How Movie Terrorists Changed After 9/11

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[@BitestheStuff]

"This is fun terrorism" is not a line I thought I'd be hearing today.

[@jetsilveravenger]

It's all in good fun until it happens to the US, I suppose.

[@EneTheGene]

@@jetsilveravenger This :D

[@gregdesouza17]

I mean, most fun action movies involve absurd amount of violence no one would like to experience themselves.

[@tau6103]

@@jetsilveravenger its almost like its US movies watched by US audiences, who follow US events and have US opinions!!!!!!!

[@SimonBuchanNz]

​@@tau6103it's almost like that wasn't the point, it's almost like it was pointing out that it is bad taste to find something that's harmful fun to watch until you find out it's harmful personally: either you have absolutely no human empathy for anyone from another country or you're a complete hypocrite for only being offended about it now. Good thing it wasn't though, that means you would have had to have some self-reflection and awareness, and that sounds hard!

[@Formal_Andy]

The problem with American Sniper is that it presents Chris Kyle as someone who had remorse for murder in war, when the real Chris Kyle explicitly bragged about killing and loving it.

[@ernie9538]

Can you hand me down a video talking about it?

[@gabe6475]

Idk that it shows him as having remorse. It just makes him aware of his PTSD which is probably just a modern bias

[@owenparris7490]

Source?

[@khaledaldekaer8459]

​@@owenparris7490he had a book you can read

[@khaledaldekaer8459]

​@@ernie9538he had biography book in Amazon

[@nicholascastellano3464]

Lol! That cut to the lady doing the pledge of allegiance. I remember seeing this in theater and when it happened there was a lot of laughter.

[@americanseptember1614]

White House Down is stupid, but it's fun stupid and I laughed a few times. Olympus Has Fallen didn't have that, any laughs the film created were so unintentional and that pledge of allegiance was the worst offender.

[@def_not-luigi]

​@@americanseptember1614 m

[@MildMisanthropeMaybeMassive]

@@americanseptember1614 _American Vandal_ did a great teardown of the “____ has Fallen” film series.

[@blaplebeedoo8274]

She was such a tard

[@jordinagel1184]

@@americanseptember1614 I think it’s also the premise itself. White House security staff going rogue and taking the President prisoner, while silly, is somewhat believable. A North Korean hit squad just waltzing into the White House with barely anyone being able to offer resist? That’s just laughable

[@ArcTrooperRod-269]

Quick Fact: *G.I. Joe Rise of Cobra was one of the few movies that weren't affected by the 2007 strike because that movie was written in early 2000's, but due to the 9/11 attacks they deciced to pospose the movie until 2009 to prevent controversies*

[@serPomiz]

hard to change gi joe as a concept in the whole place, the whole thing is america-centric trans-branch army unit fighting against the ultimate terrorist conglomerate you flat out cannot have it work as anything but an anti-terror unit, otherwise you get actionman teamups!

[@TheVileOne]

That’s not a fact.

[@orangeinferno]

@@serPomizthat’s kinda why it’s died a lot since the 1980s. Other than nostalgia factor, I never see anyone buy GI Joe toys. When I buy transformers, the GI Joe stuff is always stocked. It’s very hard to see it the same way, and for a lot of people it’s hard to see it as what it was. America vs Terrorists as a concept is so closely associated with 9/11 that the goofy ass Cobra is hard to take seriously as a threat. Especially if there are real soldiers with families who fought in the Middle east. Plus, More and more news about America sucking does not help kids support America, or want to be american heroes.

[@ArcTrooperRod-269]

@@orangeinferno Recent Takes from the past decades potrayed the Joe's more as a Spy & Espionage instead of Militar, Like the IDW comics & G.I. Joe Renegades

[@ArcTrooperRod-269]

@@serPomiz tho IDW & G.I. Joe Renegades changed the concept to be more like Espionage, Cobra for example: -in IDW is more a Criminal Syndicate/S3ct -In Renegades is a Global Conglomerate that washes money & finance W4r in other countr¡es

[@Galaar]

I was in boot camp in Great Lakes when it happened, information was so tightly controlled my division didn't learn the specific of the attack until 9/14 when one of our instructors snuck in a VHS recording of the news. For 3 days all we knew was something bad happened that had the entire military at maximum readiness.

[@LordofMovies91]

I can somewhat relate as I was in bootcamp from April 2013 - May 2013, when the Boston marathon bombing happened.

[@jimmparker4]

Another similar story. I was at boot camp when the Edward Snowden leaks came out. Nobody bothered telling us anything though. It was weird figuring things out after because news coverage had slowed down and assumed you already knew the basic details.

[@DeadYorick]

Hans Gruber isn't a film terrorist he's revealed as a thief pretty early on in the film. They intentionally changed the plot from the novel from terrorists to thieves to avoid any political aspect to the plot.

[@fubar12345]

Yep, his backstory was former member of far left west german terrorist group - he was kicked out for only caring about money and not the ideology.

[@Op_Gator]

You have it wrong. They didn't change it from terrorist to robber because of political. They changed it because the director didn't like it. He refused to do it until they changed the terrorists in script.

