Posted on 09/24/2001 7:50:46 PM PDT by Jean S
SAN FRANCISCO, Sept 25 (AFP) -
Images of the horrific destruction of the World Trade Center and the Pentagon saturated the US airwaves immediately following the attacks, but now the US media are wrestling with the use of images of carnage, both fictional and real.
Earlier this month, US news outlets continually replayed images of the September 11 disaster. Among the more shocking footage were scenes of airliners knifing into the World Trade Center, followed by the collapse of the landmark 110-storey twin towers. Newspapers around the world followed with still pictures of the assaults.
But as the death toll mounted and the true scope of the horror and death began to emerge, North American television networks began easing their use of the images.
The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation halted use of the videos 12 hours after the attacks. In the United States, cable news networks began pulling back from the images the following weekend. MSNBC, Fox and CNN issued orders to producers to use the images only if absolutely necessary for the story.
The three major US broadcast networks -- ABC, NBC and CBS -- have cautioned their staff on using the footage, but have not banned it.
"We will only use the videos if it is essential to the story," said ABC News spokeswoman Su-Lyn Nicols.
Besides its horror, television news producers are concerned that the repeated play of the images will numb viewers.
"We didn't want to keep playing the footage of the plane collisions and such over and over again," said Andrew Finlayson, news director for KTVU, a local San Francisco area television station. "It just numbs everyone to the tragedy. The pictures can make people blase, making it all feel, well, normal."
Meanwhile, movie producers and television entertainment executives rushed to halt distribution of movies that carried a violent theme, fearing they would traumatize audiences or open up movie studios to charges of bad taste.
"Collateral Damage," an upcoming Arnold Schwarzenneger movie about a vengeful firefighter who loses his family during a terrorist attack on a high-rise, has been postponed indefinitely from its October 5th release.
Movie posters promoting the film are hurriedly being removed from walls and bus stops around the nation.
Other films being delayed or edited include a Spider Man movie which uses the World Trade Center in a crucial scene, and the re-release of the film Pearl Harbor.
Explosion-filled US television series slated for their season debut have been put on hold or are being edited to remove troubling images, such as The Agency, an action series about the CIA that opens with a bomb attack.
The real-life terrorist attacks have sparked introspection about the use of violence in pop culture. With the advent of computer-generated effects, movies and television shows can easily be draped in explosions and digital carnage.
But with the destruction of September 11, those who create entertainment believe audiences will turn away from violent spectacles, maybe even embracing stories that reflect an affirmation of life, not its destruction.
"Obviously, the World Trade Center attacks are affecting any projects that deal with terrorism or the indiscriminate or unthinking use of firearms or weaponry," said Jason Hoffs, a Los Angeles feature film producer for Sony Pictures.
"I think you'll see a return, at least for the short term, to age-old themes like honesty, loyalty and betrayal.
"America feels like it took a sucker punch," Hoffs added. "Now audiences will probably look for stories about what's important for life."
Hoffs said it will be a welcome change.
"Big studio films have been relatively mindless," he said. "Hopefully, this will change. It would be something good to come out of all this."
On Man! I would like to see that one. Given the tenor of Arnold's films, it sounds like the terrorists would not be getting away with what they did! I think Americans might like that kind of movie right now!
Is it that they know it brings out the patriot in those otherwise content to sit on their derrieres and eat chips while watching the tube?
I like shoot em up, blow em up movies. Americans loved watching movie stars killing japs and gerries on the big screen during WWII. In fact the studios made those movies to LIFT patriotism.
I just don't buy their reasoning. They screwed us through the Clinton years. Why would they stop now?
The next best thing is to go rent "True Lies".
Plot: Arab terrorists try to set off a nuclear weapon in a major US city, Arnold kicks their butts.
We are big boys and girls now. we can choose for ourselves, thank you. Release the movies you already had planned, we know they were filmed a year ago. Show us our own disaster footage, we can handle it.
Stop deciding for us.
That is one of my FAVORITE movies. Jamie Lee Curtis was awesome in it. I never appreciated her comic acting until then. And Arnold was, well, Arnold!
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.