Advertisement

9/11: The Falling Man

The Falling Man, the story of the ‘jumpers’ of 9/11. It follows the trail of the photographer who nearly lost his life shooting the image; of the citizens who decried it, arguing that it was sensational and exploitative; of the editors who published it and then reluctantly banned it; and the journalist who finally uncovered the falling man’s identity. The Falling Man confronts this single, harrowing image and helps history to give a proper due to the jumpers of 9/11.

Join The Conversation

23 Comments / User Reviews

Leave Your Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

  1. Zo tragic, usa stop doing this to your people

  2. bush did it

  3. It looks like he’s trying to use his shirt as a para-shooter.

  4. And to think, our government did this. why are we not more angry? Like a frog in boiling water, we won’t realize in time to do a single thing about it.
     

  5. Cmon People! That picture of the Falling man is such a photo shopped fake! Nobody can take a nose dive like that 110 stories to the ground with his arms to his side and his shirt clinging tightly to his body! His arms whould be waving frantically in the air and his shirt would surely be waving about in the wind as he is falling at terminal velocity! Please! Wake the fuck up!

    • U idiot, it was inevitable he was going to die he wanted to do it with grace, and knew he would die, no point in flapping arms etc, rip

    •  you obviously were not in NY on that day….. please respect the people that were and had to see these horrible images first hand…they are not “lying” to cover something up… their pain is real.

  6. I will watch over you and I love you even if you deny Me.

  7. I’ve often wondered about this – the individual person faced with a
    no-win dilemma – particularly that day. I saw the jumping live, I think. The
    utter horror. The natural tendency to ask what I/you would do. The film maker
    leaves the possibility that the Jumping Man may not be identifiable for certain.
    But I think he was the sound man from the Windows on the World. I think he is,
    among other things,  a poignant symbol
    for all of us. Talk about end-of-life choice! What struck me the oddest, though,
    was how the first and last  families
    thought to be the possible Jumper’s family – both of them still appeared to
    cling to the one “God” mythos. The Hispanic family was worried that if their
    loved one jumped, he would automatically go to ‘hell’. How fucking absurd. The
    father of the black guy – the sound man – was a Baptist preacher. He refused to
    talk about it – saying that he comforts other people (as a priest) going
    through their own tragedies – but he was at a loss regarding his own. It
    appeared that he didn’t want to go there because it (the whole situation)
    implies that the whole God-thing may be what it in fact is – utter nonsense.
    Another glaring omission (though you can’t blame the film for this) is that the
    ostensible official and overwhelmingly public story of the hijackers was that
    they were acting on yet another iteration of the “God” thing. Please, folks.
    The whole anthropomorphic idea of a God is a chronic cultural virus. It has to
    be discarded already.

    An excellent documentary, all the more, and none the less.

    • The question shouldn’t remain that these people took their own lives by “jumping” to their deaths. Period point blank, they were MURDERED just like all of the other victims on 911 because it’s fair to assume that NONE of those 200 odd people would have been jumping to their deaths that day otherwise. They were forced into that decision by their executioners. Stay here & burn to death, succumb to smoke , or try & seek fresh air & hopefully some form of rescue only to be hit with the fact that help is not coming. I watched the “jumpers” as they began to fall through the sky so high above on that utterly perfect morning otherwise, & what I witnessed was that SEVERAL of them actually fell trying a last ditch effort to scale down the bldg to any floor promising escape yet with no equipment to do that, people using their jackets or tablecloths tied together, etc as repelling equipment, their attempts were all in vain as they lost their footing or their grip & sadly lost all hope in that very moment, their last moment. The images of the people who fell from the towers that day has ALWAYS been seared into my mind since. Realistically… not a single one of us really KNOWS exactly what we’d do if faced with that decision in that situation & the ONLY ones who can died on that day so it’s impossible to ask any of them… I DO know that the 1st official victim was a fire chief on the street in front of the north tower who had his fire helmet broken into 4 quarters just from the impact of a falling woman’s FOOT impacting with the chief’s head & he was instantly killed from severe head trauma. Although he was NOT really the 1st actual victim of course he was the only casualty that we could confirm entirely so he ultimately was named the first official victim on 911 with total certainty. . I did thoroughly enjoy this documentary, no enjoy wasn’t the right term, I found it extremely honest & respectful.

  8. Jews at work!

  9.  Some of the survivors (spouses, usually) have some profound things to say, don’t they. The narration may at times be a little dramatic, but not a problem. This is a powerful challenge to confront the realization that people jumped out of the building. Its horrible, but maybe an important part of the grieving process, especially for survivors who knew someone who died. I understand him wanting people to know, so healing doesn’t mean we’ll forget. process, especially for survivors who knew someone who died. I understand him wanting people to know, so healing doesn’t mean we’ll forget.

  10.  Some of the survivors (spouses, usually) have some profound things to say, don’t they. The narration may at times be a little dramatic, but not a problem. This is a powerful challenge to confront the realization that people jumped out of the building. Its horrible, but maybe an important part of the grieving process, especially for survivors who knew someone who died. I understand him wanting people to know, so healing doesn’t mean we’ll forget. process, especially for survivors who knew someone who died. I understand him wanting people to know, so healing doesn’t mean we’ll forget.

  11. Some things I think, are not meant to be comprehended in this life. There are so many things that happen, so much suffering, so much pain and fear all over the world, that we have to understand that in our human condition, we are subject to experiencing them and not always understanding them.

    My only hope is that we can be more sensitive to our humanity, and the humanity of all the others around us, and not repeat anything close to the events of that tragic day.

    We have to remember that every single soul alive on this earth at this very moment is a very special, and loved child of God. I think if more people knew who they were, where they came from and where they are going, individuals would be much more hesitant to carry out such atrocities, and show more kindness to those around them.

    • You forget that these atrocities were in the name of God…

      Or have you been smoking that California reefer? That stuff is potent isn’t it?

      I figured an insensitive comment deserved another.

      • On the contrary, I thought it was a clear and well written comment based in a thinking that takes into account all of humanity on this earth and its struggles with each other. Objectivity is key. All the world’s a stage and not all of what we see or can’t see is pretty but, one must accept it and do their part in life and repspect their fellow woman/man, one to one, on a daily basis. I don’t need a God to remind me we’re all on this boat together so we may as well get used to it, or perish.

      • much like the atrocities you are doing in Afghanistan and to other poor countries

        • Not we the usa, educate urself u dont blame za nation beczuze bush wants togo war

        • I am not convinced by the continuous attempt of greedy, power and money hungry, governmental war mongers telling humanity that Muslims, Islam or men of God, in Gods’ name, are responsible for the 911 attack. I believe that is simply not true.

          ANY atrocity occurring in ANY country is unacceptable and must stop.

  12. When I saw people falling on 9/11 while watching TV, I could not comprehend what was happening. To willingly jump to certain death and free-fall for 10 or more seconds… it is a disturbing idea that will continue to haunt me forever.

    • they probably thought that instant death was better than dying like those under the hands of the papacy during the middle ages..