep reciting the verses of promise of rewards in the hereafter for their actions, repeating them over and over, perhaps to reassure themselves that this totally unimaginable action that they are about to undertake will bear dividends.
The use of Qur'anic recitation and Arabic is becoming more and more familiar in films and underlines the fascination - whether positive or negative - of the West with Eastern and Islamic ideas, sounds and thought. It feels unusual to watch. It is challenging as a Muslim to see the same words and ideas interpreted in different ways, in this case by both the hijackers and the film-makers.
But what I came home with most, was a sick feeling in my stomach for those who died on that flight. The film leaves you with a hint of the horror of being on that flight that day. It is a horror which should not be wished even on your worst enemies.
I was pleasantly surprised by the film - although it was anything but pleasant. The film does a remarkable job of focusing on simply relating the account of what happened on that fateful fourth flight on September 11th. If you recall, the first two aeroplanes flew into the twin towers, the third into the Pentagon. United 93 was destined for Washington, but never made it to its target as the passengers wrestled the hijackers away from the controls. The plane crashed into the ground in Pennsylvania. No-one survived.
You could cynically say that this gruesome tale has all the elements that make it perfect for film. There is the surprise of the whole series of events on that fateful day. The protagonists are all entirely ordinary, real people with ordinary real lives. Even the hijackers are humanised, with misgivings, doubts and weaknesses. The passengers show real heroism and selflessness marrying courage with intelligence. But most horrific of all is the shocking crash at the end. No aeroplane disaster movie Hollywood style would ever be permitted to end in a crash where everyone was brutally killed. This may be the first and the last.
The film takes a neutral stand on the motivations and bigger picture of the events on that day, and does so with surprising success. If anything it lays any blame at the door of military command and those higher up the chain, but only does this in the text at the end of the film. Their slow response, their reluctance to take action, their inability to comprehend the seriousness of the events is counterpoised with what is actually happening, and the horrific experience of the passengers.
What comes across most strikingly is how no-one at the time on that day could possibly have imagined what was happening. The events of that day - the possibility that there were multiple hijackings at the same time, and that the hijackers actually were planning death - completely changed the game. The rules were re-written.
But the turning point of the events is when the passengers find out through air telephones speaking to their loved ones on the ground - saying their goodbyes and knowing pretty much for sure that they would not see them again (hope is rarely annihilated so totally) - that two other planes have been hijacked and flown into the twin towers. Armed with this knowledge their response to the situation changes and they realise that action is a must, because they realise that the hijackers are on a suicide mission. When the passengers realise that death is inevitable the take matters in their own hands. Both the hijackers and the hijacked are suddenly on an even playing field where death is no longer a threat.
The hijackers have no moral judgement passed on them. As a Muslim it made my skin crawl to see them undertaking this horrific and heinous act. But I must accept that the way they are portrayed is most likely accurate: their use of verses from the Qur'an, their turning to God for support. They keep reciting the verses of promise of rewards in the hereafter for their actions, repeating them over and over, perhaps to reassure themselves that this totally unimaginable action that they are about to undertake will bear dividends.
The use of Qur'anic recitation and Arabic is becoming more and more familiar in films and underlines the fascination - whether positive or negative - of the West with Eastern and Islamic ideas, sounds and thought. It feels unusual to watch. It is challenging as a Muslim to see the same words and ideas interpreted in different ways, in this case by both the hijackers and the film-makers.
But what I came home with most, was a sick feeling in my stomach for those who died on that flight. The film leaves you with a hint of the horror of being on that flight that day. It is a horror which should not be wished even on your worst enemies.
posted by Shelina Zahra Janmohamed at 10:17
1 Comments:
The peace be upon you.
I read, or was it heard, that they couldn't find the black box for that plane. I was told that black boxes are practically indestructable, especially when it comes to plane crashes
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