9/11

If the lost generation were those individuals trying to make sense of WW I then we could term the generation trying to make sense of 9/11 as the generation of discovery. Even though both films are about how people cope with the tragedy of losing someone they love it’s also about finding out who they are. In both films personal discoveries led to acceptance. In both cases acceptance of what happened and that they had to move on.

 

Out of both films the one that resonates more strongly to me was Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close because it was really heartwarming by showing how much the kid was hurt and how it really effected him. When Oskar played the messages form his dad to his grandpa you could really feel the emotion and hurt he was feeling. He found a key and went on a quest to find out why his dad had the key and what it unlocked. Oskar went and searched the whole city for clues to what it could lead to. During the quest Oskar opened up little by little to some people and even to his grandpa. This helped him discover who he was and learn to accept what happened. In keeping with the theme of discovery he finds out the key wasn’t meant for him and that his dad wasn’t the only one that could think like him.

In the movie Reign Over Me Charlie has really bad PTST because of the loss of three daughters and his wife. His friend Allen tries to be there for him and get him to cope with talking about it. Charlie’s friend Allen tries to help him cope with everything by getting him to talk to a therapist. When Charlie goes to the therapist he gets some words out but never really talked to much. Except of the last time Charlie goes she tells him that he needs to tell someone what happened and it doesn’t have to be her. Charlie finely opened up to Allen and told him everything that happened. At the end of the movie Charlie gets his own place and Allen and his wife’s relationship gets better.