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Old September 9th 18, 10:35 PM posted to sci.space.history
Stuf4
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Default First Man - Flag Controversy Is Overlooking A Key Fact

From Jeff Findley:
In article ,
says...
It was one of the top three defining moments of his entire life.


Cite? I'm serious. This was a Neil Armstrong biopic, so what Neil
Armstrong thought of that event is what matters most, not what the US
public thinks.

You're making the assertion. You back it up. What exactly did Neil
Armstrong think of planting the flag? Was it truly one of the defining
moments in his life?


It is laughable to hold that what matters most in a biopic is what the person thought of themself. If there was merit to that view, then all depictions of Adolf Hitler would show him to be the greatest leader of all time.

And books about Jeffrey Dahmer would all include recipes.

JF: "...not what the US public thinks."

I agree with that part.

In documenting the historical significance of an event that has impacted the entire planet, it is far from paramount to only paint the picture of a small fraction of that population.

Damien Chazelle has been entrusted with documenting a slice of human history. And it is clear to me that the proper angle to take is to show what the event meant to NAA as a person, balanced with what it meant to his family, balanced with what it meant to his friends, balanced with what it meant to his country, balanced with what it meant to the opposing country he was competing against, and then the big picture of what it meant to all of humanity.

If you do that properly, the end result is that you have a balanced movie.

JF: "What exactly did Neil Armstrong think of planting the flag? Was it truly one of the defining moments in his life?"

In my own one-on-one discussions with Neil, I never asked him that.

But he has given interviews where he gives a clear impression that he didn't want his life defined by *anything* he did on Apollo 11.

And that's another reason why we don't look to the individual in order to get the final answer on what that person's life meant. The only reason the world cares about him is because of Apollo 11. This movie was not made because he was the First Man to cook an amazing dish for his wife using an unusual set of ingredients. And it wasn't even made because he was the First Man to accomplish an orbital rendezvous & docking. The world doesn't care about Gemini 8. History doesn't care about it, except for a small handful of space geeks.

The only reason the world cares is because he was the First Man. Again:

- The First Man to land,
- The First Man to step, and
- The First Man to plant.

For anyone who wants hard data to back this up, I recommend taking a poll. Ask people around the globe: "What are the top 3 things that Neil Armstrong is remembered for?"

Many, if not most, will say "Neil who?" Then you explain who he was. And that's when people will point to these three things he did.

If Neil were to present his own Top 3 list, it's quite possible that *none* of those events would make it. Look at Thomas Jefferson. On his tombstone he had his Top 3 listed. And you know what did NOT make his list? President of the United States.

Jefferson founded the University of Virginia. Does anyone care about that? He did.

https://i2.wp.com/periodicpresidents...gravestone.jpg

~ CT