‘September 5’: How One Film Connects Past and Present
I’m told many people’s favorite part of going to the movie theater is the trailers before the film. However, I was raised to believe that trailers spoil movies and that I shouldn’t watch them if I wanted to enjoy the film. But I’ve decided now that the idea that trailers spoil movies is wrong. A couple of months ago, I saw the trailer for Tim Fehlbaum and Paramount Pictures’, “September 5,” a film about the broadcasting experience for American media during the 1972 Olympics, where Palestinian terrorists took nine Israeli athletes hostage. The trailer caught my eye, and I ran to the theater as soon as the movie was playing over break. Rather than ruining the film, the trailer introduced me to a highly moving and informative piece of art.
If you are unfamiliar with the Munich Massacre, that is okay. I only vaguely heard about it when mentioned in passing at camp or school. There are also two other films released about this historical moment: “One Day in September,” a documentary by Kevin Macdonald, and Steven Spielberg’s film, “Munich,” a fictional interpretation of Israel’s actions after this event. The Munich Massacre was a terrorist attack that occurred at the 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich, Germany. Eight Palestinian members of the terrorist organization known as “Black Sabbath” broke into the Olympic Village, killed two of the athletes and held the remaining nine athletes and their coaches hostage. Their goal was to persuade the Israeli government to release prisoners in exchange for the hostages’ safety. The government of Germany attempted a rescue mission, allowing the athletes to be transferred with their captors to the airport, hoping they would be able to intercept the terrorists and save the athletes. Unfortunately, this attempt was unsuccessful, ultimately leading to the death of the nine athletes, five terrorists, and a German police officer.
As one of the few media studies majors at YU, I was fascinated by the specific journalistic lens on which “September 5” focused. Since they would be discussing the Olympics, the reporters ABC News sent to cover the story were sports journalists. But when acts of terrorism were committed, everything suddenly shifted and the sports journalists had to adapt their role to cover this breaking news story quickly. Eerily enough, this would be remembered in history as the first time a terrorist attack would be covered on live TV.
The reporters believed they would be the most qualified to cover this story, given they were watching it in real time. Their main goal was to show the world what was happening uncensored, which was captivating on its own. They changed the topic of conversation from the Games to the hostage situation since they knew they had a responsibility to report what was happening inside. It was a difficult shift for some reporters, who even questioned if they were doing the right thing by reporting the situation live. They did not go on air without pushback from those in America, where they were called to hand over the story to ABC’s news team. Nevertheless, they rejected these demands, knowing they were best suited to cover the story.
The film mentions multiple times that the Germans in Munich were hoping that the Olympics would overshadow the atrocities that occurred during the Holocaust only mere decades before. It was highly inconvenient and ironic for the German Olympic planners, then, that these hostages were Israeli and Jewish and prevented the Germans from achieving their goal. Far from allowing people to forget the Holocaust, the Munich Massacre reintroduced the tragic reality of Jew-hatred and massacre on the world stage, in Germany of all places. One of the most significant characters in the film is a German woman named Marianne Gebhardt, who works for ABC as their translator during their coverage and aids the crew immensely in their reporting. She explains her sadness and frustration with the event, as she hoped Germany would be able to prove itself by amiably hosting the Olympics. However, after all that took place on Sept. 5, she understood that this had failed, and Germany had let the world down again.
In light of the recent hopeful news of a deal to return the hostages home from Gaza, the “September 5” eerily connects back to the present. However, the film’s Swedish director, Tim Fehlbaum, explains that this film was meant to highlight one event in time, both in broadcasting and world history. Given it was filmed before Oct. 7, 2023, he was unaware of how relevant the story would become. As a Jew, it was hard for me to separate the Munich Massacre and Oct. 7 in my head. I kept thinking about how Oct. 7 and the events following seemed to reflect Munich on a much larger scale. Yes, the Munich Massacre is its own tragedy and story, but seeing “September 5,” a film so focused on media coverage, made me think about how the media covers the current situation in Israel.
In “September 5,” the ABC reporters were cautious with their wording as they announced updates on the situation to the world. When they first realized they needed to broadcast to the world what had happened, the reporters discussed whether they would use the word “terrorist.” They feared using such bold terminology on live TV, unsure whether to define the Palestinian group in that terminology. However, in retrospect, it is clear that those who carried out the Munich Massacre were indeed terrorists, taking innocent lives for ideological and political motives.
History continues to repeat itself, and we still rely on mainstream media to report events in Israel factually and ethically. Today, we see publications err on the side of caution, calling dangerous groups “freedom fighters” or “militants” as opposed to terrorists. While these are oftentimes tricky judgment calls, media outlets should be aware of how history will view them and whether their inability to take a clear moral stance will reflect similarly poorly on their judgment. This film also deals with thorny questions about whether violence should be broadcasted and how fast the media should inform the public of certain types of news. It portrays parents’ desolation at finding out about their children’s deaths from the announcements on news broadcasts and people’s shocked and traumatized reactions to watching an active hostage situation unfold. Overall, the boundaries of what should be shown and what should be kept private from the public were pushed further than ever before during the Munich Massacre. The film does not provide any answers but offers much food for thought regarding whether portraying and consuming such tragic events through news media is a justifiable act.
On a small scale, “September 5” represents the complex behind the scenes process of a life-changing event for a few ABC reporters. But, on a larger scale, it highlights a significant event in Israeli history. Although the film’s director encourages viewers to see it through a purely journalistic lens, I will see it through the complicated truth of today. Just as the Munich Massacre is an important story that should be told in an unflinching manner, I hope that current media can portray stories of tragedies today without distorting essential truths. As a media studies major, a Jew and a consumer of the press, I look forward to truth being our reality. May we soon see the safe return of all the hostages and take strength by remembering our history.
Photo caption: A tribute to the 11 Israeli Athletes Murdered at the 1972 Olympics, a memorial made in 1995.
Photo credit: Avi1111 / Wikimedia Commons
