Huge media attention has been given to the Neil Armstrong biopic First Man in not showing the planting of the USA flag. I understand the reasons offered behind this decision. If I was the one querying the director or Ryan Gosling, I would say...series on the whole held a high bar, so why they showed that scene in the way they did is curious. I'd be interested to hear Tom Hanks or Ron Howard comment on that. And whether they gave any consideration to showing the
Imagine doing a movie on the life of Edmund Hillary, and then during the scene of reaching the summit of Everest, not showing him raising the British flag.
To quote Vizzini, inconceivable.
Or doing a movie about Iwo Jima, and not showing the raising of the flag. Boggles the mind.
Now here is what no one is focusing on, given all the buzz:
Skipping that scene is not the only missed 'flag opportunity' that Damien Chazelle passed on. He could have included in his movie what happened to the flag as Apollo 11 blasted off of the lunar surface.
As far as I am aware, there has never been a presentation of the US flag being blown over by the Ascent Stage blast. THAT would have made for a dramatic scene that would have been worthy of intense post-premiere debate.
Back in 1998, Tom Hanks skipped this historical event entirely. His episode dedicated to that mission ended with the flag raising. And other parts of that depiction of the EVA were cringeworthy. In particular, Buzz coming down the ladder. The E2M
My guess is that that's a scene that no one has considered putting into any Apollo 11 movie depiction. Not a production made in the USA, at least.
~ CT
In article <40e30e0d-b83a-4480-a86a-8b99b3b06234@googlegroups.com>, tdadamemd-spamblock-@excite.com says...series on the whole held a high bar, so why they showed that scene in the way they did is curious. I'd be interested to hear Tom Hanks or Ron Howard comment on that. And whether they gave any consideration to showing the
Huge media attention has been given to the Neil Armstrong biopic First Man in not showing the planting of the USA flag. I understand the reasons offered behind this decision. If I was the one querying the director or Ryan Gosling, I would say...
Imagine doing a movie on the life of Edmund Hillary, and then during the scene of reaching the summit of Everest, not showing him raising the British flag.
To quote Vizzini, inconceivable.
Or doing a movie about Iwo Jima, and not showing the raising of the flag. Boggles the mind.
Now here is what no one is focusing on, given all the buzz:
Skipping that scene is not the only missed 'flag opportunity' that Damien Chazelle passed on. He could have included in his movie what happened to the flag as Apollo 11 blasted off of the lunar surface.
As far as I am aware, there has never been a presentation of the US flag being blown over by the Ascent Stage blast. THAT would have made for a dramatic scene that would have been worthy of intense post-premiere debate.
Back in 1998, Tom Hanks skipped this historical event entirely. His episode dedicated to that mission ended with the flag raising. And other parts of that depiction of the EVA were cringeworthy. In particular, Buzz coming down the ladder. The E2M
flag blowing over.
My guess is that that's a scene that no one has considered putting into any Apollo 11 movie depiction. Not a production made in the USA, at least.
~ CT
My $0.02.
This is a Neil Armstrong biopic (sp?). The flag is there in the scenes
on the lunar surface. They only omitted the planting of the flag, which
was not considered to be a big thing. They're emphasizing the whole wee came in peace for all mankind (the actual quote is on a plaque right
there on the moon left there by Apollo 11).
Homer Hickam wrote a good article about this issue. And if you don't
know who Homer Hickam is, look him up and read some of his books (hint:
one of them is famous and was made into a Hollywood movie).
The new Neil Armstrong movie is about more than the lunar flag-planting
By Homer Hickam, September 5 https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/the-lunar-flag-planting-was-no- big-deal-leaving-it-out-of-the-movie-is-no-big-deal- too/2018/09/05/84096812-b13e-11e8-aed9-001309990777_story.html
Homer Hickam not only lived through that era (later working for USAAMC
and NASA), but he also has experience with Hollywood translating his own work into a movie. So, I would consider him an authority in this area.
Jeff
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In article <40e30e0d-b83a-4480-a86a-8b99b3b06234@googlegroups.com>, tdadamemd-spamblock-@excite.com says...
Huge media attention has been given to the Neil Armstrong biopic First Man in not showing the planting of the USA flag. I understand the reasons offered behind this decision. If I was the one querying the director or Ryan Gosling, I would say...
Imagine doing a movie on the life of Edmund Hillary, and then during the scene of reaching the summit of Everest, not showing him raising the British flag.
