41 pages • 1 hour read
102 Minutes
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Symbols & Motifs
Indifference to the Lessons of History
Throughout 102 Minutes, the constant references to the chaos of the 1993 World Trade Center attacks, and past catastrophic fires—like the Triangle Waist Factory fire earlier in the century, which killed so many—raise the lessons not learned from these tragedies to the level of symbolic resonance. It was a longstanding, continued refusal between fire and police departments to work together, coupled with the unchecked desire to reduce to safety restrictions—like reduced number stairwells, and inadequate fireproofing—in the name of increased rental space, which meant increased profits, that contributed to the massive death toll.
The authors state:
The indifference to the lessons of history, or the inability to integrate them, were hardly limited to municipal government of New York, of course. Ultimately, all of the people in the trade center that morning were at the head of a pin on which history had come to rest […] The last, best hope for the community of people working in or visiting the World Trade Center rested not with national policymakers but with private firms and local public servants (242).
Those private firms and policy makers put profit ahead of human life, and the indifference on their part toward looking backward and learning from mistakes is a large part of the book.
The Twin Towers
Just as the World Trade Center represented an icon of American economy, democracy, and power for terrorists eager to attack and undermine western ways of life, the Twin Towers were as much a symbol of community, everyday life, and accomplishment for the people who worked inside the high-rises.
The towers represented new technology, departures from old ways, and postwar Americangrowth. For many across the nation, the towers represented opportunity, and economic empowerment, so much so that terrorists’ efforts to raze them began as early as 1989. But for people like Dianne DeFontes, the towers were a vast city. For Frank De Martini, they were like a home away from home, one De Martini refused to let go quietly. The Twin Towers represented globalism, as companies from around the world kept offices there: “The towers stood like huge sails at the foot of Manhattan Island” (27). The buildings were a gateway to New York City, and thus, a gateway to America. As such, they symbolized essential parts of the core of American life and society.
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