[@eternalvibe9083]

Personally I think it's better and more funny, and they were able to make it well written instead of some awkward and unnecessary change.

[@SimonBuchanNz]

​@@Op_Gatorand his reasons for not liking it were ... ?

[@Op_Gator]

@SimonBuchanNz add some context in my previous comment. I heard it from Netflix documentary "How Movies made Us" in episode "Die Hard." John Mctiernan ,himself, said he simply didn't like the word, "terrorists. " I can't remember what's comments made about him, but down the line, he been known for making "family-friendly content. " something like that.

[@then00brathalos]

Pretty sad to see Arab/middle east characters changed after 911. Before 911 you had characters like Sallah, Massoud, the Medjai and many more. Wise, charismatic people that would follow the MC till death and beyond. The after 911, almost every middle eastern guy in film is a turban wrapped, raggity guy broken from civil war and extremism.

[@artloverivy]

It’s also pretty sad that in both eras middle eastern characters are always supports to the white protagonists, while never being allowed to be main characters themselves.

[@MrHaveaword]

Here’s something I recently found out: Massoud was assassinated just a day before 9/11

[@HighLordComedian]

@@artloverivy Man theres never enough white people in Bollywood movies, what the hell

[@artloverivy]

@@HighLordComedian Not just white people. Pretty much everyone besides Indian people are grossly underrepresented in Bollywood.

[@woahdaddy.standbackman.902]

@Allahcunny unfortunately, American art seems to reflect misleading politics more than it reflects reality.

[@Andres33AU]

I feel even the Robocop remake got a "terrorist makeover" with how Murphy initially "dies." In the original, the main villain was a violent street criminal, who shoots him at point blank range in an abandoned warehouse, and in the remake, Murphy's car was rigged with explosives, right in his own driveway. To me, it felt like in the remake, they needed a new "invisible" enemy, that was so dangerous, you weren't even safe at your own home. Video games too changed as well. The first Soldier of Fortune was like a cheesy, R-rated B-Grade movie, that didn't take itself too seriously, but the sequel covered terrorism in a more sobering, and a far less cartoonish light.

[@stevenrose86]

I remember in the UK in the 90s tv showed terrorists with a northern Irish accent and wearing a balaclava. The change happened as I was in my teens and it has definitely stuck

[@ArcTrooperRod-269]

WOW

[@moappleseider1699]

Maybe because IRA "terrorists" were a real threat, and so were Arabic ones. Doesn't take a genius to figure that out.

[@PsychoSavager289]

The Crying Game?

[@13thcentury]

​@ArcTrooperRod-269 We had the troubles. Car bombings, murders. A lot of bad shit. IRA were the standard terrorist.

[@13thcentury]

​@@PsychoSavager289And long good Friday - IRA mess with an East end gangster. But we had Arabs as we'll. Who dares wins

[@gabereynolds1299]

I think the fun terrorism aspect is something which the modern warfare series of games nail really well. The villians remind me of old bond in how silently charismatic and interesting they are.

[@Axl4325]

Yeah, I personally think Makarov is the kind of old school terrorist who is ruthless, dresses well and is charismatic. It's silly terrorism that our gunslinging cowboys and valiant knights (Price and pals) have to stop

[@Gadget-Walkmen]

​@@Axl4325 Wouldn't call it "silly terrorism" AT ALL due to it taking the material seriously as Makarov is a villain that's mean to be taken seriously as a competent threat. He's not a joke villain at all like team rocket or even campy fun like Hans Grueber.

[@larabrandt2980]

Being Irish in England, I knew that the same prejudice I faced was going to come around now for Arabs & Muslims. What a shame.

[@tavenstrickert9658]

I remember when I flew in from Ireland my backpack was so hopeful the customs agent had unzipped it to examine and saw all of my clothes falling out of bed that they just said you know what you're probably fine and let me go without finishing the inspection. When I arrived in Liverpool and I told the story to the 30 year old or so man behind the desk who was checking me in to my hotel, he just kind of sighed, looked down and said "glad to know that my safety is well in the hands of the Irish" which definitely felt like something filled with context from his personal life he even said something later that growing up when he thought of one of the terrorists was he never thought of Middle Eastern people he saw the face of an Irishman. That's the thing when something culturally permeates they can stay across multiple generations and creates these frameworks for how we see different communities. People forget the IRA killed as many Irish as British

[@gilangthehuman7713]

@@tavenstrickert9658 like how isis killed alot of muslims and others, pretty scary to think how close some things are

[@larabrandt2980]

@@tavenstrickert9658 My wife is Japanese-American, and has had to face xenophobia from WWII to this very day.

[@shenitagazaway2370]

I had just retired from the military when 9/11 occurred. I was settled into my new job back home. Terrorism was featured in TV shows quite a lot especially the original Law & Order....loved that show. I'm surprised you didn't mention the movie with George Clooney unless I missed it.

[@americanseptember1614]

Feel free to e-mail your story to the project! www.americanseptember.com/share-your-story.html

[@MikeA817]

you were just retiring and I was on my first deployment to Saudi Arabia. It's wild to think that I joined under a "peacetime military" Clinton but served under wartime George Bush (and Obama).

