http://www.channel4.com/programmes/911-the-falling-man

The documentary follows the story of a 9/11 photograph that captured, in a 500th of second (at least), one moment of a man falling from the Twin Towers. The image is astounding, resonating in both beauty and the bizarre . A person is pictured falling through the air in what could be described as a yogic position, a speck on the massive, stark and uniform background of one of the twin towers. The quietness of the image is a shock to conscience – cutting through all other documentation illustrating the large-scale physical and psychological destruction. Adjectives used to describe the image reflected this dichotomoy. I started to wonder

Nevertheless, the series of photographs that Richard Drew of AP took of the ‘faller’ and video footage tell a very different story. The man actually twists and turns through the air in a profoundly terrifying and ugly way. There is no grace or stillness here, but just horror. For me it illustrates the skepticism I have for photography. There is never any ‘truth’ in photographs, instead they present a moment that is completely separated from almost all other contexts that contribute to more comprehensive understanding of the event. The ‘truth’ is actually to be found in the subjective interpretation attributed by the viewer. Arguably, in this case, the beauty and stillness presented in the photo provides an alternate to a truly incomprehensible situation that those people found themselves in – a position that is almost too unbearable to consider. We automatically ask ourselves what we would do – the first answer would assume a miraculous and unlikely escape, but then really, would you jump? would you hope that smoke would bring an endless sleep? or that you would die instantly in the falling of the building? The Falling Man photo makes us believe that one of those answers wouldn’t be so bad – that you would fall gracefully, without panic or terror, and (if you are religious) right into the hands of the maker.

The photo provides comfort and a tool for beginning to grasp the terrible consequence of what happened. This is the funcationality of Pulitzer Prize winning or similarly high impact photos – they don’t stop wars, but they allow for comprehension and a sense of control. The interpretation process is symptomatic of the optimistic human condition – that in the most desperate of situations, it might be alright.

The documentary discusses why it

In the end, as was expected, nobody could really be sure who it was, and ‘The Falling Man’ was considered analoguos to the ‘unknown soldier’ – thus presenting a positive and dignified conclusion to the story.