RIFLE RANGE BOY: posterior

Flight (2012)
Director: Robert Zemeckis

There was a time when professional jobs were allocated to the crème de la crème of society. It was thought that since the educational design was so gruelling, only the disciplined, regulation sticklers and the honest would pass out the system with flying colours. Such linear thinking fellows would be honest and not cut corners.

In most societies, however, such thinking holds no water. In keeping with the tagline of a particular budget airline, 'Now everyone can fly!', such a message also goes to pilots worldwide. Anyone can fly a plane. This type of thinking has also permeated into society on a larger scale. Every member of a particular profession is a cogwheel in a piece of bigger machinery. Everybody has to play his part; no more, no less. Nobody is indispensable. Anyone can be displaced and replaced. There are waiting to take over.

This movie reminds all professionals that vigilance is an eternal necessity. Our jobs are constantly being scrutinised for shortfalls. Anytime anything goes against the grain of normality, the vultures of the world will peel open their eyelids to find a scoop that they can create a whirlwind of mischief. In the modern way of doing things, everything is outsourced. Outsourcing is filled with responsibilities and liabilities. Hence, everybody will want to avert their burden of duty and find a scapegoat. No more are professionals absolved of any of these. No stone is left unturned. So it is of paramount importance to guard your own background. Lest your slightest lapse of concentration will be amplified to paint as the main reason for any malady that may arise.

In this 2012 film, a pilot with many years of experience but a drinking and drug habit saves an obviously old plane that outlived its usefulness from a sure crash with his unique flying manoeuvres. His moves were indeed proved impossible to be reproduced on simulation flights, and he is hailed as a hero. He saved many lives from sure death. Post-crash investigations were not kind, however. His addiction comes to the open, and the pilot is vilified by the authorities. Even though the maintenance standards of the machine are far from satisfactory, somehow, the pilot's deficiencies hit the headlines. The pilot's death-defying heroic act, despite his sobriety, takes a backseat.

The higher you fly, the harder the fall!