‘United 93’: lest we forget

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May 6, 2006

By James A. Leggette / guest columnist The Meridian Star Sat May 06, 2006, 11:50 PM CDT

This past weekend, the film “United 93” premiered across the country. This relatively short film chronicles the events of Sept. 11, 2001, from the perspective of United flight 93, the hijacked plane that crashed into Pennsylvania farmland due to the heroics of its passengers.

Prior to its release, the film generated a fair amount of controversy. In fact, its gripping trailer was pulled in markets in fear that it was insensitive and would inflame tensions.

After viewing the film, I can certainly say it is the right film and the right time to remind us both of the events of that terrible day and the stakes in the war on terror.

Unlike most major studio productions from Hollywood, it does not feature any household names as the heroes, is low-budget, at least by Hollywood standards, and lacks the usual special effects. In addition, it presents the events in documentary style rather than telling the story from the limited perspective from one person, which would have easy been to do in this case.

“United 93” opening scenes show the mundane things that go on at an airport such as baggage check-in, preflight preparations and passengers talking about the success of their business meeting, planning activities for a long-awaited vacation or just wanting to get home so they can spend time with their families. Other scenes show the activity at the various air traffic control centers, both civilian and military. In other words, it is just a normal day.

However, this calm is soon shattered as first one, then two and then three airliners are hijacked, fall off air traffic control radar and find their targets at the World Trade Center and the Pentagon. As the magnitude of the attack is understood, military and civilian authorities not only must deal with the shock of the surprise attack but must also take steps to prepare for the next wave of the assault.

At the same time, the passengers of United 93 are settling in for their cross-country trip by eating breakfast, doing paperwork or catching a nap, unaware of events in New York and Washington and that the terrorists on their plane are awaiting to attack. This routine is shattered when the terrorists, armed with a fake bomb and knifes, rush the cockpit, taking over the plane and changing course toward their intended target: Washington, D.C., and the Capitol building.

Herded into the back of the plane, the passengers learn what has happened in New York and Washington. They then conclude they are likely the next wave of the attack. After emotional goodbye calls to their families, the passengers construct a plan using anything that could serve as a weapon to mount the counterattack that ends with the crash into the countryside short of the target.

Equally powerful is the audience reaction to the film. From the opening scene, there is quiet tension as the events of that terrible day unfold. Unlike most films, the audience of United 93 watches the film in an intense silence. The tension increases sharply after each of the major events of the day occurs — the strikes at the World Trade Center and the Pentagon.

The tension reaches an even higher level when the terrorists take over plane and grows when the passengers make those final gut-wrenching goodbye calls and mount their counterattack. When United 93 ends, the audience sits in a somber stunned silence, followed by a round of applause.

While the events of Sept. 11, 2001, occurred almost five years ago, they have forever changed our lives. Yet, unfortunately, the lyrics of Darryl Worley’s song “Have You Forgotten” may be true. United 93 vividly reminds us not only of the threat of terrorism poses to our society but the courage of the passengers of Flight 93 who mounted the first successful counterattack in this long war.

Dr. James A. Leggette of Brandon is an economist and talk radio host on WMOX-AM in Meridian. He is collaborating on a book on President Reagan’s economic legacy.

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