The Falling Man

“The Falling Man” is a documentary about the little publicized multitude suicides following the destruction of the World Trade Centres in New York on September 11th, 2001. In particular, one photojournalist captured a series of pictures of people jumping to certain death rather than be consumed by fire inside the burning buildings.

The controversy surrounding the publication of a photo of a jumper was the main theme of this film. In the photo, there is an unidentifiable man in an ironically peaceful posture. This photo was published in a newspaper, but due to public outcry it was never published again.
Personally, I feel that there was no problem in publishing the photo. The person was unidentifiable. Also, I feel that to not publish the photo and story of the numerous people who jumped to their death is censorship. It would be different if the man was clearly visible, but he was definitely not.

What I did disagree with is the fact that they tried to identify the man and tell his story. They proceeded to contact a family who they determined, incorrectly, was his family. I believe that this crossed the line. After putting the family through hell, new information came to light that proved it was not the right family. They soon found who the real family was and proceeded to contact them.

Without breaking any journalistic codes, I feel that censorship is one of the greatest transgressions a news person can make. The story must be told. If some do not like the story, that is their fault. To hide what is really happening is a crime. I highly recommend this documentary to all those who would like to learn about censorship in the media.