[@kalifogg6610]

I was thirteen. I was homeschooled and sitting in the living room, trying to do schoolwork as it was quieter in there and I’m easily distracted, when my mom suddenly came in with the radio she kept in her bedroom and set it up. I asked her why she was setting up the radio and she replied something about planes hitting towers. I remember the person reporting saying something about smoke and papers falling but not much else; she might turned it off or I might have left the room. I remember that our little town held a candlelight vigil either that night or on 9-12. I remember being so confused about why it happened and how someone could hate us so much that they’d do such terrible things to innocent people. Even now that I understand some of why people do terrible things and hate others it still confuses me why they hurt innocent people. I didn’t see the Towers fall until much later as we didn’t have TV and I didn’t seek out footage of 9-11 until years later. I was watching a music video here on KZbin and they showed the collapse of one of the Towers and I remember thinking that I had just watched hundreds of people die. It opened a flood gate and I started watching survivors’ stories and reading a few. I think that 9-11 changed our media forever. I don’t remember who did the video, but they talked about how Disaster films took as massive hit after 9-11 because we watched two iconic structures be hit by passenger aircraft, watched them burn, saw people fall/jump to their deaths and saw them collapse, crushing hundreds of people to death. We saw it happen either in real time or played back later; saw the aftermath in film and pictures. Suddenly the destruction was real and there was no comfort in it being fake, just miniatures and/cgi.

[@lVideoWatcherl]

That attack was senseless violence and utterly terrible. Sadly, the US as an entity is far more guilty of senseless violence among civilians, killing thousands upon thousands in drone strikes. Also, it should never be forgotten that it was the US intelligence agencies who first worked together with the religious extremists of the region, arming them and egging them on to fight (against the soviets and their allies). No civilian should be the target of any kind of attack. To ensure a more peaceful world, those with great military power need to be the most responsible and restrained in their application of said power.

[@CountingStars333]

> Have the largest army in the world, deployed at many foreign places to subjugate > Why do they hate us so much.

[@Duke_of_Lorraine]

Another major reason why North Korea is often picked, is as a replacement to China that many avoid portraying as the bad guys, hoping to get past the chinese censorship. Hence the Red Dawn remake for example : it would still be a big stretch but as far as countries that have the potential to invade the USA, China would be at the top of the list. But it would anger the CCP so to avoid the risk of having future movies of that studio banned in China, it was changed to NK.

[@breadstick4458]

Also both are really dumb, neither china or North Korea would be able to invade America, not to come off all patriotic but it’s near impossible because of all of NATO 0:00

[@allstarwoo4]

I know this is about how we see terrorist in movies but I liked "Ironman". The portrayal of weapons, war and politics felt good. All Arabs aren't terrorist and in fact can be victims. Making and selling advance weapons isn't inherently good because people can use them against you. Tony Stark getting betrayed at the end for money. It was a very nuanced for being a super hero movie.

[@Treblaine]

Life Free of Die Hard is still called Die Hard 4.0 in most places outside the US as most non-Americans do not understand the reference of "live free or die".

[@rafaelalodio5116]

Yeah in Brazil it came out just as Duro de Matar 4.0, never knew it was called live free or die hard in the Us.

[@zonastarwars4397]

i think it's because the title would be impossible to translate, it uses two english expresions "die hard" and "live free or die" so combining them and translating them just makes a mess.

[@satiricalhaz-homeofbanter4371]

It didn't stop a lot of people from thinking it was a dumb name for a film. Im from the UK and when i heard it was called die hard 4.0 i found it really funny. Why not just call it die hard 4. Clearly the hacking reference was lost on me at the time.

[@Carloszavalalol]

​@@zonastarwars4397vive libre o muere duro?

[@augustokonrad3572]

@@Carloszavalalol That sounds sounds like you die with your d1ck hard 💀💀

[@inmysights1]

Hans Grueber was not a terrorist, although that’s what he wanted people to believe. He had the look of a terrorist so they would shut down the power so he could break into the vault but in the end of the day, he was a thief. Even Takagi said, “you want money? What kind of terrorists are you” Hans Gruber, “ Terrorists, who said we were terrorists?”

[@lordofmud]

You didn't mention how China's billions of people affect the movie industry. The remake of Red Dawn is a perfect example. They changed the enemy from China to North Korea launching an invasion into the United States because China objected. You'll also never see any Chinese group or person portrayed in a negative light ever in the movies.

[@NuwandaLunaDragon]

The world need Chinese and American villains

[@Golan_Vivaldi]

I would like to read more on this topic, do you have some sources?

[@tbotalpha8133]

It's hilarious - film execs want to make money off of American anti-Asian xenophobia, but don't want to lose money by angering one of their largest Asian markets. The hypocrisy of capitalism in action.

[@incompleteriver770]

Dark Knight?

[@firmkillernate]

@@NuwandaLunaDragon Chinese films have American villains

[@josephbello3914]

I was just a baby during the attacks. It's really interesting seeing the reaction of the attacks on film. Part that stuck with me was James Cameron saying that terrorism isn't fun anymore.

