First Man: Buzz Aldrin weighs in on American flag controversy

The astronaut tweeted a photo himself with the American flag on the moon

U.S. astronaut Edwin E. 'Buzz' Aldrin, Jr., Lunar Module pilot on Apollo 11, poses for a portrait taken in July 1969. He and mission Commander Neil Armstrong were the first persons to land on the Moon. (NASA via Getty Images)

Buzz Aldrin has weighed in on the ongoing controversy surrounding the upcoming Neil Armstrong biopic First Man.

The movie screened at Venice Film Festival last week and has been criticised for not featuring a scene depicting the American flag being planted into the moon.

Following outrage online, Aldrin tweeted a photo of himself and Armstrong on the moon, alongside the hashtags “proud to be an American,” “freedom,” “honor.” “one nation,” and “road to Apollo 50.”

Damien Chazelle – who previously directed La La Land and Whiplash – has explained that the decision to omit the iconic moment was not a political gesture.

“In First Man I show the American flag standing on the lunar surface, but the flag being physically planted into the surface is one of several moments of the Apollo 11 lunar EVA that I chose not to focus upon,” he said.

“To address the question of whether this was a political statement, the answer is no. My goal with this movie was to share with audiences the unseen, unknown aspects of America’s mission to the moon – particularly Neil Armstrong’s personal saga and what he may have been thinking and feeling during those famous few hours.”

James R. Hansen, the author of the biography on which the movie is based, along with Armstrong’s sons, Rick and Mark, have defended the adaptation. Like Chazelle, they explain that the story focuses on the personal struggles Armstrong went through, rather than moments the world has already seen.

One of the most vocal critics has been US senator Marco Rubio, who wrote 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.”

First Man has received rave reviews from critics and is being touted as an early Oscars contender. The Independent gave the film five stars and said: “Ryan Gosling is not exactly a stranger to playing introverted characters. But this was a special challenge: to play such a person while inspiring the audience to view him as still worthy of a form of adulation.”

First Man reaches UK cinemas 12 October.