Reinforcing their image?

[Jessterw]

Apparently, flight attendants aren't very happy with their portrayal in the new Jodie Foster movie, Flightplan. Basically, the movies shows the majority of them acting in a rude manor towards the passengers at moments, and *gasp* one of them is even far less than an angel.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/4290646.stm

http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/ap/20050929/ap_en_mo/film_flightplan_boycott

I've heard a bit more than what is said in those and other articles floating about on this matter, including more elaborations on flight attendants and 9/11, such as one representative saying that the film was denigrating the memory of the flight attendants that were the first to die aboard the hijacked flights.

So let this be guidance for future movies. No public or private service that lost people during any event, but especially 9/11, can have a likeness or portrayal of their members/employees features in a film as anything less than a completely upstanding citizen.

If anything, this has the possibility of simply reinforcing people's opinions of flight attendants in general, at least for those of us who can't separate fiction from reality as they believe we can't.

[Elie]

Those flight attendants should get a f***ing life!!!!!
It's a movie for god sakes, nothing more nothing less.

sheeesh

[Dr Mordrid]

Agreed. I'm sick and tiured of every d***ed interest group getting their PC panties in a bunch whenever a movie etc. uses them in a story line.

The only problem I have is with supposedly bio or historic flicks that play with the facts more than is necessary to fit it all into 2-3 hours.

Dr. Mordrid

[Brian Ellis]

I've probably flown more km, as a passenger, as most on this forum and probably on more airlines, as well. On the whole, I have experienced excellent service from both stewards and air hostesses (to be sexist). I'll grant you, things have changed since the early days of my flying in such crates as DC3s, when they often had as many hostesses as passengers.

I've seen many cases of these people doing the most thankless tasks with equanimity, including medical help (in one case, I mentally noted they were trained in the Heimlicher manoeuvre, necessitated by the peanut stage of a turbulent flight!). I've also seen how they deal with the obstreperous and over-ethanolised pax, several times.

On very few occasions (possibly countable on one hand) I've encountered attendants who were having a bad day.

I admire these people who are little more than skivvies in their work, which is tough, real tough.

I haven't seen the film, but I must say that it would be very unlikely to change my views on the reality of their thankless lives. The objectors are just displaying their lack of intelligence.

[schmosef]

I haven't seen the movie, but what I've read is that throughout the film the audience is given clues that the antagonists are a group of Arab passengers, only to find out in the end that the real culprits are the Flight attendants and the Air Marshall.

I haven't heard of a single actual case of airplane related terrorism where the terrorists were part of the flight crew.

I think that the complaints about the movie stem from Hollywood’s refusal to convey the truths of the world that we live in.

A movie like “The Siege” comes close to portraying the realities of terrorism but also goes a long way toward indicting American foreign policy as the cause.

We've yet to see Hollywood take a critical look at the Jihad ideology.

[Marshmallowman]

I hate to break it to you, but I don't think I have seen a hollywood movie that has anything but a tenuous link with reality.

[Brian Ellis]

I haven't seen the movie, but what I've read is that throughout the film the audience is given clues that the antagonists are a group of Arab passengers, only to find out in the end that the real culprits are the Flight attendants and the Air Marshall.

I haven't heard of a single actual case of airplane related terrorism where the terrorists were part of the flight crew.

I think that the complaints about the movie stem from Hollywood’s refusal to convey the truths of the world that we live in.

A movie like “The Siege” comes close to portraying the realities of terrorism but also goes a long way toward indicting American foreign policy as the cause.

We've yet to see Hollywood take a critical look at the Jihad ideology.

You really do have a thing about bringing your anti-Muslim views into everything, don't you? I have flown on many airlines with Islamic crew (Tunisian, Egyptian, Turkish, Kuwaiti, Emirates, Gulf, Malaysian, Garuda, Silk and possibly others). Never once have I felt any discrimination or any lack of hospitality. If anything, just the opposite. My only difficulty was with Kuwait Airlines, because the only alcohol they had on board was isopropanol in the de-icer reservoirs, so I was unable to enjoy a glass of wine with my excellent lamb chops. As for Emirates, I would class them ex aequo with Singapore as the best airlines I know in the world (I believe Qatar are also good, but I've never flown with them).

And, yes, I have also flown with El Al but their staff could learn a lot from some of the foregoing airlines in making one feel welcome.

[schmosef]

Pfft,

YOU really do have a thing about making me out to be Anti-Muslim.

Firstly, I pointed out that the movie goes to GREAT LENGTHS to imply that the culprits are ARAB. That, I would think, plays unfairly into the fears and suspicions of the audience about Arabs. The fact that the Arabs are vindicated doesn’t justify using them as a weak device to instil fear and suspicion.

