39,327
edits
Post-9-11 Terrorism Movie: Difference between revisions
m
update links
m (update links) |
m (update links) |
||
Line 1:
{{trope}}
The terrorist attack on the USA on 9/11/2001 did a lot towards making the mere ''mention'' of terrorists in fiction an incredibly risky gambit in the eyes of Hollywood. Many [[Executive Meddling|executives]] even went so far as to remove the Twin Towers from their movies to avoid offending or saddening people in the years afterwards; this was done for fear of it being [[Too Soon]], but also helped Al Qaeda destroy the twin towers retroactively.
For [[Film|Films]] and [[Live Action TV]] series, the time after September Eleventh can be classified into three periods:
Line 6:
'''The First''' Where a great, ''great'' many movies after 9/11 don't talk about it, mention it, or even ''imply'' it happened, stories set in the US, especially New York, after the attacks that should logically deal with terrorism never even talk about it passingly.
In '''The Second''', as these fears subsided writers and directors would dare to be brave and artsy by using incrementally larger references and even plots related to terrorism.
Until eventually '''The Third''' brought the opposite reaction to the first: movies that go overboard in dealing exclusively with terrorism.
These movies (though [[Live Action TV]] deals with this too) tend to fall flat for several reasons. In the First, because of the total absence of what should be logically there (lame excuses add to this). The second tend to be too self-congratulatory for the relatively minor mention; leading into the third turning [[Anvilicious]] in their focus on terrorism.
Line 14:
Another aspect is that the armed forces tend to be given one of three treatments: [[Kick the Dog|puppy-kicking]] monsters, a helpless [[Redshirt Army]], or a near [[Mary Sue]] competence boost. This last usually happens in action movies that want to kick terrorist tail. This (for international viewers anyway) tends to have a bit too much [[America Wins the War]], considering the war is ongoing.
Interestingly, shows that dealt with terrorism before 9/11 tend to fare better than those made after, albeit they reacted in different ways.
As more and more time passes, these works are inevitably becoming [[Unintentional Period Piece|Unintentional Period Pieces]].
Line 26:
** In the [[Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen|second film]] they portrayed American-led special forces hunting Decepticons around the world with carte blanch international support.
** By the [[Transformers: Dark of the Moon|third film]] this had changed completely. The Decepticons are portrayed as terrorists that execute a 9/11 event on a citywide scale in Chicago. The filmmakers evoke 9/11 imagery throughout the entire scene by setting buildings on fire, knocking them over and showing human beings jumping from them. What happens if Americans made concessions to terrorists makes up a large portion of the plot.
* ''The Kingdom'' likewise gives the dispatched US agents the military might of an entire platoon to kill an entire terrorist cell in their fortified barrio. Interestingly, it does otherwise deal with the issue more realistically than other films, dealing with the politics and culture involved and even how both sides can get fanatical, including a rather chilling future [[Tyke Bomb]] in the making.
** The original draft of the script had a different ending in which all of the U.S. agents were killed {{spoiler|by the other Saudi liaison as the Americans boarded the plane at the end}}. It was agreed that the audience just wouldn't be able to walk away from the movie after seeing that, and rightfully so.
** The one-of-a-kind multimedia montage is one of the most concise and accurate film representations of the events that lead up to 9/11, it should be used in history classes.
Line 45:
* The [[Robert Pattinson]] film ''Remember Me''. The ''very last shot'' of the movie, shows a classroom with the date of September 11, 2001, then Pattinson's character in his office in the World Trade Center. Audiences and critics alike did not take this well.
* A passing mention to 9/11 is made in ''[[Casino Royale]]''. In the same film, there is also a terrorist plot to blow up a plane, albeit as part of a stock market scam. M's offhand comment "Christ, I miss the Cold War", besides being a [[Continuity Nod]] to older Bond movies, is likely an allusion to the post 9/11 state of politics.
* The Thai superhero film ''[[Mercury Man]]'' is more than a bit shameless in this aspect. the [[Big Bad]] is an Afghan terrorist named ''Osama bin Ali'' (though he [[Fake Nationality|sounds and looks Thai]]) and his evil plan is to blow up American military installments in Thailand with stolen weapons.
* ''[[The Return of Hanuman]]'', movie [[Made in Country X|made in India]] has Hanuman preventing 9/11 by bending the Twin Towers. He also captures a person similar to [[Osama Bin Laden]] along with other terrorists and [[George W. Bush]]-like person.
* [[V for Vendetta]], if Alan Moore's accusations are to be believed.
Line 52:
== [[Live Action TV]] ==
* ''[[24|Twenty Four]]'' has notably subverted this genre/trope. It has taken a very daring, hands-on approach to terrorism.
