United93, the movie

So you've heard of this movie, right? If you haven't, come on out of your cave and join the rest of us! Here's a bit from the Internet Movie Database to get you up to speed:

Tagline: September 11, 2001. Four planes were hijacked. Three of them reached their target. This is the story of the fourth.

Plot Outline: A real time account of the events on United Flight 93, one of the planes hijacked on 9/11 that crashed near Shanksville, Pennsylvania when passengers foiled the terrorist plot.

I've heard some random rumblings about people objecting to this movie. Saying it's too soon. Saying it's not right to profit from these deaths. Saying this isn't fair to do to the surviving family and friends.

What I'm trying to figure out is if these rumblings are real or a Media Mirage. The reason I question the rumblings is the story given by the makers of the movie. They're saying that they spoke to family members of everyone on that plane. And they're saying that none of those family members objected to the making of this movie.

Some of the previews for the movie even consist of clips of several of these family members talking about the movie. They're not only not against the movie, they're clearly all for it.

I don't even get the Media Mirage. Hollywood always makes movies about the Bad Things That Happen. What's more, there have already been tv/cable movies about Flight 93. How is this different? The claim is something about being able to just change the channel when it's on tv, whereas you're less likely to walk out of a movie you've paid for. This, of course, is a stupid argument.

The less stupid flip side: those who shell out the money to see it in the theater are more likely to know whether or not they're going to be able to sit through the movie. Sure, sometimes things hit you harder than you anticipated. And if that happens to you, and it's just too much, then leave. You have feet (or if not, you clearly have some way to move around because you got into the theater in the first place), leave if you don't like it.

My point is, if you know from the get go that you're offended by the very making of the movie, don't go. Just don't go. That's a personal choice that you get to make for yourself. You do not get to take that choice away from me. You do not get to take away my freedom to choose for myself.

There's no need to whine to a reporter about the movie having been made.

There's no need to sound all high and mighty.

Just don't go see the movie.

And if you do go and it is too much for you, leave.

Here's the thing that gets me the most: the people on that plane that day were heroes. There is simply no question about that. True heroes.

They were admirable people who did an admirable thing. Something we all wonder if we could do. They risked themselves in order to save many nameless, faceless people.

Why shouldn't a movie be made about them?

In a time of memememe, in a time when too many folks seem to just not care about anything but themselves, in this age of extreme self-centeredness, I think a movie about everyday people acting selflessly is exactly what we need.