| "Last year, forty-three thousand Americans died in automobile accidents. Four thousand people drowned. Two thousand people choked to death on food. Do you know how many died in domestic commercial transports? ... Fifty." — Michael Crichton, Airframe |
| Airframe is one of the few Michael Crichton novels not yet made into a movie, in part because it would be extremely expensive to produce, and so this multiple-plane-crash-thriller has *flown under the radar* a bit — which is a shame. After an international flight incident leaves three people dead and fifty-six injured, the press are eager to break the story—or make it up. They circle around the aircraft company, Norton, spreading rumors and trusting non-experts who have an axe to grind, hampering the real investigation, and putting thousands of daily fliers at risk. This tense mystery had me guessing until the end, but what stuck with me was Crichton's exploration and meta-commentary on the media at large—their incentives, blind-spots, and limitations. The context-dropping, insinuating, unsubstantiated bold newspaper headlines and talking heads feel like their right out of today's big media blogs and shows. And worse, the way Crichton shows how fake news has real consequences is a powerful indictment for our post-truth world. [JG] |
WHO IS MICHAEL CRICHTON?
| Michael Crichton (1942-2008) remains the only writer to have a number one book, movie, and TV show in the same year. His novels include Sphere, The Lost World, Eaters of the Dead, State of Fear, and Dragon Teeth among others. Collectively his works have sold over 200 million copies worldwide, been translated into thirty-eight languages, and provided the basis for fifteen films. He also directed the film versions of Westworld, The Great Train Robbery, and Looker. |
| "Your father was a journalist; you think there's some kind of truth to be told. There isn't. Not for years, kid. I watched these scum on the Aloha incident. All they wanted was the gory details. Stewardess gets sucked out of the plane, did she die before she hit the water? Was she still alive? That's all they wanted to know...That's entertainment... Remember: they make the rules. And the game's got nothing to do with accuracy, or the facts, or reality. It's just a circus." — Michael Crichton, Airframe |
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