[@forrestelliott9486]

I was in Kindergarden. I was confused as to why all the kids were being checked out and why the adults were all panicking. It was a weird day for me. I was 5 and wouldn't get the gravity of what happened for several years.

[@americanseptember1614]

Feel free to e-mail your story to the project! www.americanseptember.com/share-your-story.html

[@Incredible_Mister_J]

Us gen z kids have no idea what the world pre 9/11 was.

[@monkhead7217]

That’s very stupid, many gen z kids witnessed 9/11 happened

[@BullGator-kd6ge]

@@monkhead7217 Gen Z ranges from 1996 til 2010. The vast majority of Gen Z was born post 9/11

[@dylanrodrigues]

@@monkhead7217I was 1 year old when it happened bro

[@samuraijackoff5354]

@@monkhead7217 But would kids really remember the last 5 years before the towers fell?

[@SiPakRubah]

​@@monkhead7217I was born in 2001 The plane crashed when I was around 8 months, how the heck should I see it first hand, let alone remember it?

[@SaveDataTeam]

This is an incredibly well put together piece. I love stuff like this (like how horror villains have changes over the decades). I hope it gets the views it deserves!

[@americanseptember1614]

Thanks man. I've struggled with my reading speed and audio levels in past videos and this is the first time I've really felt like I got my flow down, glad people are enjoying it!

[@SaveDataTeam]

@@americanseptember1614 I do video essay content too, so I feel your pain, but this video was incredible. Keep up the good work!

[@americanseptember1614]

@@SaveDataTeam I'm gonna check out some of your videos! I've thought about doing a video on terrorists in video games. There's obviously a lot to cover there starting with the infamous "No Russian" Call of Duty airport shooting

[@SaveDataTeam]

The American September Project haha, yeah we actually just did a bonus debate on “best moments in gaming,” and “No Russian” was brought up a few times 😅. I would 100% watch a video on terrorists in video games.

[@blixer8384]

I love the interpretation of Red Dawn as a criticism of the Vietnam War because Joh Milieus is a self professed Right Wing Extremists who supported the Vietnam War (though opposed the draft) but under the principles of Death of the Author it is just as much as valid interpretation of the film as his original intent

[@LAHFaust]

Which is so weird because he's also the original author of Apocalypse Now, a film which is... not inherently anti-war but is anti-war in it's depiction of the criminality of US forces in Vietnam.

[@raulpetrascu2696]

​@@LAHFaustone of the messages of Apocalypse Now is that US could've but was too lazy and pampered and mentally unprepared to win the Vietnam War. The whole beach surfer and rock music thing was in contrast to the vietnamese who were squatting in a bush for weeks straight ready to do whatever it takes without moral judgement. Colonel Kurtz is basically the hero of the film, who broke away from the hypocrisy of the top brass and got the actual results but strayed too far from conventional society and the authority of his superiors. Man I love that movie With the war crime parts I'd say it's more realities of war, instead of an anti-war film

[@IsraelGovermentOfficial]

@@raulpetrascu2696 apocalypse now is just a reinterpretation of a book about some guy who made himself god over african natives

[@raulpetrascu2696]

@@IsraelGovermentOfficial I've read Heart of Darkness, I'm talking about in the context of if AN is anti-war or not. Because there's no war in the book

[@kingofcards9516]

Source. Also if that's true it's both funny and cool.

[@Shythalia]

"Where were you on 9/11?" Well, you see, I was too busy shitting in a diaper.

[@Kira_Official_]

I was a year old when 9/11 happened, so obviously, I know where I was when it happened. And I didn't see the shift of terrorism portrayed in movies like everyone else. Honestly, I still kinda don't. I grew up watching Spider-Man. A movie where, in a sense, a terrorist came from our own home and instilled fear in the people of New York. So in my mind, it didn't really matter who you were or where you from. Anybody could be a terrorist. Because anybody is capable of instilling fear in others.

[@Gadget-Walkmen]

You mean you DON'T know where you were when it happened when you were a year old, right?

[@bojackwhoreman1772]

So glad to see og Red Dawn is getting the love it deserves, Milius really crafted something unique and special that's never really been understood

[@transformersrevenge9]

Meanwhile japan of the mid 00's made a couple of very popular anime (Gundam 00 and Code Geass) that had the protagonists be the terrorists, and fight the evil, anglo-saxon based government of their story.

[@CAMSLAYER13]

The Japanese are way more racist than most countries but no one actually cares. Guess getting bombed so hard you made anime still wins some pity

[@skepticmonkey6923]

Based

[@pinkmann8399]

evil?

[@Seth9809]

The villains of Code Geass are basically just nazis.

[@huguesdepayens807]

Cringe. @@skepticmonkey6923

[@jasperohare8216]

Patriotism was always seen as the greatest weapon even before 9/11 in movies about terrorists, that part I disagree with.