To quote Vizzini, inconceivable.
Or doing a movie about Iwo Jima, and not showing the raising of the flag. Boggles the mind.
Now here is what no one is focusing on, given all the buzz:
Skipping that scene is not the only missed 'flag opportunity' that Damien Chazelle passed on. He could have included in his movie what happened to the flag as Apollo 11 blasted off of the lunar surface.
As far as I am aware, there has never been a presentation of the US flag being blown over by the Ascent Stage blast. THAT would have made for a dramatic scene that would have been worthy of intense post-premiere debate.
Back in 1998, Tom Hanks skipped this historical event entirely. His episode dedicated to that mission ended with the flag raising. And other parts of that depiction of the EVA were cringeworthy. In particular, Buzz coming down the ladder. The E2M series on the whole held a high bar, so why they showed that scene in the way they did is curious. I'd be interested to hear Tom Hanks or Ron Howard comment on that. And whether they gave any consideration to showing theflag blowing over.
My guess is that that's a scene that no one has considered putting into any
Apollo 11 movie depiction. Not a production made in the USA, at least.
My $0.02.
This is a Neil Armstrong biopic (sp?). The flag is there in the scenes
on the lunar surface. They only omitted the planting of the flag, which
was not considered to be a big thing.
They're emphasizing the whole wee
came in peace for all mankind (the actual quote is on a plaque right
there on the moon left there by Apollo 11).
Homer Hickam wrote a good article about this issue. And if you don't
know who Homer Hickam is, look him up and read some of his books (hint:
one of them is famous and was made into a Hollywood movie).
The new Neil Armstrong movie is about more than the lunar flag-planting
By Homer Hickam, September 5 https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/the-lunar-flag-planting-was-no- big-deal-leaving-it-out-of-the-movie-is-no-big-deal- too/2018/09/05/84096812-b13e-11e8-aed9-001309990777_story.html
Homer Hickam not only lived through that era (later working for USAAMC
and NASA), but he also has experience with Hollywood translating his own work into a movie. So, I would consider him an authority in this area.
It was one of the top three defining moments of his entire life.
In article <c6e121de-0f8a-4c82-86f0-fcba830698cf@googlegroups.com>, tdadamemd-spamblock-@excite.com says...
It was one of the top three defining moments of his entire life.
Cite? I'm serious. This was a Neil Armstrong biopic, so what Neil Armstrong thought of that event is what matters most, not what the US
public thinks.
You're making the assertion. You back it up. What exactly did Neil Armstrong think of planting the flag? Was it truly one of the defining moments in his life?
Stuf4 <tdadamemd-spamblock-@excite.com> wrote
in <40e30e0d-b83a-4480-a86a-8b99b3b06234@googlegroups.com>:
# Huge media attention has been given to the Neil Armstrong biopic First Man in not showing the planting of the USA flag. I understand the reasons offered behind this decision. If I was the one querying the director or Ryan Gosling, I would say...
#
# Imagine doing a movie on the life of Edmund Hillary, and then during the scene of reaching the summit of Everest, not showing him raising the British flag.
What is overlooked is that symbolism is stooop^Wunnerving, and
the American instance of it especially so. An honest flag-planting
would have planted a second one right next to it, in black, red
and gold, for without Wernher von Braun and his German team,
no Armstrong would have been made to give in to political pressure
and waste a precious ten minutes satisfying those who come in
their pants when the national anthem plays.
Symbolism goes hand in hand with nationalism. It is used by nationalist
to appeal to low-insticts. The moon landing was much greater than that,
it had a human-kind dimension, as evidenced by the text on the plaque.
Kudos to Armstrong for making a reference to this in his first words.
Ditching the planting scene was totally fine. And it saves
having to clean a lot of stains in undergarment :-)
From Jeff Findley:meant to his friends, balanced with what it meant to his country, balanced with what it meant to the opposing country he was competing against, and then the big picture of what it meant to all of humanity.
In article <c6e121de-0f8a-4c82-86f0-fcba830698cf@googlegroups.com>, tdadamemd-spamblock-@excite.com says...
It was one of the top three defining moments of his entire life.
Cite? I'm serious. This was a Neil Armstrong biopic, so what Neil Armstrong thought of that event is what matters most, not what the US public thinks.
