Exploration Five - Kyle Dezse

The story that impacted me the most would probably be Brian Lyon’s. In my opinion, he had one of the hardest times coping with the attack and the death of his brother who was a firefighter. One of the more interesting things about his story is that of his involvement with ground zero. Starting on September 12, 2001, he was a part of the search & rescue effort, and managing construction of Freedom Tower. It is important to hear from different points of view and I believe Lyons adds diversity to the rest of the interviewees. Brian said something in 2005, while looking down from the half constructed tower, “the bottom of the pit is a spiritual place.” This was unexpected to me because I would think that the pit at ground zero would be linked to pain, suffering, and death. However, it seems to Brian that it is the exact opposite.

The effect of the time-lapse was to show how each person changed, mentally and physically, through time. It showed progress as well as setbacks. I also believe it was a way for some of them to cope. Many of them expressed themselves in the segments and revealed things to themselves that they normally would not unveil. I definitely feel that this was a strength and a very valuable technique to the production. It was especially helpful in telling Brian Lyons story in fact. In the first year they showed him describing how his brother’s hallagan was found and in that instant it started to snow. This was something was became a symbol to Brian. Then in 2003 he showed progress in coping, “in the recovery you are tearing things down. Now we are building things in Phase One. Looking up from here.” Later in 2005, Brian took a turn for the worst and was diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder. However, in 2007 he had his last therapy session and is off medication. This production allowed Brian Lyons’ entire story to be told.

The simple, most important thing I got out of this documentary is that everyone is different. Each person lost someone different, in a different way, and coped differently. I learned that time heals people’s wounds at different rates and in healthy and unhealthy ways.