Tag Archives: Man on Wire

A Flashback to Petit (A Video-Game Story)

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So, this past week, one of my favorite videogame franchises, Assassin’s Creed, released the newest installment in the series: Assassin’s Creed Unity. I was understandably excited and, as soon as I sat down to play it, my first instinct was to explore the absolutely breath-taking rendition of Paris that the game was set in. These were some of the best graphics I had ever seen ever! Ubisoft, the franchise’s developer, is known for constructing the settings as close to real life as possible, using the actual blueprints.

A rendition of Notre Dame in Assassin's Creed: Unity.

A rendition of Notre Dame in Assassin’s Creed: Unity.

Now, as anyone familiar with Assassin’s Creed will know, the game involves a lot of climbing, clambering and parkour. As I was traversing the rooftops of Paris, I spotted a particularly high cathedral; only when I had gotten to the top of one of its two towers, did I realize that this was none other than the great Notre Dame cathedral itself! This virtual rendition had taken almost close to two years to construct and was one of the most accurate models in the entire game! As my character sat atop the tower, another thought raced across my mind: these two towers was one of the places that Phillipe Petit, on his wire-walking adventures, had crossed. Although I have never visited Paris, this beautiful rendition of Notre Dame had given me an entirely new perspective on one of Petit’s walks; there was an intense sensation of wonder to the entire moment and led me to appreciate not just the amazing hard work that the designers of the game had put into creating such a historical structure, but of the history that was attached to this building that we, the players, were allowed to experience.

Reactions to Man on Wire

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Damn. If I had the talent to walk on wire/cable at even 10 floors above ground level, I wouldn’t be here composing this post right now.

Philippe Petit is probably one of those guys where you just don’t have the correct adjective to describe him. Crazy? Brave? Idiotic? Heroic? To perfectly plot this whole event, and not get caught is definitely an incredible feat. I mean, he wasn’t at the 10th floor, the 20th floor, but the 110th floor. What could’ve possibly been going through his mind?

What I probably most liked about the documentary was the fact that it seemed to made me feel like I was in the moment, especially when they were describing how they almost got caught and stuff. If Petit’s timing was not correct, August 7th, 1974 might’ve just been another ordinary day for all of us, and the prisons might just have an extra guy in there.

However, in exchange for his fame and glory, Petit lost his friends, lost the love of his life, lost everything he had had before August 7th, all because of the 45 mins on the top of the World Trade Center towers. I mean, I don’t know if that’s worth it.

~Christopher Chong

Man on the Wire – Reaction

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I am not a fan of documentaries. I just dislike them. Man on the Wire was a unique case. I actually enjoyed the documentary about Philippe Petit and his whole crew.

I have heard of stories about people who have walked across many dangerous places via tightrope, but I have never heard of Philippe Petit and his story of walking across the Twin Towers via tightrope.

I found it quite amazing that he would have the concentration and the balance to actually achieve all that. I can barely keep my balance on a 2×4! I respect Philippe for doing whatever he wanted to achieve his dream of walking the tightrope 110 stories high. This does raise many questions though.

One of the biggest issues I have with Philippe’s story is the issue with money. I don’t understand how Philippe could even go back and forth from America and Paris ever so often. Where does he get his money to do so? I thought he was only a street performer. Either he hustled a lot of money while doing so, or he acquired his funds elsewhere.

The biggest question that I would have loved to ask Philippe and his crew is this: What did you guys do after the event? I have absolutely no idea how one would feel when a dream is achieved. Where would you go afterwards? What would you do? Will there be anything else in life that will ever feel better than when the dream was achieved?

I am so curious as to what the crew did after the heist was over. Is the ending like the usual ending to a dream? Was it a sad awakening to reality?

Man on Wire Reaction

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While reading Let the Great World Spin, I didn’t know that the story of the man walking between the Twin Towers was true, nor did I find it easy to believe once I was told that it was. I’m sure that this is an understandable reaction, as Philippe Petit’s feat was seemingly impossible, even to himself at times. I really admire the determination that Petit had, as if there was nothing in the world that could have stood between him and his dream. Honestly, I believe that if everyone lived like that, the world would be a much better place. I like what Sharouk said, that Petit really lived. He didn’t just go through the motions of daily life, he truly took every day as a dare to accomplish whatever it is that he wants.

However, as Sharouk and Chloe both mentioned, there was great sacrifice that had to be made in order for this dream to be realized. Yes, he did lose many relationships with other people that he supposedly cared about, but I think that the real sacrifice that he made was much more deep-seated. Petit was so absorbed in his art, that it didn’t seem as if he truly cared at all about any of the people around him were hurt by his actions. It was unfortunate that he lost many of these relationships, but it was even more unfortunate to me that the viewers likely care more about the end of these relationships than he did.

This complete self-indulgence and complete focus that defined Petit’s work makes me question if that’s where “true” art comes from. Do professional artists, the ones that truly earn fame for their work, all have this common theme of seclusion from actual, real-life, healthy relationships with other people? If yes, this is the biggest sacrifice that artists have to make for their work to be realized, and it’s a price that I don’t think I would ever be able to pay.

On Man on a Wire

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 Man on a Wire was a incredible documentary! In fact, at some points in the movie, I totally forgot that I was a watching a documentary. Some scenes were so intense, engaging, and emotional, that it might as well have been a drama. The documentary gave us a deep look into the walker, Philippe Petit. Through the interviews, and through various home-videos, we were able to realize the type of person he is. He is a dreamer, a man who is incredibly passionate about his hopes and goals. I believe that is one lesson that one should take away from watching this documentary. While I would not advise going about and breaking the law, I believe each and every one of us should have a goal or passion in life.

I truly admired the cinematography of the documentary. The mixture of black and white footage with colored footage was visually engaging and pleasing. Old footage from France and New York, provided me with a sense of what the world was like in the late 70s. Seeing footage of Petit, from his early days of tightrope walking through his grand display at the Twin Towers, caused me to feel as if i knew him his entire life. I felt as if  I grew along side him. The various interviews with all those involved with the Twin Towers project were able to provide me with multiple point of views, while still maintaining the theme that it may take a team in order to achieve one person’s dream.

One part of the movie that stood out to me was the end. I could not help but find disgust with Petit, as he allowed short lived fame to interfere with those who supported him along the way, with his friends. I felt sympathy for the one man (John I cannot remember his last name), who cried during the interview. We discussed that he cried twice for possibly two distinct reasons. The first may have been for the sheer beauty of Petit’s act, and the second may have been for losing Petit as a dear friend.