National Geographic has done a great job with its series, Inside 9/11. It tells the story of 9/11 for 2 hours a night, and then a repeat for those who might not want their kids exposed. The series has very little politics in it and looks at what happened from an American point of view.
It’s been good to get angry all over again. There is something cleansing about remembering it all and bringing it to the forefront once again. To me, the part I enjoyed the most, if one can use the word ‘enjoyed’ is the section on George Bush. He gives a candid interview of what he felt that day. It was very touching as we watch the president of the United States vacillate between being the president and just being an American. He sure got more than he bargained for. Perhaps his 9/11 Address to the Nation will go down in the annals of history as one of the greats. It is simply too soon to tell.
Did anyone else see the series and if so, what were your impressions?
I agree completely. We’ve been watching this series, including the George Bush interview, and it is excellent. We upgraded our cable service a few weeks ago so I’m getting to see this, and have seen the “Too Big to Fail” movie on HBO.
@NTK, I think NatGeo has just done a very decent job with a subject that is still very raw. They have been extremely authentic without playing upon the horror of the day–nor have they attempted to sanitize.
What did you think of Too Big to Fail? Is it in the ‘on demand’ part of HBO?
Very difficult to watch. My wife had a very difficult time with it since she was just right at the Pentagon on her way to work just seconds after the plane struck. She has never been able to get that out of her mind. In addition, three of her former students were in the Twin Towers–three managed to get out but two were killed. I was in Kentucky on my way to my 50th highschool reunion when she called me on the phone, terrified–she was driving into DC in the HOV lanes when all of a sudden she was faced with cars that had turned around and were trying to get away from the area. I was listening to a book on my CD player and had not heard the news. When I turned it on, I couldn’t believe what had happened. The rest of that day was a blur as I tried to sort out what had happened.
@Moon-howler
Really enjoyed that also. The film was based on Sorkin’s book, so it came across as accurate and believable. We were worried about the kids accessing inappropriate material on HBO, but that hasn’t been a problem so far. The on demand features actually have a lot of appropriate stuff the kids like.
The film reinforces further the need for financial regulation. As I’ve written here before, Dodd-Frank did not go nearly far enough to restore the 30s-era regulations that worked and the dismantling of which over the past couple of decades was a major factor in the financial collapse. We have essentially no effective financial industry regulations to deal with changes in technology and the industry that have taken place in recent decades.
I cringe whenever I hear politicians talk about further financial deregulation. Unregulated markets work only when they are competitive (our financial industry is more of an oligopoly), information is freely available to consumers and investors (look how many lies about toxic assets on the books of major financial corporations were exposed after the crash), and there is no concentration of political influence (the problem of money in politics is worse than ever with the financial behemoths being able to buy all the politicians they need to ge their way).
@NTK
I shudder about less regulation also simply because of the number of dishonest people out there.
Have you tried the parental controls on HBO? I haven’t because I don’t have kids living here, just visiting and I am here to regulate it. If I am not here, they aren’t here. A little different when your kids actually live in the house.
I am glad you thought that Too Big to Fail was worthwhile. That was all the stuff my relative was telling me and I was pleased to see it validated since that had become a part of my belief system.
Did anyone watch last night’s (9/2/11) of NatGeo’s 9/11 coverage? The episode was about conspiracy theories still swirling around the collapse of the Twin Towers. Despite overwhelming evidence the “Truthers”, as they are known, still claim the fall of the towers was the result of a controlled demolition. I thinkn the “Birthers” drink from the same well as the Truthers and maybe some Tea Party folks have also taken a sip or two. Not the “Kool Aid” but just as lethal to normal brain functioning.
Yes, George, I saw it. I think truthers are nuts.