Man on Wire
Before I start telling you about how I feel about this film, Man on Wire, I have to tell you about how I came across this film.
I am currently taking a class called 9/11 and Its Aftermath on Coursera. I have to say that I am also learning the analysis of today’s terrorism, such as how it all started and what it is exactly, etc.
Speaking of 9/11, it’s hard not to relate to the plane crashes into the iconic World Trade Center twin towers and their collapses, leaving two giant holes in the ground, now known as the ground zero where many died.
But let’s rewind to when the WTC towers were proposed to be built in order to revitalize lower Manhattan, suggested by John Rockefeller. Why the economy needed to be revitalized? It was because the decade of Vietnam War had drained the national treasury. Simply put, it was not the best time of the U.S.
War. Recession. Presidents then tried to revitalize the economy by creating jobs domestically.
Don’t these seem similar? It’s happening again, at this time.
But what I found in movie was passion of living for dreams and goals with persistence. For Philippe Petit, he was, and still is, living on the wire. Walking the high wire is always his passion and dreams, even when the world is against him. Decades after walking high wire between the WTC towers, he still tells the story with passion and emotions.
Petit started planning to realize this dream before the towers were built. When the construction was completed, it was quite a process to get all the equipment, himself and his crew up the roof. And of course, the trailer already tells you that he was arrested after the performance.
The twin towers were his destination.
Little things, like that he started connecting two towers by drawing a line in between and marking himself on the line, move me. What’s my passion? What motivates me to achieve the goals I have? Chasing dreams is like living on the edge, I suppose, because it may require sacrifices. For Petit, it’s his life. But his friends recapped the moment they saw Petit smiling as he continued walking to the other end of the high wire and knew that he was at ease and would complete the journey.
I believe it was the confidence and indifference that helped him complete the walk. At this moment of my life, I shall regain these two elements. When I started working, doing something I didn’t quite enjoy, I stated to feel inferiority flooding the confidence I had. It was not a good feeling at all. Now I know that passion and confidence are inseparable. Passion will push you out of your comfort zone and make you explore, regardless of what others think. This is how I understand “Life should be lived on the edge of life.”
I hope you like this film.
Happy blogging!
THE Karen 