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Celebrity Telethon Lifts Up The Spirits of Terror Survivors & CountrySep 22 '01 Write an essay on this topic.
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The Bottom Line We witnessed the production and realization of a superb, record-setting, ego-shattering, edifying two-hour telecast in the history of the entertainment industry. Nothing like it before!
What do we have in common with the celebrities of Tinseltown and other places? We are all human in our feedback to the terror that our country came under on Sept. 11, 2001. We are battling a sense of usefulness in the presence of such a tragedy. We are all in disbelief. Only a look at the once-famous skyline of New York City and its still-smoking grounds will truly take us back to the reality. Since these terrorist attacks on the WTC and the Pentagon, two major landmarks of our respective financial and military domination in the world, we have been battling this sense of usefulness. Our collective psyche and consciousness are asking us if we have done enough to help the true heroes of our generation. Last night, Hollywood celebrities wanted the rest of the country to know that they are with them in their suffering. In fact, in their somber demeanor and decor of the studios, they were grieving in their own ways just like the rest of us. We Feel The Need To Do Something,” said Tom Hanks In my opinion, I thing he captured well the spirit of this gathering of TV and movie actors. Tom Hanks further said that the stars are not heroes, healers nor protectors of this great nation. They are only artists, entertainers who are here to raise spirits. Put together over a matter of days, this telethon intended to raise funds for the survivors of proud men and women, police officers of various firefighting units and police stations who rushed to help others and found peril under the tons of soot, debris and rubble of these buildings. In a time such as this, many of them could just make a quite contribution to United Way or the Red Cross, but like many fellow Americans and allies all over the world, they felt compelled to take an active part in rebuilding lives that became tormented by terror. Each time a speaker came to the podium, he/she asked for a contribution. They promised that 100% of the funds collected would go to the needy in New York and Washington D.C. My wife, children and I made time to watch the two-hour show between snacks Bruce Springsteen gave a good rendition of the song “City of Ruin...Come on, Rise up... and Tell Me How I Began Again.” He is the singer who caused an uproar in the City a few months ago for the song about the West African immigrant. My American Skin, “41 Shots,” was on the mouth of everybody. There was nothing like that last night. There was no self-promotion and introduction. If I did not know a celebrity, I would only enjoy his or her song. The emphasis was placed on others, the ordinary men and women who rushed into the building to rescue others, the officers who died at their posts, the strangers who carried a man with disability down to safety, a teacher who worked hard to take to safety her pupils etc. Once in their stardom, they have decided to place the spotlight on true heroes. All of the celebrities had one purpose in mind, they wanted to ask you for money. You can still make a donation at www.tributestoheroes.org. Have you found something to do yet? If anything, make time to talk to a neighbor who is wrestling with his/her emotions in the aftermath of the devastation It’s not uncommon to find yourself talking to complete strangers these days. You may have deep emotions you want to share. When someone makes time for you, you may consider it a creative way of helping in this crisis. We can always give blood, but blood banks have been turning people away due to the large number of volunteers who flocked to the centers. Get ready to be there for the mourning, grieving ones. You will have many funerals, vigils to attend and pay respect to the departed ones. So far, it is estimated that about 6,000 people are reported missing. The signs of death take over the sites of the Twin towers. Trained dogs that can find cadavers or body parts are being used to sift through the mounds of debris. You can volunteer your time to walk to the various hospitals and mortuaries with family members or acquaintances who have lost loved ones. While life must go on for their survivors, the daily routine of life will go on. Kids have to go to school and get picked up. If you are close to a grieving family, that’s something you can do to help. Groceries must be bought. Pets must be fed and cars, parked at parking lots, must be retrieved etc. The celebrities gathered at various studios in Los Angeles, New York and London to perform to the benefit of the survivors who quickly find themselves without a source of income. Can you imagine how hard it can be for the kids of these fallen officers and ordinary fellow Americans? That’s the spirit of this telethon whose 100% proceeds will go directly to United Way funds for the survivors.. Star-studded Telecast Shows Unity Among Various Networks, A First Of This Kind While my wife was watching a particular network, I made it my point to switch to others to see whether they were carrying the fund-raising. I was surprised to find out how many of them had the same performers whose music I was listening to. It’s been reported that the telethon was televised or transmitted by 31 tv networks, 8,000 radio outlets, Internet, and broadcast in more than two hundred countries of the world. Everybody had a chance to watch this program and make a contribution. Hollywood tries to pay the right tribute to the true heroes. After all, they want to play them for more impact later on America: A Tribute To Heroes” gave me a sense that from the President of the country to the stars and ordinary men and women of this great land, the message to go on is heard. At the same time, this multi-network entertainment feast presages the good things to come in the distant days. All the while, actors and actresses were telling the uplifting and emotional stories of heroism from the week of Sept. 11, 2001's devastating terrorist crimes. Some actors were more moved than others. Mega Celebrity Julia Roberts had her eyes moist. She urged the world to give of themselves in the areas of love and money. I don’t think she was acting at all. The tears welling up her eyes were serious. Comedian Chris Rock introduced the next performance. In the spirit of those who died, they felt compelled to take actions and do something. ”It was time to roll on” just like a passenger on flight 77 said to his wife The music and the pledges rolled on. Super stars, mega celebrities were manning