As with most people following the tragic events of Sept. 11, the thought of watching anything but CNN's commentary was virtually an impossibility for me. For a moment, a brief moment, I even pondered the relevance of anything but such broadcasts. That week was a sadly refreshing break from commercials and the abundance of generic sitcoms that keep me as informed on our world events as a monk during his vow of silence.
A few days had passed when I read an article by Ty Burr on EntertainmentWeekly.com titled "Trivial Pursuit." This article exclaimed his belief in the utter irrelevance of entertainment. For all the things that could bring my mind out of the entrapping nature of grief, it happened to be an article on entertainment - go figure. And not only do I completely disagree with such an opinion, I think it stands in opposition to the mentality that will keep us all happy and healthy - the tradition, which Burr finds trivial, of entertainment.
Granted, after the falling of the World Trade Center, it seemed disrespectful to take in any amusement, much less any activity that did not demand attention to current affairs foreign or domestic. But in our time and in keeping with times past, entertainment has been a fundamental form of communication that creates more bonds than an Ian Fleming publisher. Entertainment reaches past the grasp of instant gratification; it transcends the ideology of any particular period, era or regime. Plus, it has more faces than Michael Jackson.
When tragedy strikes, it is not time to ban recreation and amusement, it's time to embrace these outlets closer than ever before.
In particular, the film industry has gotten a bad rap. Considering Osama bin Laden doesn't seem to be stopping by any time soon, Hollywood has been one of our prime scapegoats thus far. Several production studios have been forced to pull their films, change their endings or simply stop writing. They have been forced to do this not by any laws mandating it, but by the inherent distasteful weight of exploiting any such form of terrorism or symbols of the World Trade Center.
At this time, I don't think it's appropriate that we look at movies from the past and point our fingers, either. Ask yourself this: Why is it that when a book predates an event, it's seen as ahead of its time, marveled at for its predictive powers? Then why is that when a movie predates an event, it's scorned as being the cause?
Just look at Tom Clancy's novel "Debt of Honor," which ends with a plane crashing into Washington, killing the president and his entire cabinet. Coincidentally, it was published in 1994, around the time when planning for the World Trade Center devastation supposedly started. Is this "ahead of its time," or a textbook for destruction?
The sad fact is, we have used segments of massive destruction without remorse in countless films to date because during our generation, it has been simply fiction. Until now, it has been thought of as an impossibility to undergo such devastation. Events like those in "Independence Day" were so outlandish that our psychological distance between them and ourselves were as separate as the current Dow Jones average is from last year's mark. I'm sorry, but it takes more than a fancy script to have men give their lives for a cause. To say that these acts of terrorism are remotely related to our movies is actually giving more credit to the production studios than they deserve.
The simple truth is, entertainment in all forms represents more than a release from reality or a cheap laugh. It stands as a bridge between the past, present and future. In a remarkable fashion, the history of the entertainment world seemingly starts with the paintings of naked women only to be forbidden in the early parts of our exploration of film production. Had we advanced or fallen back? At this point, is there such a thing as artistic evolution?
Art and entertainment allow us not only to understand events from hundreds of years ago, they have permitted us to understand the values of past societies and how they thought. Using this train of thought, it is more than reasonable to believe that centuries down the road our values and cultures will be transparent to those who wish to learn about us through our forms of entertainment.
The United States values entertainment above all. We are a culture that thrives on entertainment, both the cheese and the meat (bye-bye reality shows, welcome CNN). Now, if we were to cease entertaining ourselves it would be succumbing to the wishes of these terrorists who came into our own back yards and tried to take our freedom down to the devilish prison that awaits them. Unknowingly, they've actually given us more than they could have ever taken away. Before now, we had to look to the movies for our heroes. That's what movies were there for - vicarious living. Today, we can look at our neighbors.
Entertainment won't go away, it will evolve. I don't think we'll be making any more terrorist movies for a while (sorry, Schwarzenegger). They'll be part of our history. If one looks back they will be able to see how our entertainment values have shifted - what was fiction is no longer. Instead a new fiction will grow in its place, and a new reality will settle in. But for all of you out there who think the days of those movies are forever gone, think again. Although "Pearl Harbor" was a bomb this summer (excuse the pun), it wasn't the first of its kind to replay the horrific events that took place that day.
We will go on. And hopefully we will become so far removed from this tragedy that these events can be fiction once again, and we'll get another Jerry Bruckheimer thriller. I don't see being under a warm blanket of security during a destruction movie as detrimental. I see it as how I look forward to things being once again. I want that blanket back, and deep down I think you do too.
So keep me entertained. Keep me wanting more. With all due respect to those who have perished and with great admiration to those who defend our freedom, I can only think of one line from "Braveheart" said by an Aussie who played a Scot and who is now proud to be an American. "They may take our lives, but they'll never take our freedom"
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