Conservatives and the US flag really need to get a room.
I don’t hate the flag. We have two vintage flags hanging up in the house. But the recent idolization of the flag from Rebuplicans has been almost disturbing. In the end, it’s just a piece of cloth.
In the new biopic film about Neil Armstrong, the movie does not feature a scene in which the flag is planted on the moon. Mind you, the flag is in the movie. They show it several times. They don’t deny it exists. They just didn’t show them planting it.
Conservatives are quite upset. It’s a national freakin’ tragedy apparently. I’ve seen dozens of comments where irate right-wingers are leaving tirades about how Hollywood hates America and the flag.
The thing is… when Neil stepped out of the module he didn’t say “One small step for a man, one giant leap for the United States of America.”
Yes, NASA is an American agency, but their philosophy has evolved over the years. They let go of their cold war competition against Russia and are now a global endeavor. I think not shoving jingoistic imagery in the film makes sense. It’s still very much an American film, but the space race was long ago and I’m not sure we need to focus on that aspect of history anymore. We can acknowledge it. Learn from it. But I think we can stop going “HAHA WE WON! TAKE THAT YOU RUSKIES!”
Another fun fact about the flag on the moon…
Planting the flag was actually quite an awkward experience. Armstrong tried to stab the pole in the ground repeatedly while Buzz held the flag. It fell over and Neil had to jab it in harder.
It was basically 2 minutes of…
“Stick it in!”
“I DID!”
“STICK IT IN HARDER!”
“I’M TRYING, BUZZ!”If they showed that in the film they’d probably have to speed up the playback and add Benny Hill music over it. I’m not sure depicting this process would have fit the epicness of the surrounding events.
To make matters worse, when they launched from the moon’s surface, the thrust from the module blew the flag over. Neil didn’t stick it in hard enough. They say there is no sound in space, but astronauts swear in that moment they heard a cosmic sad trombone.
ALSO… as some of you may know, the flag did not end up being an everlasting symbol of American Exceptionalism™. The intense sunlight has bleached the flag to a tattered piece of pure white cloth. It kind of looks like we surrendered to the moon now. And since we ended up planting 6 flags over the years, it looks like we sextuple surrendered.
I really don’t get all of this flag outrage. The idea of symbols is to remind us of what they represent. We are not supposed to worship the symbols themselves.
The achievement was landing people on the moon… not planting a flag.
I wish they’d put what you described into the movie. No history would be left out and it would not be jingoistic either. But I would argue that the whole cold war space race is far from something that doesn’t need focus. I love your writing and analysis, and would like da different perspective. I grew up under Allied Occupation in A Divided City (the tail end, I don’t think I felt personally occupied but my parents couldn’t vote for more than local government decisions) but the cold war shaped my city’s history to this day, the same way that the space race is part of it, and the jingoism/entire background can’t be forgotten. I know you mean the movie should not glorify it! They should not just have it left the flag out either, people need more complicated stories, especially since NASA has moved on and there is a large part of the US that thinks the MAGA ideas are awful. I’m German so the last thing I want to do is to leave out less flattering things out of history, so your way of storytelling would be much better!
I might not have been clear enough in my original post. I was speaking only about this particular story. We should definitely not forget about the cold war and by extension the space race. There are hundreds of books on the matter. And I think a movie specifically about the political aspects of the space race would be fascinating.
But this movie is about Neil Armstrong and the team at NASA that flung him into space. It’s a very personal story about human achievement. I just don’t think it was necessary to have an “AMERICA, FUCK YEAH!” moment in this individual story. Neil carefully chose his first words. A giant leap for mankind.
Maybe fumbling with the flag as if they were assembling Ikea furniture would have been an interesting scene. But Republicans wanted a fiction placed in this film.
They wanted him to hold the flag above his head like a spear. And with a mighty thrust he jabs it into the lunar surface. The national anthem would play and a space eagle would fly into frame and perch itself onto Neil’s outstretched arm. Letting out a freedom squawk that reverberates through the universe.
Anything less and they would still have protested this film.
Modern NASA is all about the furtherment of humankind. They work globally with many nations. They tend to be as apolitical as possible. I feel like this particular story is for everyone. It is meant to inspire everyone. And I think a schmaltzy moment of faux-patriotism may have given the impression that space is for Americans only.
Kids are often inspired by these kinds of films. And I want every kid that sees this achievement, no matter where they may be, to dream big and yearn to fulfill our potential as humans.
The flag is in the movie. The US is well represented.
I think this flag outrage is just another example of the blind nationalism that is hurting our country. I think the less we show idolatry of the flag, the better.
We need to focus on our potential. We need to aspire to be the country that matches the ideals we claim to uphold. Our liberty is in danger. Our justice has been twisted. Our freedom is fleeting. We can do better.
Blind nationalism makes us complacent. If we already think we’re the best, why try to top that?
Conservatives and the US flag really need to get a room.
These are the people who bother dril when he’s volunteering at the Betsy Ross Museum.
Mooncustafer 