1

AIRFORCEONE
1997
Director:WolfgangPeterson

By

TyWhalin

HUM1021IntroductionToTheHumanities
JamesM.Manley,Ph.D.

25July2004

TheplotofthemovieisagrippingthrilleraboutasteadfastU.S.Presidentwhohasjusttoldthe
worldhewillnotnegotiatewithterrorists.Now,RussianneonationalistshavehijackedAir
ForceOne,andthePresidentisfacedwithanearlyimpossibledecisiongiveintoterrorist
demandsorsacrificenotonlythecountry'sdignity,butthelivesofhiswifeanddaughter.

Aftercarefulthoughtandconsideration,Icametotherealizationofhowthismovieaffected
myself,andmillionsofotherpeople,whohavebeenheardaroundtheworld.Ithasbeensince
September11,2001,whenthistragicworldeventoccurred.Ihaveseenbooks,newsreports,
pictures,letters,namesetcsincethebeginningofthisundeniableevent.Thishascausedpain
andsufferingamongstmillionsofpeoplenotjusttheUnitedStates,buteverycountryofthe
entireworld.

Theeasilyhijackedairplanecausedhysteriaeverywhereasdidthe9/11airplanes.Ididnot
constitutethisasameansofstartingwar,butpossiblyanalternativewayoffindingouthowthis
tragiceventaffectedmepersonally.Thisisnoranexcusetotakeawayanyoftheglorysome
peoplehaveprofitedfromthroughoutthistragicworldevent.Ievenlaughwithmydadabouta
shirthewearseverysooftenthathasaflagoftheUnitedStatesonthefrontoftheshirtanda
imagewithasetofcrosshairsonBinLadenface,onthebackofhisshirt.Imsuretheperson
fromwhomhepurchasedtheshirtfromprofited.Ialsohopethatsomeofthemoneyhemade
wenttothe9/11memorialstohelpthe9/11victims.

Isupposeitisjustanotherwayofspreadingthewordofthistragicworldevent.Rightnow,
everybodyshouldalreadyknowofthisevent.Iknowtherehasbeenplentyofupsetpeople,
especiallythevictims,concerninghowthefundswereappropriated.Iown9/11memorable
itemsmyself.IhopesomeofthemoneyfromwhatIhavepurchasedhelpssatisfytheneedsof
the9/11victimsaswellastheother9/11merchandisepeoplehavesoldandpurchasedoverthe
years.

Therepercussionsofthismonstrousevent,insomeothermindsofpeople,havebeen
overwhelminglyhatefulandheartfeltbymillionsofpeople.ItevenremindsmeofhowluckyI
amknowingthatIcanwalkontwolegsandtherearepeopleconfinedtowheelchairs,who
wereinjuredbythistragicevent.Allthevictimswhohavelostfamilyandfriendsdeserve
perseverancetogetthroughtheirstrugglesoflife.Inoticedthatthemovieresemblesthesame
formofnonnegotiationswithterrorist,asdoesthegovernmentoftheUnitedStates.Beinga
personwithmilitaryknowledgeandexperience,youcouldviewthismovieasafairandrealistic
scenario.Asyoualreadyknowtherewereairplaneshijackedduringthe9/11events.Theonly
realdifferenceisthatthe9/11airplaneswereaimedatharmingthousandsofpeopleand
governmentalbuildingsandnotusedasameansofpersuasion.

HarrisonFord,TheCommanderInChiefplaysthepartofthePresidentwhiledetouringthe
neoterroristfromtheirinitialgoalofRussianworlddomination.ThePresident,cabinet
members,andhiscrewstoptheneoterroristfromsucceeding,whileloosingminimallife.Due
tosecurityreasons,theneoterroristwasabletogainaccesstoAirForceOnewhileinflight.

Duringthistime,GlennCloseastheVicePresident,secondincommandtothePresidenttakes
commandoftheWhiteHouseinWashingtonD.C.Unliketheeventsof9/11,themovieallowed
controloftheterrorist.

Theexplosionsandcrashingofairplanesremindedmeofthedramaticdisplayofimpactthatthe
hijacked9/11airplanescaused.Iknowthatthegraphicalexplosiongeneratedfromthe
explodinginairfueltankerdoesnotconstitutethetruereallifeexplosionscausedbythe
hijacked9/11airplanes.Asalreadyacknowledged,theterroristwerecontrollableinthemovie.
ThemoviealsobroughtaboutfamilycrisisasthePresident,hiswife,anddaughterstruggleto
stayalive.Ipersonallydonotknowofanyclosefriendsorfamilymemberswhowerestricken
fromthe9/11events.Although,Ihaveexchangedsomewordswithfriendsconcerning9/11,
someofthemhavefriendsorfamilywhowereaffectedbythe9/11events.

