PBS TV -- The Center of the World (a WTC history)

The Stanford Advocate ^ | 9/4/2003 | FRAZIER MOORE

[risk]

NEW YORK -- For many of us, the World Trade Center has existed in two states. It was there. Then it was taken from us.

There is much more to the story of the Twin Towers, as viewers will find in "The Center of the World," premiering 9 p.m. EDT Monday on PBS (check local listings).

In this three-hour "American Experience" documentary, filmmaker Ric Burns explores why, in their absence, they command an inescapable presence in our lives. But he also reaches back nearly a half-century to tell the little-known saga of how the buildings came to be.

[nutmeg]

Since you mentioned the workers, it should also be noted that on the WTC, like other structures of its type, was built with labor from the Mohawk Indians from upstate New York, who have traditionally done the high beam work in this city. These guys used to come in during the week to work and then drive 12 hours back to the reservation every weekend.

Interesting... I didn't know that.

[nutmeg]

ping!

Please FReepmail me if you want on or off my infrequent ‘miscellaneous’ ping list.

[IowaHawk]

Saw it last night. An insulting PC glop of weepy bathos, long on oh-so-haunting tinkly atonal piano music and faux-introspective interviews with a raft of irrelevant lefty dipshits like Mario Cuomo and Pete Hammill. Capped off with the mindblowing "poetic justice" crack mentioned above.

Lost in all this mish-mash: there was not a single, solitary mention of who the attackers were, nor their motives, nor their goals. An alien watching this "educational" film would conclude that earth airplanes suddenly anthropomorphize, go crazy, and fly themselves into buildings for no discernable reason.

[stanz]

I watched the entire program. It was, after all about the Towers; how the idea germinated, the opposition to tearing apart the blocks it was built on, the search for an architect; the challenge of building the tallest buildings of their time, the creation of the site starting with the "bathtub", the mountains of steel that were put in place by armies of the best N.Y. had to offer and the actual completion of the building. There were lighthearted moments such as Philippe Petit re-telling the story of his tightrope walk between the two towers. He was articulate and was able to comunicate the awe which captivated him and forced him onward to accomplish his dream.

I was glad I stayed until the end. I was even touched as never before by the poignancy of Ed Koch's tearful remembrance and impressed by Mario Cuomo's quote from Teilhard de Chardin.

I thought that after two years, as another September 11th approached, the horror and unfathomable sadness that engulfed us all during 2001 would begin to have less effect on our collective psyche. Ric Burns reminded us that from the midst of sorrow came a strength and bravado in the form of legions of New Yorkers who showed up and stayed late. There were the stories of the rescue workers, the firefighters, the police, the emergency units - - - the people of New York....the lost. The film reinforces the fact that memory of that day and those towers will never diminish while our collective hearts keep beating.

[oceanview]

it was a good show, and I am watching WLIW PBS now, a show of just interviews with people who escaped from the building, what they saw, who they spoke to, what they lived through. Amazing stuff. More Americans need to see this, again and again.

[risk]

I just need to know that they haven't forgotten. I don't hear a representation of this anger in our leaders.

[tangerine]

I agree, a very good show. Taught me a lot I didn't know about the buildings and about NY in general.

[risk]

What did you think about the rift between the Rockefeller big government people and the small businessmen who opposed the building?

[Victoria Delsoul]

Thanks for the links.

[nutmeg]

Wow, thanks for that very in-depth review. I hope this is rerun again soon, I'd like to catch it.

[tangerine]

At the time, I would have agreed with the opposition to it aesthetically and due to the public subsidies that went into it. I doubt however that the businessmen who stood to loose the most from it, due to a loss of tenets, were what I would consider "small" businessmen.

[risk]

Thanks, I noticed that the paradigm of Rockefeller's ambitions was in conflict with small government conservatism. Good point about the landlords.

[dyed_in_the_wool]

Perhaps we should build the WTC replacements in the form of letters that say F**K ISLAM?
Interesting theory, though. Thanks for the links.

[stanz]

I don't know which public stations you have, but WLIW, a Long Island PBS is broadcasting it tonight at 9:00. Get set to cry a lot if you do get to see it.

[stanz]

Yes, I was watching that too. I believe, if memory serves me correctly that the Ric Burns film will be shown tonight on WLIW at 9:00.

[agrace]

I miss them. I don't in any way mean to demean the loss of human life by saying so, but I miss the towers. Having lived in and around the city for 15 years now, the sight of the WTC was always so distinctive (we could actually see them - and of course only them - from 30 miles away, very close to our house here in Somerset County NJ, as we crested one part of Rt 22 heading east), and always a favorite spot to visit and drag every relative that ever visited the area.

I actually feel an ongoing sense of loss for two buildings. The skyline certainly isn't the same, and never will be. I say build them back exactly the same, of course that's easy for me to say, since I don't have to work in them, provide security for them, make them safe for evacuation, or do anything but visit as I used to.

Glad I have plenty of pictures - from a distance, from on top, from the bottom, from the Circle Line... :)

[risk]

I can't help thinking that if we don't rebuild them either as they were, or bigger, we will be admitting to some measure of defeat. Or at least retreat.

[yonif]

I think we should rebuild them.