If you haven’t been following the controversy, Universal Pictures decided not to show Neil Armstrong planting an American flag on the moon. They couldn’t get away with planting a UN flag, so they just left it out completely.
Legendary Apollo 11 astronaut Edwin “Buzz” Aldrin took a swipe at the upcoming movie “First Man” late Sunday for its director’s decision not to show the planting of the American flag on the moon during the historic 1969 mission.
Aldrin, 88, who was the second man to step on the moon, behind crewmate Neil Armstrong, posted historical photos of the flag-planting and added the hashtag “Proud to be an American.”
Buzz Aldin (2nd man on the moon) had this to say.
Dr. Buzz Aldrin on Twitter: “#proudtobeanAmerican #freedom #honor #onenation #Apollo11 #July1969 #roadtoApollo50 pic.twitter.com/gApIwLzaJw / Twitter”
proudtobeanAmerican #freedom #honor #onenation #Apollo11 #July1969 #roadtoApollo50 pic.twitter.com/gApIwLzaJw
Others came out of the woodwork.
Denise *over forty observer (not victim) of fate* on Twitter: “The ultimate Selfie-Selfie…thank you for sharing the wonderful photo and your incredible journey @TheRealBuzz. #Moonwalker #Apollo11 #RoadToApollo50 #NASA pic.twitter.com/ZwAVgWZSJO / Twitter”
The ultimate Selfie-Selfie…thank you for sharing the wonderful photo and your incredible journey @TheRealBuzz. #Moonwalker #Apollo11 #RoadToApollo50 #NASA pic.twitter.com/ZwAVgWZSJO
Marco Rubio on Twitter: “This is total lunacy. And a disservice at a time when our people need reminders of what we can achieve when we work together. The American people paid for that mission,on rockets built by Americans,with American technology & carrying American astronauts. It wasn’t a UN mission. https://t.co/eGwBq7hj8C / Twitter”
This is total lunacy. And a disservice at a time when our people need reminders of what we can achieve when we work together. The American people paid for that mission,on rockets built by Americans,with American technology & carrying American astronauts. It wasn’t a UN mission. https://t.co/eGwBq7hj8C
In previous posts Saturday, Aldrin shared photos of himself wearing a T-shirt with the tagline “Buzz Aldrin, Future Martian” that shows an astronaut planting the American flag on the Red Planet.
He also retweeted a photo of himself saluting while standing next to an enlarged photo from the Apollo 11 mission that includes the flag on the moon.
But despite the controversy, actor Gosling, a native of Canada, defended the decision not to portray the flag-planting scene, saying at the Venice Film Festival that the decision was deliberate because the moon landing “transcended countries and borders.”
“I think this was widely regarded in the end as a human achievement [and] that’s how we chose to view it,” Gosling told reporters. “I also think Neil was extremely humble, as were many of these astronauts, and time and time again he deferred the focus from himself to the 400,000 people who made the mission possible.”