Turning Point: Generation 9/11

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Michael D @MichaelX 4 days ago Any 9/11 documentary instantly transports me back to that Tuesday morning in San Francisco, jolted awake by a friend’s voicemail calling from London: "Are you watching TV?!" he implored. It’s now been 25 years, and with our sense of time scrambled by the pandemic, it feels as distant as Pearl Harbor. Director Brian Knappenberger’s follow-up to his 2021 series takes a fresh angle: most interview subjects were infants on that day, inheriting the world 9/11 created rather than remembering it, and it does an admirable job connecting the surveillance architecture hastily erected post-9/11 to the paramilitary ICE apparatus terrorizing people of color today. What the doc dances around, but I won’t: when you indiscriminately police the world while exempting yourself from the rules, don’t be entirely surprised when someone pokes the bear back. This doc is a worthy addition to the canon, even if it breaks little new ground. See more Britt W @RT34783150 5 days ago I’ve watched every 9/11 documentary for the past 25 years. This one was blatantly biased. No mention that it was the last administration’s fault for Abby Gate. No mention that the last administration’s open border policies opened America up to another 9/11 attack which is why we have Ice operations actively in the US. No mention of how the 13 angel families wanted our current president in attendance at their loved one’s funeral and not the sitting president of the time. No mention that there was a petition with over 100,000 signatures to keep the democratic mayor away from ground zero for the 25th anniversary because of his open support for for a social media influencer who says he hates America and the US deserved 9/11. We live in an unbelievable time. And this makes me so so sad. See more Nick R @RT57718416 6 days ago Released on the 25th anniversary of 9/11, you expect a documentary that respectfully looks back at the history of 9/11. I knew something was odd when they started pandering to Muslims and scolding Americans for laying blame at Muslims feet for the attacks. Then they started talking about DHS and border patrol and I’m sitting here thinking wtf. Felt like a liberal undergrad’s attempt at history trying to fit clips into their worldview. Sad Netflix pushed this to the top of my feed on 9/11. Disrespectful. See more TheFilmCritics @TheFilmCritics 6 days ago When tragedy becomes history, the questions surrounding its legacy become increasingly important—and Turning Point: Generation 9/11 has a worthwhile one at its core. The documentary thoughtfully examines how September 11 shaped a generation that largely cannot remember the attacks, offering an accessible introduction to their broader significance. Its generational perspective is genuinely compelling, but the film spreads itself too thin, skimming across political and cultural developments rather than exploring them with real depth. Some modern connections feel forced, while its extended focus on the Afghanistan withdrawal throws the balance off. Rushed interviews and a lack of concrete examples of 9/11's presence in everyday American life further blunt its impact. Valuable as an entry point for younger viewers, the film ultimately feels like a promising examination that never digs deeply enough to become a definitive one. See more Johann D. M @Johann33 6 days ago This documentary focuses on the twenty-five years following 9/11, as children of the attacks, journalists, young Afghans, and Marines reveal how a generation came of age in the shadow of that day and inherited a world shaped by the decisions and wars that followed. With its heartbreaking personal stories, it is an informative and compelling look at the events and their political context. However, it falls short in its broader scope, leaving many important aspects unexplored. Still, it succeeds in creating a deep feeling of uneasiness that lingers long after the credits roll. See more Graham F @RT46524876 Sep 12, 2026 You'll get offended if you're incapable of thinking critically and understanding nuance or lack basic empathy. This isn't a rah-rah chest beating 9/11 documentary that focuses on 9/11 itself. Viewers who go in expecting that should have read the title. This doc focuses on how 9/11 so drastically changed our world and put us on a path toward where we are today. It's relatively short, so it obviously leaves out a lot of detail, and the connections it tries to make are a little forced in a couple of spots. It helped me remember how uncertain everything was and how vulnerable we felt. 9/11 was a big deal not so much because it killed so many people (note that at peak COVID we had more deaths each day than from 9/11), but rather because it was deeply traumatic for everyone. When people reflect on 9/11 and mourn the event, a great deal of what they're mourning is their own personal emotional trauma and the sense of security they lost that day. See more Read all reviews

Turning Point: Generation 9/11

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