** Of course, [[Your Mileage May Vary|YMMV]], some found it overly Anvilicious.
* ''[[NCIS]]'' does occasionally mention Al Qaida, but usually only in passing. NCIS headquarters also feature monitors with news on them that occasionally make reference to modern terrorists or issues, but you have to be watching closely to read them.
* ''[[JAG]]'', meanwhile, has played with this. A retired soldier is sought after to deal with a situation in China very much like the real life incident where an American plane collided with a Chinese Mig. The officer in question was going to refuse but 9/11 spurred him to aid his country. In the same episode Gunny is written out of the show by being recalled to Afghanistan, causing Chegwidden to lament not going with him. In the next episode (I think) Mac bemoans two idiots dueling when there are soldiers fighting and dying. Other episodes have either been promoted as either being set in the war on terror or were the focus of the story, such as when a Seebee saves his unit from Taliban terrorists. The catch? He wants none of the attention of being a hero because his wife thought he died on 9/11. Then we have Harm playing up having a seat at the Superbowl...his seat was in the cockpit of a fighter jet with his female RIO when he was in the Navy, a scene that demonstrates the actions that had taken place at sports events after 9/11
* Although never dealing with 9-11 specifically (although this is arguably justified by it being set in what is in many ways quite clearly an [[Alternate History]]; it's quite possible that the attacks simply never happened in that universe), ''[[The West Wing]]'' often dealt heavily and frequently with Islamic fundamentalism and terrorism in the seasons following 9-11; the episode "Isaac and Ishmael", a [[Canon Discontinuity|non-canon]] episode written, filmed and aired within three weeks of the attacks, dealt with Islamic terrorism, and a running plot in the third and fourth seasons dealt with the fall out from an attempt by a [[Qurac]]-sponsored terror group to blow up the Golden Gate Bridge.
* [[Law Procedural]] shows had episodes that followed the second example. The 2001-2002 seasons of ''[[The Practice]]'', ''Judging Amy'' and ''Family Law'' all had episodes where an Arab or Persian character is picked up by the FBI or Homeland Security, and the lawyers are stymied by "classified information" in trying to understand what their client did and how to defend them. These showed fears of civil liberties eroding in the "early days" of the War on Terror.
* ''[[Farscape]]''. When John Crichton finally gets back to Earth he asks why his previously liberal father has such a hardline attitude on sharing alien technology with other nations. His father replies simply: "9-11"
Line 62:
* ''[[The Sopranos]]'' also deals with the post 9/11 environment in an interesting way. It started by doing the standard thing: removing the Twin Towers from the intro theme. But then it starts to realistically discuss the effects it would have on Tony's world, as the FBI Agent that had chased him for several seasons is re-assigned to Anti-Terror. Tony then spends the remainder of the series trying to cultivate a relationship with him in order to trade info about potential terrorists (the only snitching his colleagues will tolerate) for leniency in the ongoing investigation.
** Some [[Truth in Television]] here: A number of east-coast gangsters managed to avoid the long arm of the law during [[World War II]] by agreeing to help the government defend its borders in high traffic cities and engaging in smuggling duties and espionage work.
*** And also using their influence with dockers unions in New York harbor, and other east coast ports, to increase security regarding transatlantic convoys departure schedules and guarding against possible sabotage in the shipyards building the liberty ships and escorts meant to guard them against the wolf packs.
* Similarly, the FBI as shown on ''[[The Wire]]'' has shifted its priorities away from drug crime, leaving the overmatched Baltimore PD to handle it alone. In fact, the only way they can get Federal help in most seasons is to baldly lie to the Feds to tie their investigation to a Terror case.
* Mentioned briefly in the first few episodes of ''[[The Sarah Connor Chronicles]]''. Sarah and John jumped from the nineties to present day, thus completely skipping over the 9/11 attack. Sarah goes to get a new identity forged, and she is told it will be harder after the attack. She speculates that if she hadn't time jumped straight through it, that she would've thought it'd be the end.
* Standoff brings us the episode Man of Steele, where the titular radio shock jock has a man on the line who takes a woman hostage. When Emily tries to reason that the FBI is trying to find the woman who scammed him Steele scoff, "Yeah right, the FBI couldn't find 19 known terrorists with box cutters." This quote is later seen on Lia's computer, who recorded Steele for when the FBI would step in to take him off the air, labelled 'September 12'.
* The 2003 ''[[The Twilight Zone]]'' remake of "[[The Twilight Zone/Recap/S1
== [[Video Games]] ==
| |||