Lunar Astronaut Buzz Aldrin Angry Over Armstrong Biopic's Omission of Flag Scene

88-year-old retired astronaut Buzz Aldrin, the second human being to step foot on the moon during the historic Apollo 11 mission in 1969, expressed his disapproval with the movie with a tweet including the hashtag #proudtobeanAmerican and images of the astronauts planting and posing with the flag.

Aldrin, who has made his feelings about the importance of showing veneration for the American flag clear in the past, attracted the praise of other twitter users, who joined him in criticizing the film, and thanked him for his service.

Some users made sure to really emphasize the 'American' nature of the moon landing achievement.

Some also jokingly recalled the incident where Aldrin decked a conspiracy theorist who said that the Moon landings never took place in the face.

Not everyone was in a jingoistic mood, however, with some Twitter users suggesting that this manufactured anger was just an "excuse" to divide the country.

A few conspiracy theorists also joined in the fray.

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'First Man' Director Damien Chazelle emphasized that while the flag planting scene was "one of several moments" that he "chose not to focus upon," the film does "show the American flag standing on the lunar surface." Gosling, who portrays Armstrong, defended the omission of the flag planting scene, saying he thought "was widely regarded in the end as a human achievement, and that's how we chose to view it…I don't think that Neil viewed himself as an American hero. From my interviews with his family and people that knew him, it was quite the opposite. And we wanted the film to reflect Neil."

Armstrong died in 2012 at the age of 82.

'First Man' premiered at the Venice Film Festival on August 29, and is set for US release on October 12.