I think the story of Ling Young affected me the most. The biggest reason was because of how optimistic and cheerful her attitude was despite the horrific circumstances she had undergone. One of Young's quotes in the film was "It happened, but I'm alive." This quote really reflects her attitude throughout the entire film. Young was badly burned in 9/11, with second and third degree burns, while working in the world trade center. She also had to endure through over forty surgeries after being burned. She could have easily been very negative and angry with her situation of living with the hardship of burns and pains, but instead she rejoiced that she was still alive and was extremely grateful.
I thought that the time lapse was very effective. I think what the film maker was trying to convey was the experience of people who go through hardship and how they persevere through suffering. For instance, Whitaker (the filmmaker) says “The film, for me, has been about the day after, about moving forward and hope, the resilience that I thought could be seen." Because this was Whitaker's purpose, I think that seeing the characters recently after the attack (2002), and how they were still very much distraught, to 2009 when they were moving on with their life was a strong way of showing the characters change in attitude over time.
One of the most important things I took away from this film was gaining more understanding of the 9/11 event especially in a personal way. I have seen several things on 9/11 before, mostly history-type programs, but I don't recall ever seeing personal accounts of 9/11. Also, because I was just a kid when it happened, I did not really grasp the severity of it at the time. I felt like I really started to appreciate the event more and the victims it had a first-hand effect on.
link to info. about Jim Whitaker: http://www.nytimes.com/2011/08/22/movies/rebirth-jim-whitaker-documentary-on-911-aftermath.html
Ling Young was a very cool character. I think it probably wouldn't have been so amazing if she hadn't been so depressed toward the start of the film. She had given up any hope that she would get better, and that was a little hard to watch. It made the end even better though, seeing her lifted up and encouraged. She took her life as it was and tried to be as happy and funny as she could.
ReplyDeleteLing Young was a great character because she knows what happened inside the building. She was burned badly but she kept a good attitude. she is probably hurting inside but she doesn't show it on the outside,
ReplyDeleteI also think that Ling Young's story affected me the most. Her story and how fortunate she was to have survived the attack was amazing. Some how in despite of everything that happened she was able to see the good in her life and that is what kept her going. It would be interesting to see how she is doing so many years later when just one event changed her life so much for the rest of her life.
ReplyDeleteLing was definitely one of the cooler people in the story, I mean, I can't begin to imagine how someone can be so optimistic after something as awful as that happens, but she manages it anyway.
ReplyDelete