The tightrope walk and the terrorists
Sarfraz Manzoor talks to Philippe Petit, whose stunning walk between the Twin Towers in 1974 is the subject of a new film — and discovers the mirror image of the horrors of 9/11
Man on Wire is careful not explicitly to draw out the parallels between Petit’s artistic crime and the terrorist attacks, but they were both operations which required careful planning and involved teams of committed foreign participants for whom the Twin Towers were a symbolically resonant target. And yet, watching Marsh’s documentary, what is most striking is how different Petit’s exploits were to the terrorists’ actions. Where Petit was giddy with the possibilities of living, the suicidal pilots were intoxicated with a death wish; he was driven by art and poetry and they by religion and politics.
One of the most potent images in Man on Wire is a photograph of a crowded street of New Yorkers, their faces craning skywards. They are gawping in delighted astonishment at Petit, but the image recalls the horrified faces of those who witnessed the collapse of the Twin Towers. In another photograph we see Petit on the tightrope, and above him a plane hangs as if suspended in the sky, a haunting glimpse into a terrible future.
‘The dreamers of the day are dangerous men,’ wrote T.E. Lawrence, ‘for they may act their dream with open eyes, and make it possible.’ Both the terrorists and the tightrope walker were dreamers, but where the terrorists dreamed of death the tightrope walker dreamed of life. The wreckage of the Towers revealed the depths to which the human heart can descend, the walk between the Towers demonstrated the heights the spirit of the human imagination can reach.
That image of 24-year-old Philippe Petit suspended between the Towers that are now only a memory is not only an elegy to a vanished past but also a metaphor for how to live in the present. In Ancient Rome, Caesar would often be accompanied by a slave whose job it was to whisper in his ear, ‘You too are mortal.’ Philippe Petit’s walk was a poetic and profound work of performance art: he heard the whisper of death and it led him towards immortality.
Man on Wire is released this week.
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KindnessofWomen
July 31st, 2008 1:09pm'Ey up, Sarfraz lad. Is this article the reason you penned your "I'm friends with a Tory, me" article for the Grauniad the other week? You didn't mention you'd be taking the Spectator shilling to boot. Still, if you've chosen this moment to cross the floor, your timing can't be faulted. Cheers.
sarfraz
July 31st, 2008 3:30pmhello, no it wasn't the reason I penned the piece last week (I'm impressed that you recall it though) but the fact that I was writing for the Spectator did partly inspire the column. But in fairness to me, the piece wasn't quite as cynical as all that, and also bearing in mind what the Spectator pays shilling is pretty much the size of it. Cheers
KindnessofWomen
July 31st, 2008 5:58pmSorry, Sarfraz, I hadn't realised you'd written for the Speccie before (an archive search has just turned up your 2002 piece, 'England, my England'. I should add that I greatly enjoyed your book about growing up in Luton in the 80s. Between you and Nick Hornby, you've got me listening to a lot more Bruce Springsteen than I ever would have otherwise. It's a bit off-topic, I realise, but what's your take on the cover of Born in the USA? Is Bruce supposed to be urinating on the Stars and Stripes?
sarfraz
July 31st, 2008 6:20pmyes that was the rumour but I am sure its not true or even intended. springsteen is a patriot he's just not a 'my country right or wrong' sort of patriot. and also I think he is just more sophisticated than to be pissing on the flag, his take on America is there in "land of hope and dreams', 'American Skin', 'American Land' and 'Long Road Home'.
anyways thanks for nice words about my book! cheers
Diana Waldie
August 1st, 2008 10:57amExcellent article. I didn't think I would want to see the film, now I do!
sarfraz
August 1st, 2008 6:19pmthanks very much Diana- so sweet of someone to post just to say they like a piece. So thanks for bothering and I am glad you think my effort does not disgrace the standards of the Spectator.
Olive Weddell
August 3rd, 2008 1:12amWhat a beautifully written, inspirational article; and a brilliant illustration of the stark difference between the philosophies of the East and the West.
carpenter
August 3rd, 2008 7:43amI also found this article a beautiful introduction to a film which promises to live up to your prologue. But I didn't read in it anything resembling cynical orientalism; rather I found the power of dichotomy lying in the theme of past/present. Looking forward to it...