Iwasnotaffectedbyalossoffamilyorfriendssincethisworldevent,butpossiblyaffectedby
howitmademebecomemoreawareofmysurroundingsandwhatgoesonaroundme.Ihave
noticedthatItendtobemorecautiousofwhoIassociatewithwhiletryingtostaycurrentwith
moreworldnews.IfIkeepeducatingmyselfandstaycurrentwithworldnews,itshouldallow
metostayontopofanyfurtherarisingsituationsthatmayoccurinmylifeandotherpeoples
lives.Yes,theheartpounding,actionpackedscenesgeneratedplentyofemotiontokeepme
interestedinthemovie.Isawminimaldramaticcomedywhileatothertimesmisconceptions
andfamilycrisis.Theseriouscompellingdramaallowedtheviewertostayinfocuswiththe
movieatalltimes.Thegreatcloseupfootageoftheactionscenesdrewmeintothemovie.

AlthoughIwasnotseriouslyaffectedbythereal9/11tragedies,Ihavetakenthetimetoread
thebookwrittenbyTimeLifeInTheLandOfTheFreeSeptember11thAndAfter.This
onebookalonecausedemotionandthought,moreemotionsthanthemovie,becauseofthetrue
severitycourse.Thebookshowedanincredibledisplayofpeoplepullingtogethertohelpone
anotherduringandafterthistragicevent.Thepicturesofpeopleinthebookandacrossthe
newsshowedanastonishingamazementoftrueprideamongstpeoplearoundtheworld.Even
now,whenIdrivethroughmyneighborhoodIseeAmericanflagsand9/11flagsdisplaying
supportofthetragicevents.Oneoftheimportantthingsthatremaininmymindisthatyoudo
nothavetobeanAmericancitizentoknowandunderstandtheseverityofthistragicevent.
Fromeverychildtoeveryadult,weallhavebeenaffectedinsomemanner.

Theworldinvolvementhaspulledmultipleplacesandpeopletogether,whilealsocausingwarin
certainplaces.Itisalmostphenomenalthatittooksuchahorrifictragedytobringsomany
peopletogether.Plus,theunfortunatedisplayofwhoistoblameallofthefingerpointingand
propaganda.Sometimesitisjustenoughtomakeyouscreamwithhateandrage.

Iknowthatthisonemoviedoesnotcoverthecomplexityofthe9/11eventsinawhole,butit
bringsoutthetruelifescenarioofhowairplanesincontrolofwrongpeoplecancausea
magnitudeofdamageinmanyways.Overtheyears,hijackedairplaneshavecaused
irrepairabledamagetogovernments,peopleandcountries.Thereisrarelyeveragood
outcomefromsuchanevent.Mostoftheseeventsendinsomekindoftragedyordeathof

hundredsofpeople.PersonallyIfoundthatthemoviewasactionpackedandfullofheart
poundingexcitement.

Iremembergoingtoseethismoviewhenitfirstcameoutintheaters.AtthetimeIwasat
CaliforniaawaitingadischargefromtheNavy.SomefriendsandIdecidedtogoseethis
movie.Allwecouldtalkaboutafterthemovieendedwasifthiscouldreallyhappeninthereal
life.Fortunately,thiswasjustanotherfictionalmoviethatdidnotharmanybody.Manyofthe
thoughtspeoplehavetodayarethatevenafteralltheliveslostduring9/11,wearestillloosing
valuablelivesduringatimeofwar.Thedeathtollincreaseseverydayandnightasterroristand
innocentvictimsdie.Iaskwillthekilling,pain,andsufferingeverreallygoaway,truly?A
questionmanypeoplehavealreadyasked,willittakeanothermajortragedyforpeopletowake
upagain?Isitpossiblethatsomedayatravestysuchastheeventsof9/11couldbring
somethinggoodtousall?

Yes,heightenedsecurityandselfawarenessamongstourselveshascomeaboutallofthis,but
itwasnotworththecostofthousandsoflives.Asistheirreparabledamagethathasbeenfelt
bythefamiliesandvictimsaroundtheworldsincetheevent.

Aswiththemovie,liveswerelost,butthefinaloutcomecouldbeconsideredagoodoutcome.
Thereviewsofthismoviearedemandingandastonishing."Buckleyourseatbelts,AirForce
Oneisawildride."SteveOldfield,FOXTV,"Afastpaced,redbloodedactionmovie!"
JanetMaslin,TheNewYorkTimes,"Breathtaking,gripping,nailbiting,edgeofyourseat

entertainment!"PeterTravers,RollingStone.Iwouldagreewiththenailbiting,becauseI
chewedoffallofmyfingernailsbythetimethemoviewasover.