MovieChat Forums > Reign Over Me (2007) Discussion > Capitalizing on 9/11?

Capitalizing on 9/11?

posted 11 years ago by pulpfictitious65
7 replies | jump to latest

I've seen a lot of boards and comments (a lot more when it came out but I still see them) as well as reviews claiming that this movie was made to capitalize on the tragedy of 9/11. Could anyone explain this view point to me? They actually went out of their way to not mention 9/11 at all in any of the trailers, editing the line "His whole family died on 9/11" to "His whole family died in a plane crash." The only way anyone could've possibly known that it was centered around 9/11 was by either researching the movie or reading critical reviews (which mostly just bashed it for capitalizing on 9/11), neither of which is done by your general movie goer. They decide what they want to see based upon the cast and the quality of the trailers, and they'll look at reviews if they're sitting on the fence, which given the all star cast present here, probably wasn't many people. So can someone please tell me how exactly the filmmakers were trying to capitalize on 9/11?

If Chewbacca lives on Endor, you must acquit!!!

[–] joeyjmpoff 10 years ago

I dont know about capitalizing but the 9/11 plot will grab peoples attention because millions were affected by it. I just saw the movie on netflix , i clicked not because i know the actors but because i read the summary they show. It clearly states september 11 as the reason he lost his family

I dont remember when the movie came out what was the buzz but they seem to be mentioning 9/11 atleast in the descriptions now. Just look at the imdb page. However i did notice during the movie they dont mention 9/11 much and the trailers dont mention it either

[–] staticline1 10 years ago

They don't mention the date 9/11 AT ALL. Not one single mention. The closest anyone comes is when Sugarman says that on September 12, 2001, everything he knew about Charlie was gone. It's kind of unnatural the way the film dances around 9/11 attacks. No one would simply say "his wife and kids died in a plane crash" when referring to one of the 4 planes that crashed on 9/11.

Put your signature in italics or something so I don't mistake it as part of your post.

[–] doggie_rodriguez 9 years ago

netflix description...

Consumed with grief after losing his family in the World Trade Center attacks, a widower (Adam Sandler) runs into his former college roommate (Don Cheadle) -- a married man with two daughters and a dental practice -- and eventually starts down the road to recovery. Mike Binder directs this thought-provoking look at friendship and post-Sept. 11 society, co-starring Liv Tyler, Donald Sutherland, Saffron Burrows and Jada Pinkett Smith.

They mention it twice.

[–] Howlin Wolf 10 years ago

They weren't. It's a stupid argument deployed by the professionally offended... Using a real event as a backdrop is not the same as 'exploiting' it - it all depends how it's handled, and this was done as sensitively and tastefully as possible.



"Your mother puts license plates in your underwear? How do you sit?!"

[–] doggie_rodriguez 9 years ago

Agreed.

If this were the case pretty much every movie about anything even a little historical would be accused of "capitalizing" on *real event from past*

Are movies set in the 1860s capitalizing on the Civil War? No, that's just the backdrop for the film.

and this was done as sensitively and tastefully as possible.

Indeed it was. One of my favorite films of all time. And I mostly watch comedies.

[–] Howlin Wolf 9 years ago

 !



"Your mother puts license plates in your underwear? How do you sit?!"

[–] DoctorNordo 9 years ago

Yeah, these people might as well be saying that Apocalypse Now, Full Metal Jacket, Good Morning Vietnam, and Forrest Gump capitalized on the Vietnam War; or that Casablanca, Saving Private Ryan, Enemy at the Gates, The Pianist, Schindler's List, or a million other movies capitalized on World War 2; or that M.A.S.H. capitalized on the Korean War; or that JFK capitalized in the assassination of John F. Kennedy. Anyone who would make such a claim is an idiot.