[@lyokianhitchhiker]

We have nationalism but call it patriotism

[@IsraelGovermentOfficial]

@@lyokianhitchhiker both are good as long as it doesnt get too far

[@lyokianhitchhiker]

@@IsraelGovermentOfficial I’m referring to how our idea of patriotism is closer to nationalism, if you consider the actual meanings of the words

[@kingofcards9516]

@@IsraelGovermentOfficial agreed.

[@Aliwiththehookuporiginals]

I always think it’s funny when people complain about “movies today are to political” when movies in the 20th century were direct responses to what was happening in the world at their time of release Even Scarface (1932) was about Al Capone and was altered to “not glorify crime”

[@guilhermeborbabrito3664]

People who complain a lot about something being political today (movies, comics or cartoons) have this problem, they don't consider the old things to be political, maybe it's nostalgia, maybe the modern ones are more explict so it's easier to get. Try reading some old comics from the 70s and 80s and tell me comics only became political on the 2010s. If someone is saying that something was better before because It wasn't political, you can be sure there's plent of examples of the opposite.

[@Unidentified_Entity6]

movies today are not political enough

[@AneDijitak]

Next: How plague/zombie movies changed after 2020

[@nikoclesceri2267]

It’s still a bit early for the full scope of that change to be seen. But in a few years it would make a amazing video topic

[@keegantripp1245]

So far…not much has. Division 2 though got brutally axed content, though supposedly division 3 is in the works.

[@rafaelalodio5116]

So far I haven’t see any change, actually so far I have seen a much smaller impact than I thought it would have. The last couple of years millions of people died due to COVID, I thought it was going to be a huge collective trauma, but for some reason it just didn’t happened, I hope in some years someone will figure out the sociological reason behind it.

[@doctorrobert1339]

Give it at least another 7 years and we'll start seeing movies about the pandemic or how it affects pandemic/zombie movie tropes.

[@williampan29]

​@rafaelalodio5116 the answer is obviously because of corporate interest and mass media. By 2020 the film industry is basically taken by oligarchy. The few giants (Netflix, Disney and Warner Bros. Etc) will be very fiscally conservative. Plus there was also capital riot and BLM during the pandemic. This means any film depicting white supermacist terrorism will be very unpopular (at least within the US domestic market) for the rights, and having villains with nationalities of emerging market (e.g. India) is also a taboo.

[@ZgermanGuy.]

i was 7 and watching cartoons early in the morning when suddenly they cut to airplanes hitting the buildings which in hinsight is insane! they rippped every kid in germany out of the comfort of childhood that day

[@itsthecamaroguy]

It’s crazy to me to hear people’s stories of where they were and what they were doing when they’re not from the US. I always thought of it as only in the US, they cut off shows to broadcast that event and then just be on the news everywhere else. I don’t really remember where I was or what I was doing since I was 7 months old at the time.

[@althechicken9597]

Talaban became the equivalent of orcs for a few years in movies and gaming

[@Thatdude_2002]

Steven Spielberg said that every move about war good or bad is anti war and I have to agree war is talked about with glory but never fought with it and sure isn’t felt after it

[@CanadianRedEnsignCountryball]

Don't forget Corrupt Afrikaner South Africans in 1989's Lethal Weapon 2. The director originally wanted Soviets at the time but the USSR was breaking up at the time. He also wanted an enemy that related to Danny Glover character Roger Murtaugh because he is black. The director needed an enemy country so he chose Apartheid Era South Africa. Now the ANC is the enemy. EDIT: My sincere apologies forgetting the name of the director, it was Richard Donner, my memory slipped at the time. May Richard Donner RIP. Let’s hope Mel Gibson fulfills his promise of directing LW5

[@fettergraf]

I'm sure Richard donner never had the ussr in mind as opponents, it was CIA, Then south Africans, corrupt police and then triads

[@HamanKarn567]

Executive Decision is one of my favorite Kurt Russell films. Always felt like it was a Rainbow Six style movie we could have have gotten alongside the Harrison Ford Jack Ryan films.

[@ArcTrooperRod-269]

*0:40** The thing is:* _Iron Man is a character of its time_ -In his origins (60's-80's), Iron man Fought Asian & Russian Opponents, due to the current Cold War -In the 90's due to the end of the cold War, Iron Man's villains start to be more Magical & Cartoony, also because in the 90's Marvel took bizarre choices due its current crisis -In the 2000's his opponents were more Middle East-like due to the Obvious Topic of the video, also some of his stories in the Ultimate comics took Places in the 3° world Conflicts That's why originally The Mandarin was going to be from Afganistan instead of China(before Shane Black threw Favreu's plans to the toilet) -& now in 2020's his current adversaries are more Industrialized, Evil C.E.O's & Manipulative Influencers, like Fei Long

[@generalveers9544]

Easily a top example is how Call of Duty’s storylines went from average WW2 stuff, to horrific Come and See style anti war stuff briefly with World At War, to what it is today where every entry seeks to glorify something different about the military. My favorite is easily Infinite Warfare, in which the entire story is built specifically to glorify dying in war 👌

[@UnleashthePhury]

I’d forgotten that Arnie shoots a missile through a building into a helicopter in a densely populated area for the sake of a one liner in True Lies…

[@jonza2389]

This was really interesting. I'd recommend Four Lions (2010) directed by Chris Morris. As an example of terrorism/comedy. Satire on UK government and the terrorists. Amazing film

[@americanseptember1614]

I wanted to include Four Lions, but found it bloated the segment when I talk about Team America. I hope I can talk about it in a future video!

