John Miles
Stunt Coordinator
- Joined
- Jan 16, 2000
- Messages
- 236
So what happens if leaving the towers in causes the audience start drifting towards what happened on 9/11, thus destroying the original artistic intent of the scene?
OK, let's talk about "artistic intent." Every exterior shot of Manhattan in A.I. carries a strong and very intentional subtext: humanity, unique among the members of the animal kingdom, fouls its own nest.
The voiceover during first few seconds of the film makes it clear that we've rendered our coastal cities uninhabitable through environmental damage. If leaving the WTC in the New York footage reminds the viewer of anything, why not the irony of great human works destroyed by great human failings? I would see them as complementing the symbolism of the drowned city, rather than detracting from it.
To address Al's concerns about historical revisionism being less forgivable than fictional revisionism: what's the difference? Whether you agree or not, film is a part of our history. You cannot alter a single frame of an existing film without changing the history of cinema and, consequently, the history of human mythology.
Leave the towers in, Mr. Spielberg. The terrorists have changed our lives enough already without any further help from you.
OK, let's talk about "artistic intent." Every exterior shot of Manhattan in A.I. carries a strong and very intentional subtext: humanity, unique among the members of the animal kingdom, fouls its own nest.
The voiceover during first few seconds of the film makes it clear that we've rendered our coastal cities uninhabitable through environmental damage. If leaving the WTC in the New York footage reminds the viewer of anything, why not the irony of great human works destroyed by great human failings? I would see them as complementing the symbolism of the drowned city, rather than detracting from it.
To address Al's concerns about historical revisionism being less forgivable than fictional revisionism: what's the difference? Whether you agree or not, film is a part of our history. You cannot alter a single frame of an existing film without changing the history of cinema and, consequently, the history of human mythology.
Leave the towers in, Mr. Spielberg. The terrorists have changed our lives enough already without any further help from you.