the phone banks in the background. My wife was hoping to talk to her favorite star, Sly Stallone. The tone of the telethon exuded deep emotion and a somber stance. Expert arrangements of lights and candles added to the significance of the two-hour telethon. Stevie Wonder, backed by his group,was at the piano. U2 performed “Walk On” from “All That You Can’t Leave Behind.” Billy Joel sang “New York State Of Mind.” For some reasons, I was moved to some moist eyes, - tears- when Neil Young performed John Lennon’s “Imagine.” It was also the same song whose words were read by my boss the day when our office decided to walk outside and gather around the flag in memoriam of Sept. 11, 2001. Then, after a request for the public to contribute and more stories of heroism, Tom Petty got onto the platform to perform with his band a ‘90's hit “Won’t Back Down.” It was such a great and pure sound. Wyclef Jean paid tributes to the dead and Bob Marley with the Redemption song. Haitian-born Super composer, musician and producer Wyclef gave a rendition that Bob and his children can be proud of. It was almost similar to the original version. Paul Simon’s “Bridge Over Troubled Water” was also performed. At one point, I did not know who that fresh face was on the piano. My wife refreshed my memory. Alicia Keys is a pianist, composer, producer who does not like to be shaken around. She knows she has the talent. She released her first album just this Summer. I remember that she was on a lot of the networks. Enrique Iglesias gave a rendition of a song that went something like this, “I Can Be Your Hero....”Then a complete band covered Mariah Carey’s back in the performance of her hit song, “Hero.” At one point, she requested the band to help her carry some notes. She was wearing a nice black dress that truly shows the importance of the fund-raising. That’s her first appearance since her breakdown a few months ago. Let’s hope she recovers completely to go on a few tours. U2 and Sting performed live from some location in London. Everybody wanted to do something for our heroes No ads please! The networks agreed on this. They felt it was not appropriate to show ads. They did not show their hunger to make money during these two-hours. Kudo for them, thumbs up! Even Muhammad Ali was there. He went to the podium with Will Smith who plays in “Ali” scheduled to be released very soon. He talked about tolerance and Islam. Since he is Muslim, he refreshed our memory about the tenets of Islam and how Muslims like to do good. Radical Muslims want to hijack the religion. So what we can do is to refrain from putting all muslims in the same category and giving them the same treatment. Some passengers refuse to travel with some people who wear turbans. They turned to be siks from India. They have nothing with muslims. The only thing is that they look Midle Eastern. They ended up traveling with another airliner. How To Be Useful In Times Of Darkness: An Example Of Sacrifice Unlike That Of the Fallen Heroes Celine Dion came out of retirement to perform “God Bless America,” US anthem in dark times. By the number of times it was sung everywhere from stadiums to classrooms and churches, it’s a sure hit with all kinds of crowd, especially those who fought in the two previous world wars. Our veterans as well as Gen Xers are proud of their flag too. At first, I thought that Celine would not be able to sing the song the way she did. With a large choir formed by African-American members to support her and help her carry high notes, she managed to do a good job with the song. Canadian-born and a new mother, Celine may be saying, “I am ready to get back. Here I am” with this performance. My remark is the following, “When does she have time to practice?” The answer may lie here. In the spirit of those who perished, she strove to practice, rehearse and volunteer for this telethon without any ego. With his baritone voice, somewhat choppy at times, Clint Eastwood delivered the final words, “The terrorists who wanted 300 million victims are going to get 300 million heroes, 300 million Americans with broken heart, but unbreakable hopes for our country and our future.” Some of the highlighting moments of this super show came in the montage of Arab-American schoolchildren essays they wrote about the terrorist attacks. It was also very nice to see how many people in the world are affected by these assaults. Videos of people from all over the world paying respect to those who died in the attacks were excellent. They reminded me of the pictures from all over the world that my place of employment’s IT put up this past week. They were shown paying respect and observing minutes of silence with their lit candles. George Clooney’s story of heroism shown by a New York police officer from the 40th precinct in the Bronx will touch the heart of the most hardened. This officer went to work that fateful Tuesday morning to file his retirement papers. He knew he was still a police officer and had to jump into a rescue mode after seeing the building being crashed into by a flying airplane. He was a New Yorker who did not mind putting his life on the line for the last time to save innocent people trapped in the Twin Towers. He lost his life in the rescue efforts along with 200 fellow officers. Overcome Fear With Knowledge and Resolve To Seek Justice Oldie But Goodie Willie Nelson ended the telethon by leading the group in a sing along, camp-fire type of “America, The Beautiful” I don’t know whether much preparation and attention were given to the production; one can tell that some of the stars were not saying much. Willie did a good job playing his guitar. He received some assistance from the acoustic guitar players who were also fantastic. No matter what, it was such a warm feeling to be connected with this group of people in these times of decision. Let freedom of speech and expression, freedom to worship and freedom from fear overcome you, cover you and drive you to ask for justice. Let freedom ring in the mountains so we can live and promote the respect of all of our fellow Americans. Some of the mega, super stars who were present at the fund-raising benefit for the survivors are: Jack Nicholson, Al Pacino, Halle Berry, Whoopi Goldberg, Andy Garcia, Faith Hill, Bon Jovi, The Dixie Chicks, Dave Matthews, Sheryl Crow, Adam Sandler, Mike Meyers, Jimmy Smits, Michael Keaton, Brad Pitt, Ray Romano, Selma Hayek, Dennis Franz, Tom Cruise, Robin Williams, Cuba Gooding Jr., Benicio del Toro, Meg Ryan etc. I thought Michael Jackson was among this group too, but my wife said no. Maybe it was a look-alike I was looking at. He pretended he was playing a guitar. Was I seeing things? Well, he somewhat looked like the guy.  |
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