[@Abominatrix650]

This video feels as if it were made by Abed from Community. One of the shining examples of an Arab character in the post-9/11 era who was a fully fleshed out character with no ties to anything related to that. Good video essay. Analytical and concise.

[@freddogrosso9835]

"Long speeches and guided missiles".

[@invisibleman4827]

Terrorism was "fun" for American audiences who were for the most part pre-9/11 untouched by it. For those of us in other countries menaced by groups like ETA in Spain, the IRA in Britain and Ireland, HAMAS in Israel, etc, it just wasn't such a big laugh.

[@Yea___]

Ayo Hamas lowkey chill

[@averagejoe8358]

My uncle was a trooper that was killed in The Hyde Park bombings and my step-grandad was a PARAS, did a few tours in NI, the Gulf, the like. My family’s been embroiled with the fight against terrorism, both my mum and dad have told me how they had to do bomb drills in school in case the IRA carried out an attack.

[@lyokianhitchhiker]

I think a lot of it is also that out of all the times where America was the victim of the wrath of another country as opposed to perpetrating that wrath, 9/11 is both the only time civilians were the primary targets (as opposed to the offending country going after the military with any civilian victims just being collateral) & the only time it happened after the beginning of the current millenium

[@mikhailryzhov9419]

Do you forget about Oklahoma City bombing, for example? Abortion clinic bombings. Centennial Olympic Park bombing anyone?

[@13thcentury]

The yanks were asleep at the wheel and late for the party - again

[@Alex-nl5cy]

It's misleading to suggest that American Sniper wasn't propaganda, or that people "took the wrong lesson from it". Some superficial critiques of war don't stop propaganda from being propaganda, people took what they did from the movie precisely because of all the things it was doing, the things that it showed, the things that it didn't, how it was shot etc.

[@pop000690]

Agreed, plus Chris Kyle irl wasn't quite the noble troop the film makes him out to be as

[@FLy1nRabBit]

I think we’re far enough away from the actual event where it’s sort of a “clean” slate again

[@dragonstormdipro1013]

Maybe. But after the defeat in Afghanistan people will question of the credibility of portraying America winning against Terrorists in screen when in reality they couldn’t.

[@user-nu5gc6gt5k]

There's only one true terrifying, evil terrorist: Achmed the skeleton puppet

[@Argyle117]

I’m sorry, but “Wimbledon tennismatch” killed me

[@wiffleflower123]

man i am so glad i found this channel, i find this shit so interesting!

[@nickenglehart6469]

Whenever people say movies are political now, I wanna so them this to prove movies have always and will always be political, you just don't like the current politics they are showing.

[@tavenstrickert9658]

It's because of the people that make them are political, it's the very nature of politics that is one of the defining features of humanity as we have often been described as a political animal. The French philosopher Albert Camus once said that every piece of media is political and philosophical in nature even if it is only subconscious because every piece of media portrays a worldview, a way of living, and things that are valued and unvalued. Anyways that's my long-winded way of saying I agree with you

[@OK-yy6qz]

Ironically enough people usually say that about movies that aren't political. Or at least not about the political aspect of them. I've never seen that phrase used properly even when certain movies are basically US army commercials or on the other hand when they directly criticise certain Wars/or general government decisions.

[@dextro808]

Hans Gruber, Eastern European? Are you cooked, mate?

[@ChadVulpes]

Nah, just American.

[@JuliusBriggs]

very well put and thought out props to you sir

[@JoeNaeem]

Great channel! Commenting to boost you in the algorithm

[@MrHaveaword]

Amazing analysis thoroughly enjoyed myself

[@TurtleTreehouse]

9/11 ... I was in 8th grade, Twin Spruce Junior High in Wyoming. That morning I was running late for class, 8th grade science, sliding to a stop in front of the door with my typical nerdy load of backpack, saxophone case, gym bag, and two or three binders under arm. As I entered the room, I noticed that everyone was silent and watching the old TV that hung from the ceiling in the corner. There the two towers stood, one of them billowing black smoke. It felt odd, normally if we watched a movie it was Bill Nye. "What movie are we watching?" I asked jovially. Then the second plane hit. As I recall, everyone remained silent. Transfixed. No one answered my question. But gradually I realized that it wasn''t a movie. It was the news. After the bell rang I remember being swept into the hallway into the typical crush of rushing students. The trampling river of backpacks and playful chatter swept me towards the stairs in its flow. Probably most of the kids hadn't seen the "movie" yet. Instead of keeping pace, I drifted, still stunned. I felt light-headed. That day I might have been only 13 years old, but I reeled with a very adult feeling; I knew it was a changed world.

