In Pursuit Of Dirty Laundry Four Men Die: An Essay By Esteban Erik Stipnieks
I was listening to talk radio and the story came out two helicopters covering a police chase collide. It was not that difficult to make the jump that all aboard were dead. Lots have been written about the differences between helicopters and airplanes. One has to be made to fly one can fly often times quite well without a pilot. Helicopters on the other hand have to be made to fly.
Early on in the history of movies the chase scene was discovered to thrill an audience and a good chase scene would pack the movie houses. Lets face it we enjoy watching action. There is a massive difference though one of the most thrilling chase scenes in movie history was filmed within the confines of local laws created no traffic hazards or wrecks. It occurred on a city street through camera angles and cuts two cars loosely following each other through an urban area created to the viewer one of the most stunning sequences in movie history. The chase scenes of course made onto the small screen. The Dukes of Hazard and Chips in their prime were ratings winners due the fact they were testosterone driven shows filled with beautiful women and car chases.
There is a huge difference between Hollywood and real life. A chase scene in Hollywood requires far more planning then a big dance number on a Broadway musical. Every camera angle is planned out in advance. The speeds involved the hard physics involved is proposed tested in smaller units rehearsed with more intensity then a dance scene and finally executed with comparable precision to a Blue Angels our Thunderbirds routine. What looks thrilling and death defying on either big or small screen is something actually more safely executed then the commute to shoot the scene!
Lets cut to Phoenix. Five helicopters in the air attempting to maintain visual separation while having their respective cams aimed at a truck and police cars. The plan....what plan we have an alleged perp doing all he can to avoid capture by police acting on impulse surrounded above by this morphing gaggle of helicopters which includes law enforcement and local media. The end result was this not some TV drama or thrilling scene in movie but 4 dead people. The last minute radio chatter was chilling as both pilots became aware they were very close to each other without planning to be so.
Cue Don Henley's "Dirty Laundry". I want to box again I cover the boxing world but if you view my boxing website http://www.ausaboxing.com/ausaboxing.html and had watched it there have been people whom I ripped for abuse of fighters and carelessness. We like adrenaline how we get it must have some moral boundaries. A manager who gives his fighter fights at weights that require him sometimes to take water pills to make is a disgusting son of a (expletive deleted). The coverage of local chases borders on Huxley's Brave New World. I am not saying coverage of car chases is bad. The way news radio KTSA handled car chase/shoot out was an example of good news work. It provided those drives in the area useful information to get out of the way of the mess! It provided the listening public information on the chase that ultimately was used by listeners for a very good purpose....self preservation. The entertainment industry through TV and movies has provided the world a plethora of car chases and action scenes...I leave the reader with this final thought if you wanna see a car chase get the full DVD sets of Miami Vice, Dukes of Hazard, Chips, and others. Four men died in pursuit of Dirty Laundry 7/27/07.