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Other journalists, however, are concerned that today's media-saturated Americans will settle down into viewing the disaster as just another prime time special. Journalist Dick Staub testifies, "Some young people complained that shopping malls closed on Tuesday. Can they have absorbed the reality and significance of Tuesday's images or are they filed along with entertaining films to be experienced than pushed aside? Time will tell whether this generation can feel real life or will remain locked in to 'reel' life."

Los Angeles Times writer Sallie Hofmeister reports that Americans ran to the video store in droves over the last week seeking escape. But what did they rent? She mentions family-oriented films, "repeated requests for films about Nostradamus" (who, some say, predicted the attacks), along with "an unusually high interest in action movies dealing with themes closely tied to the events of the week." Says one Blockbuster manager, "They wanted … anything where terrorists got the stuffing kicked out of them."

Entertainers, journalists, and critics everywhere find themselves in awkward and troubling dilemmas. After a tragedy this devastating, when will it be okay to go back to business as usual? Should we return to business as usual?

The Film Forum's Steve Lansingh expressed his disinterest with discussing movies this week: "Our site is not just some neat place for Christian fanboys to hang out, or just a means of debating semantics, but a community to reclaim Christianity from those who shut out the world around them, and to instead be Christ within the thick of it. Let's get our hands dirty, folks. Life is very, very short."

Similarly, Los Angeles Times' critic Kenneth Turan commented, "Everything looks different after a day like last Tuesday, and it's almost inevitable to question, in the quietest part of yourself, 'If this is the kind of world we live in, what am I doing with my life?'"

Writing about movies may be difficult, but imagine the plight of comedians as they try to avoid desecrating what is presently a sacred subject. Also in the LA Times this week, Paul Brownfield addresses how comics will be carefully commenting on this painful subject in the coming weeks on shows like Saturday Night Live and The Late Show with David Letterman.

In the music world, Mr. Showbiz reported that Michael Jackson is rounding up singers for another fundraiser song along the lines of "We are the World," called "What More Can I Do?" The same Web site also posted news that television's Emmy Awards have been delayed, and are being re-vamped with a more somber and appropriate tone; its new manifestation might involve a fundraiser as well.

Even mainstream critic Roger Ebert gave his thumbs a rest and turned to a more immediate subject than movies, offering a commentary on how Manhattan might honor the bombing site: "If there is to be a memorial, let it not be of stone and steel. Fly no flag above it, for it is not the possession of a nation but a sorrow shared with the world. Let it be a green field, with trees and flowers."

Some journalists hailed Hollywood as our military advisor. The Sun's Littlejohn called for a response worthy of The Godfather. "Our only response should be: Whatever you want, whatever it takes. They declared war on the West long ago and they should not be allowed to wash their hands of the consequences. If Dubya is seeking inspiration he should look to Hollywood. Michael Corleone would know how to handle it."

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September (Web-only) 2001, Vol. 45