[@ludaroo]

I was 9 months old. Here in Missouri, My parents rember it really well and have the original news paper for both the attack and the execution of Osama. And my childhood neighbor was actually 2 blocks away from the towers when they collapsed, she was in a restaurant and was okay, but her car parked a block closer was destroyed. 10 years later, her car was destroyed again by the 2011 Joplin, Mo, F5 tornado.

[@autismobinch135]

Victimizing your war criminal protagonist doesn’t make a movie anti-war

[@macrosense]

Terrorists generally have some political goal

[@Elghast]

Please PLEASE make a separate channel with analysis of movies in general you have a gift Please thumbs this up This project for 9/11 is amazing but he should branch out don’t you think?

[@kuzuboshii]

Hans Gruber wasn't a terrorist.

[@shenitagazaway2370]

True! He was just a petty thief. Now, the other guy and his brother probably were terrorist. He should've showed the other Die Hard 2 with William Sadler as the lunatic.

[@georgemartyn5268]

I also fail to see how a german is an eastern european

[@georgemartyn5268]

@@georgegershwin327 eastern germany is still western europe, even if it was occupied by soviet union until 1989, and east germans are still western european in culture.

[@davethedude216]

Incredible video

[@Babbolozada]

In Sam Raimi’s Spiderman the blue of the suit was changed to match the blue of the flag, not the lighter blue usually worn by Spidey

[@scratchpad7954]

Nearly everything I know about 9/11 today comes from rewatching news coverage from that day. I was five years old at the time, and I was being woken up to get ready for kindergarten. I think I was woken up probably sometime between the second plane hitting the South Tower and the South Tower collapsing, which would have been typical for me since elementary school started in my area at 9:00 AM or 11:00 AM in New York City. It would have been insensitive to have not cancelled school that day. Because I was so young when it happened, it is a complete blur.

[@SHAMSHAM1090]

Movie terrorist became cartoonishly competent when in reality, most terrorists are fuck ups, messing up their own plans

[@JeiJozefu]

That made me think of a CIA wiretapper "they speak in code words, but occasionally forget what the code words mean, so they whisper an explanation. As though the whispers don't show up on the wiretap"

[@Gadget-Walkmen]

LOL What? How is ANYONE "cartoonishly" competent AT ALL? What? You're just competent and meant to be taken seriously and that's it. And most terrorists aren't "f-ups" at all when they actually SUCCEED in their plans. No idea on what you're getting that from at all.

[@MistaP13]

I’m surprised you didn’t mention the film from Denzel called The Siege. 😳

[@vaporwavevocap]

I was 3 years old, it's one of my first memories watching my mom and grandma crying while watching the TV. I didn't know what was going on but it effected me for a long time after as I grew up encouraged to watch the military channel in a very Republican household.

[@wyvernharries4788]

I sometimes ponder questions like this. Our bad guys went from 60's stormtroopers from Miami. To guys in black body armor, As did the good guys fighting them. funny. From a shooting gallery to Drones. Funny.

[@petersengupta]

I’m surprised you didn’t mention The Interview (2014)

[@ronmka8931]

it sucked growing up in the uk during 2011-16, terrorist attacks every other week and I was made to feel as though I was responsible for it

[@rustledjimmz8967]

did you live in a different UK to me

[@ronmka8931]

@@rustledjimmz8967 I dont understand

[@rustledjimmz8967]

@@ronmka8931 Just cause your version of events for those years is very different from what I remember

[@ronmka8931]

@@rustledjimmz8967 well I was only 9-13 at the time, different people, different experiences

[@azmodanpc]

The movie with Denzel Washington The Siege was a really nice flick with a post 9 11 vibe…In 1998

[@cavemanpretzel9520]

5:30 the inside man is an amazing movie

[@historyofnetworktv]

Great video.

[@AMainProductions]

But Hanz wasn't a terrorist, he was a heister .

[@nathanielschwartz425]

10:06 Actually, that film is an adaptation of the very first James Bond book “Casino Royale” written by Ian Fleming in 1953 and is a (mostly) faithful adaptation of the original novel. It has absolutely nothing to do with 9/11.

[@ChucksSEADnDEAD]

The novel Casino Royale had Le Chiffre working for the Soviets and losing money by investing in brothels right before France bans the practice of prostitution. The movie Casino Royale switches Le Chiffre to a money man who launders the money to finance terrorism, and loses it because he shorts an airliner's stock before a terror attack which Bond foils. Le Chiffre wasn't just working for terrorists, but he planned to profit from terrorism.

[@silverskull7669]

I think the truth lies in the middle. It's true that it's faithful to the novel, but what pushed the production to take that route is probably the reasons he stated in the video

[@nathanielschwartz425]

Maybe. I mean, they did modernize it (for example there are cellphones and so forth), so it is possible. But I just don't see the connection to 9/11 in the film. It's possible, but ultimately I think it's a stretch.@@silverskull7669

[@user-bz3kd2mt3u]

I wish I could watch this video, but without any subtitles to help me I just can't make out the words.

