Exploration 5 - Emma Hardesty

   The story that effected me the most after watching "Rebirth" was Tanya Villanueva Tepper's story. I think this is because she was the most outwardly emotional on film and because primarily, Sergio was the closest person she had in her life. From Tanya's story, even though it occurred to her because of 9/11, relates to me personally in that my aunt, similar to Tanya, recently lost her husband of fifteen years unexpectedly. When a woman becomes a widow it is a tragedy and causes years of grief, as we saw through Tanya's story in the documentary. It was uplifting, however, to see how Tanya carried on in life and accepted what happened to Sergio in the end. I think Tanya makes a clear point in the conclusion of the film when she says, "I'll always grieve, but that doesn't stop me from living a life of joy." This quote made me upset, but feel uplifted as well because of how strong Tanya was. How she was able to overcome such sadness.
   The structure of the film with the time-lapse occurring over eight years had an extremely important impact on the work as a whole. I believe this was an overpowering strength. The developments in each character are apparent to the viewers with the ongoing passage of time. I think I could appreciate each character's story even more, knowing how far their lives have come since 2001.
    The most important thing I took away from these stories was closer personal connection and understanding of the individuals. Overall, I gained a better knowledge of exactly how 9/11 effected people. I think "Rebirth" does an incredible job of highlighting the way people actually felt and how they had to cope with the aftermath of that fateful day. I feel as though 9/11 is also a moment in our history that should never be forgotten and this documentary showcases that in an inspiring way.