The Attacks and Popular Culture

Many pundits are already pondering the effects of the terrorist attacks on our popular culture. It is the end of the blockbuster film, with its huge explosions. It is the end of violent rap music and death metal. It is the end of silly commercials, which now seem so banal and inappropriate.

These pundits underestimate our commitment to schlock. My view is that almost nothing about American pop culture will change in the long run. We are, after all, right back to playing our most violent game - football - though with a momentary orgy of flag-waving attached.

However, I did notice, as I watched the returning NFL games, that the advertising had changed. Though there were still perfectly idiotic ads for Coors Light, several companies - Subway, Ford, and Southwest Airlines, for example - had come up with ads that took the attacks into consideration. It was difficult not to think that some of them were looking at the attacks as an opportunity to sell their products.

Subway, for instance, scrolled a message in white letters on a black background, mourning with all those whose "lives had been impacted" by the collapse of the towers and paying tribute to the heroes who stepped into the breech. Now in one way this was admirable, and it is probable that Subway had already bought the ad time and was convinced that they should acknowledge the events in some way.

Of course, had they actually been only concerned to express themselves, they didn't necessarily have to put their logo on the end. And had they actually been expressing themselves, they would perhaps have thought of words that were not the absolute height of trite, a sheer mouthing of everyone else's cliches, repeated thousands of times since the attacks.

But this, we might say, is the American way: shameless commerce clothed in empty words. And we can take comfort in that: in the face of unspeakable atrocity, we just keep on selling sandwiches, a tribute to our resiliency.

Radio stations have pulled a variety of songs, both violent and peacenik, which might be controversial in the face of violence and perhaps war. You can say that I'm a dreamer, but I have a funny feeling that in the long run the radio stations will not want to resist the, uh, entreaties of record companies, who in turn will not be able to resist the tastes of adolescents.

As to the blockbuster, it will live as long as America shines as a beacon of freedom. The release of several movies has been delayed, but if you spend $100 million dollars on a movie, you're going to sell tickets eventually. As time goes on, the plots will change a little, and I predict that the Hollywood terrorists will at some point sprout longer beards. And it may be that the special effects will improve a bit: I couldn't help thinking, after I had watched the towers come down on satellite for the 657^th time, that the movies were a bit . . . unrealistic.

So take heart, America: we will not let these monsters destroy our sacred way of life.

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