[@_BluePen_]

"We're where you on 9/11?" I was in my father's balls. I was born in 2004

[@alexeraven]

Same bro (2009 for me tho)

[@anodosarcade7355]

Politicians are using Born In The USA by Springsteen in their patriotic rally’s He singing about U.S.A. and being born there. What’s not to love!

[@AmandaFessler]

Was just starting seventh grade in a new city. Still adjusting to living in a small apartment. Mom suddenly woke me up shouting, "Get up! The World Trade Center is gone!" Saw the second tower go down on live news.

[@imhollywood101]

I skipped grade 9 high school on 911. Woke up to "America is under attack" on the news.

[@man.actual]

Red Dawn has such video game potentional

[@dc7981]

Homefront lol

[@man.actual]

@@dc7981 that doesn’t count

[@elliottblackburn4331]

You forgot “drop with the zero and get with the hero” from vanilla ices movie cool as ice

[@lordgiacomos2551]

"Bakar is no Hans Gruber, you probably don't even know the name." *Laughs in browsing mcu wiki for fun phase.

[@Thedarkknight2244]

I think the guy should distinguish between films there to entertain, and those that are meant to make you viscerally feel.

[@Retrad_]

"lmao" he said "people go boom boom" he said, and praise be on him

[@Nuh-zd5py]

Part of growing up is realizing that most action/military movies are just propaganda

[@zakharrison1244]

Movies like Dirty Harry and Black Sunday (1977). Had dark realistic terrorists too.

[@nc9318]

not all people of Middle Eastern origin are terrorists .

[@The_SonicFan2010]

I was not developed yet

[@mariocaso6186]

What's Cumberbatch's role/movie in the preview?

[@thebananamelon5065]

I was 5 months old on 9/11. I shat muself

[@sharkquisha3407]

I remember a year ago being in basic training and reading Chris Kyles book. He was a bonehead tbh, the book felt like a middle schooler wrote it. He also tried to ruin Jesse Ventura and denied any warcrimes in the Iraq war so I don't really buy his bullshit.

[@berkeleycreager3601]

THE LYBIANS will never not be funny holy hell

[@jables9229]

They’re foreign, but not arab because they’re not the go to bad guys yet.-Cleveland Show Die Hard parody.

[@ChucksSEADnDEAD]

In the 2000s, a suicide bomber in Russia was setting up her vest before a new year's eve attack, and the detonator was hooked up to a cellphone where any ring would set it off. When she turned the cellphone on the provider sent one of those automatic happy new year messages, prematurely triggering the vest when she was alone.

[@himmlerwamlstein7128]

2:06 hey that is actually clever

[@owenparris7490]

Patriotism is okay as long as you can balance it with recognizing any problems your country may have and help to solve those problems.

[@coyotej5452]

3:30 well this stuff probably actually happened to Chris Kyle.

[@goldenfiberwheat238]

I don’t know where I was on 9/11 I was 3

[@30AndHatingIt]

What I find most intriguing about all of these terrorist vs cowboy movies, or any bad guy vs good guy movies for that matter, is that in reality there really are always arrogant but patriotic cowboys who will stand up to bad people’s sh**. Basically, we have to tolerate these cowboys because we need them when the chips are down. Otherwise we have to get our own hands dirty… and you know most people won’t.

[@jonathanplooij3666]

I never expected to hear fun terrorism in a movie

[@acksawblack]

American sniper is still pro war, pro american intervention. Being sympathetic to the American soldier's struggle while still glorifying and justifying the man's action's. Yes both sides suffer but i'd still rather be a sniper with ptsd than one of the dead bodies left in the road by a foreign invader.

[@thefruitman3200]

is it? haven't seen it in a while but i distinctly remember the absolute horrible effects war had on his family and on his psyche. I don't think it was justifying or glorifying his actions

[@averyplaysguitar]

and the real guy is a bloodthirsty psychopath

[@Mr-Bogs]

@@averyplaysguitar Did you know him?

[@clusterflick6333]

@@thefruitman3200 I respect Clint Eastwood tremendously as a filmmaker, but the ending of that movie, with the real-life footage of his funeral parade being escorted by American flags everywhere, with the sad-yet-heroic music playing in the background, made me actually uncomfortable in my seat watching it. It was the most blatant, pro-war propaganda footage I've ever seen in a major motion picture, and that's saying a lot.

[@averyplaysguitar]

@@Mr-Bogs he made up stories about murdering people, enjoyed killing, and inflated his kill count, because he was a bloodthirsty psychopath.

[@pivotguydc1149]

You tackled Iron Man 1, but not the other two? Iron Man 2 features a Cold War villain, and Iron Man 3 quite literally uses the middle-eastern terrorist stereotype to sell you on its twist. Yes, it does fall into the "save the President" trope, but the *actual* villain is American, and even the Vice President is in on it too - not because he's a spy infiltrating the govt, but because he genuinely believes in the villain's sell.

[@farleymarly2575]

Yep the old school terrorist had style nowadays political fractions have become terrorism but only if your old enough you can understand this. If you think terrorists is a arab in the desert then you missed out what old school terrorists actually were.

[@adrianhenle]

Today I learned that Germans are "Eastern European"...