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In the same way that audiences re-examined the intersection of film and reality, so did filmmakers. Hollywood, I think, really did have something of an existential crisis after 9/11, pondering its true relevance and contribution to a troubled, dark world. On one hand, I think Hollywood quickly came to realize that its purpose of providing escapist entertainment was needed now more than ever; but on the other I think many began to ask if there could be a new relevance to film's purpose. 

It is the latter camp—the one that has given rise to production companies like Participant and big-issue statement films like Crash or Fast Food Nation—which I think represents the future of post-9/11 cinema. With the knowledge that film is one of the most powerful mediums in the world, many in Hollywood are trying to make every picture count. To some, "film as art" might seem increasingly frivolous in lieu of the potential of "film as educator."

Sure, individual directors will continue to produce artistic confrontations with specifically 9/11 material—Mike Binder (The Upside of Anger) is one, for example, who has a film (Reign O'er Me) in the works on the matter. And heroic, comic-book escapism will always be with us (though I suspect the current "renaissance" is a short-term fix that we are beginning to grow weary of). And films will continue to mirror the psychology of the filmgoer as it ebbs and flows through patriotism, sorrow, revenge, etc. But it is the activation of both the filmmaker and filmgoer—to realize the potential of film to document, inform, and inspire change in a turbulent world—that I think will ultimately define the "post-9/11" era of cinema.

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