Secondly, I have a great bias against JIHADISTS! I have no bias against Arabs, Muslim or otherwise, or Muslims in general. Is this distinction too hard for you to discern?

Thirdly, my point was that, in this PC/moral equivalence era that we live in, Hollywood is too scared to make a movie that actually confronts the truth about the Jihadist ideology.

Today, the Jihadists are killing people all over the world.

Can you imagine Hollywood making a pro German movie during WWII? A pro Japanese movie during WWII?

Lastly, I don't understand the point of your litany of Arabian flights. Please explain the relevance to this discussion.

[Marshmallowman]

I don't know, I can't think of a more biggoted person on *these* forums than you schmosef

[schmosef]

You're going to have to back up that claim, Marshmallowman. How about linking to some bigotted posts of mine then?

You're just sore because I'm not an AMD fanboy like you!

You're AV is biggoted!

[Sasq]

boyz. don't make me slap you all down.
schmo's first post was only re-peating what he had heard regarding the plot line.
END OF STORY.
as for the rest of his first post, can't ya all learn sometimes to not bite? hmmm?
Now back to topic, I have a fair few air miles up myself. some good experiences, some bad.
but *slap* its a movie people, ya know suspension of reality.

[Jessterw]

For the record, I've been flying since I was damn well able to and I've never had a bad experience with a flight attendant. However, there is a stereotype of the less than friendly, helpful attendant that certainly isn't based on the majority.

This is not the first movie to portray flight attendants in a negative manner, and for that matter, it's not really even a negative portrayal - one just happens to be a villain, which is what they are really mad about.

This is a movie, and one that decides to make the villains of the story something other than the crazed foreign national. I don't know what movies some others have been watching, but I'm rather tired of always seeing them being Arab, Russian, German or any other nationality that we (being the US audience) are supposed to more easily focus our contempt upon.

It's rather sad that this has to be turned into a conversation on anything other than the silliness of the proposed boycott of the movie. By taking the stance they are, these flight attendants are serving only to lend credence to the supposed negative portrayal of them (and I don't mean as a terrorist). Nothing more, nothing less, and anything else can be taken to the Temp.

[lecter]

Though I haven't flown on these airlines myself, I've heard a lot of people complain about service on Qantas, BA and several US airlines...it would seem that because of the very strong feminist culture in these countries (as well as seeing service-mindedness as little more than slavery), most flight attendants are rude, pushy people...they use the idea of security to justify being very stuck-up with passengers. Like I said, I haven't experienced this first-hand, so I'd like some comments from people who have actually flown these airlines.

Also, I met a Qantas steward once, who besides being (and behaving like) an incredibly stereotypical homosexual and having an awful English accent (he's Thai) was actually proudly recalling an occasion when he refused to help a lone-traveling pregnant woman stow a bag in the overhead compartment, saying that he wasn't her "porter"...who hires these people?? I also don't believe in all this "flight-attendant" bullshit, when you pay your ticket you don't just pay a plane to take you from point A to point B, you pay these people's salaries and for that you should get the same courtesy you get from a waiter, because for 90% of the flight, that is ALL they are. Of course they should be thanked when the service is appropriate and it is infinitely commendable when they save lives or help people in need - it is precisely for these extra tasks that they don't make the salary of a waiter! If we say their job is thankless, by the same logic any person working in the service industry should have the right to be rude because he/she is stuck serving you??

[Brian Ellis]

Haven't flown on Quantas, but I've no complaints about BA (now; they used to be arrogant a few decades ago) or any US line (they are certainly the hardest-worked and least-staffed and don't have time to remember the name of every passenger).

OTOH, I can't say the same about many of the ground staff in some airports who are often distinctly unhelpful, if not downright rude, which tends to make one rude back.

If you look for arrogance, then Lufthansa and Air France are possibly high on the list, but they do at least do their job correctly and to the letter.

[lecter]

Air France was funny when I flew with them last year...the flight was Paris-Bangkok, 5 hours or so layover, then continuing to Manila. There was this obnoxious Dutch guy who just before landing in BKK started ranting to the staff that he hadn't been informed of any stop in Bangkok, that he wanted to go to Manila and that there was no way he was getting off the plane for the layover. Two of the stewardesses tried to politely explain to him that (1) he had to sit down and buckle up since the plane was landing and (2) this was the arranged flight schedule, end of story. He was still blowing off steam, so one of the stewards just came up to him, stared him down and barked "SHUT UP". Gotta love the French