The Falling Man' - That Is What People Must See

This paper called “The Falling Man” essay and here I will analyse the background of this photo. September 11,2001 is a day to remember because not only did the Twin Towers fall, thousands of people died. September 11, 2001 started out as a normal day until a plane hit the World Trade Center. Just moments later a second plane crashed into the Twin Towers. The people thought it was all an accident until the second plane hit, that’s when they all knew it was a terrorist attack. Not only was the Twin Towers hit but the Pentagon was too. All the planes that targeted these places were hijacked. September 11, 2001 affected our whole nation because they were afraid for their lives. When the Towers collapsed it left the nation in shock. During all this chaos there was a photographer named Richard Drew among the crowd capturing photos of all the people jumping from the building. There was one man who caught the photographer’s eye, so he captured a photo of the man plummeting towards the street below. The photographer published that image in most American newspapers, and called it “The Falling Man.” The nation said that they were mortified, upset, and that Richard exploited the man’s death. After September 11, 2001 the nation decided to never print that image again. The publication of the photo “The Falling Man” should not be restricted because it allows others to appreciate their lives and understand the sacrifices made by others on September 11, 2001.

The photograph is of a man plummeting off the Twin Towers on September 11, 2001. The image shows a man in a “released state” as he plummets 150 mph to the street below. Instead of showing fear or frenzy, the image presents the jumper in a zen-like state of mind. In the image the man is aligned with the light and dark side of the building representing “good Vs. evil.” The man appears comfortable as he’s plummeting. The man has his arms by his side, his leg is bent at the knee. He represents freedom, defiance, and lives lost on September 11, 2001. The Twin Towers represent power, strength, and economy. The shadows and the alignment of the man’s connect to create a time of peace in his final moments in a time of chaos. The man represented what soon may occur with the U.S. The photograph foreshadows the “collapse” of a country for a certain time. The buildings represented Destruction of the U.S, end of innocence, and the collapse of the U.S economy.

End up this essay I want with this quote: “There is something almost rebellious in the man’s posture, as though once faced with the inevitability of death, he decided to get on with it; as though he were a missile, a spear, bent on attaining his own end”.