You're making the assertion. You back it up. What exactly did Neil Armstrong think of planting the flag? Was it truly one of the defining moments in his life?
It is laughable to hold that what matters most in a biopic is what the person thought of themself. If there was merit to that view, then all depictions of Adolf Hitler would show him to be the greatest leader of all time.
And books about Jeffrey Dahmer would all include recipes.
JF: "...not what the US public thinks."
I agree with that part.
In documenting the historical significance of an event that has impacted the entire planet, it is far from paramount to only paint the picture of a small fraction of that population.
Damien Chazelle has been entrusted with documenting a slice of human history. And it is clear to me that the proper angle to take is to show what the event meant to NAA as a person, balanced with what it meant to his family, balanced with what it
If you do that properly, the end result is that you have a balanced movie.
JF: "What exactly did Neil Armstrong think of planting the flag? Was it truly one of the defining moments in his life?"
In my own one-on-one discussions with Neil, I never asked him that.
But he has given interviews where he gives a clear impression that he didn't want his life defined by *anything* he did on Apollo 11.
And that's another reason why we don't look to the individual in order to get the final answer on what that person's life meant. The only reason the world cares about him is because of Apollo 11. This movie was not made because he was the First Manto cook an amazing dish for his wife using an unusual set of ingredients. And it wasn't even made because he was the First Man to accomplish an orbital rendezvous & docking. The world doesn't care about Gemini 8. History
The only reason the world cares is because he was the First Man. Again:
- The First Man to land,
- The First Man to step, and
- The First Man to plant.
For anyone who wants hard data to back this up, I recommend taking a poll. Ask people around the globe: "What are the top 3 things that Neil Armstrong is remembered for?"
Many, if not most, will say "Neil who?" Then you explain who he was. And that's when people will point to these three things he did.
If Neil were to present his own Top 3 list, it's quite possible that *none* of those events would make it. Look at Thomas Jefferson. On his tombstone he had his Top 3 listed. And you know what did NOT make his list? President of the United States.
Jefferson founded the University of Virginia. Does anyone care about that? He did.
In article <6498ff08-469d-4a9d-aff2-cc3aaf745e87@googlegroups.com>, tdadamemd-spamblock-@excite.com says...
JF: "What exactly did Neil Armstrong think of planting the flag? Was it truly one of the defining moments in his life?"
In my own one-on-one discussions with Neil, I never asked him that.
But he has given interviews where he gives a clear impression that he didn't want his life defined by *anything* he did on Apollo 11.
I'll agree with that. The actual evidence supports the assertion.
He was also a professor at the local university (University of
Cincinnati) as well as living in a smallish town outside Cincinnati
(about 10 miles from where I live). He was an engineer first and
foremost, IMHO.
The Aerospace Engineering building that Purdue built after I left (I
took classes in Grissom Hall) is named after him. He's kind of a legend
at Purdue, being their most famous astronaut/graduate.
The only reason the world cares is because he was the First Man. Again:
- The First Man to land,
- The First Man to step, and
- The First Man to plant.
For anyone who wants hard data to back this up, I recommend taking a poll.
Ask people around the globe: "What are the top 3 things that Neil Armstrong is remembered for?"
Many, if not most, will say "Neil who?" Then you explain who he was. And that's when people will point to these three things he did.
If Neil were to present his own Top 3 list, it's quite possible that *none*
of those events would make it. Look at Thomas Jefferson. On his tombstone
he had his Top 3 listed. And you know what did NOT make his list? President of the United States.
Jefferson founded the University of Virginia. Does anyone care about that? He did.
I'm glad you got to the crux of the issue. You, and a lot of other
people (mostly Americans), have gotten their nationalistic knickers in a knot because the biopic movie about Neil Armstrong didn't show one scene that you all consider to be essential (because 'Murica?).
Look, everyone on the whole damn planet who accepts the fact that the
moon landings were real also know that it was the Americans who
accomplished that feat. They also know it's not been repeated by any
other nation in the nearly 50 years that followed.
Not putting the flag planting scene in the movie was a choice made by
the writers, producers, and etc. in an attempt to focus on the man Neil Armstrong. Apparently, we're going to have to agree to disagree on
whether including that scene was essential. It is, after all, a matter
of opinion. There is no hard and fast set of rules for movie making.
Nor should there be. Freedom of expression is a thing, even for movie producers.
Thanks for the discussion. I'm pretty sure we're done here.
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