Throughout modern history, cinema has prevailed as one of the most popular art forms. During the early 20th century, many different events have impacted the world of cinema. Several films that impacted cinema forever: Citizen Kane, The Godfather, Casablanca, Alfred Hitchcock’s Psycho. Each one changed either the course of it’s own genre, or the entire way of storytelling. While these are important to consider, it’s also important to look at events that impacted the direction of film. The terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001 have had the greatest impact on American cinema.
After the events of September 11, 2001, there was immediate impacts seen in many aspects of life. Film, especially, shifted focus after these incredible events. For instance, after 9/11 there was great sensitivity even to humor. Though the country hadn’t lost its sense of humor, it was not clearly evident as it had been before the attacks.The film “Zoolander” was removed from theaters seeing as it was “too much too soon” (Pavia 1).
After 9/11 patriotism was on the rise. This became prevalent in films near the beginning of 2002. Sam Raimi’s film, “Spider-Man” shows the biggest immediate impact. While there aren’t any explicit vendettas cast by the hero against terror, the shot of “Spider Man fastened to a gigantic American flag in the very last scene of Sam Raimi’s Spider-Man” shows the immense amount of patriotism audiences felt after seeing, the first post-9/11 big budget blockbuster (Fahim 1).
Another cultural reflection from Sam Raimi’s “Spider-Man” shows is it’s trailer. In the trailer, a group of criminals hold up a bank within the World Trade Center. They leave the building, escape in their helicopter, and seem to have made it off scott free. A
few seconds later, their helicopter is pulled back, by some invisible force. It’s later revealed the helicopter is stuck in a web between the Twin Towers. The trailer goes on to show some action sequences, but as one can imagine, the image of the Twin Towers illicits recollection of the gruesome images during September 11. After the attacks on the World Trade Center, the trailer was pulled from all films, television, and can now only be found on the internet. This shows one of the first instances of clear, self imposed, industry wide sensitivity to this event in the 21st century (Crum 1). Anything depicting the World Trade Center was taken from the airwaves. An episode of the popular children’s show, Jay Jay the Jet Plane was pulled from the series due to a “plane crash” it showed in the episode (Crum 1). The immediate impacts of 9/11 were visible, but the lasting impacts made it the event that defined the new direction of American films.
9/11 changed the relationship we have with characters in film. During most films, whether the filmmaker intends it or not, the main character is someone the audience connects to. Usually we know exactly what the character’s goal is, or what the character is up against. But what happens when a character doesn’t know what he’s up against? Or there is no clear enemy in sight? Or, the enemy is there, but the hero has no idea what motivates him, or if he even has motives? This changes the formula for Hollywood blockbusters considerably. Examine Christopher Nolan’s The Dark Knight and J.J. Abrams’ Star Trek: Into Darkness.
(Spoilers ahead) In Christopher Nolan’s gritty, realistic take on Batman,The Dark Knight, Christian Bale plays Batman again, after 2005’s Batman Begins (Thompson 33). This time Batman is going up against the Joker, a villain that we, as normal human beings, can’t comprehend. He has no motives, no goal, and no end in sight. He’s not
superhuman by any means, as one character describes it “Some men just want to watch the world burn.” (Nolan & Nolan 57). The audience, or at least that part of the audience paying attention, can draw the similarities between 9/11 and the aftermath of 9/11 and Batman’s mission. He has to go after a villain that the general public does not understand, one that has no motives, and causes destruction relentlessly. Later in the film, Batman deploys a sonar device that hacks into every cellular device in Gotham city, the place where Batman lives. This gives him a clear view of everything going on in Gotham, but also shows the hero going to incredible and new lengths to stop a villain - one’s who’s likes have never before been seen. The parallels here are, Joker: Al Qaeda, Batman: The Government, Attacks on Gotham: 9/11 attacks. Even though it may not have been Nolan’s intention to make a film reflecting the Bush administration’s decisions “it brought that image to mind for viewers because of the time and place in which it was made and released” (Donarum 3). Without 9/11, this film might not have been made. It would not have had relevant impact on viewersWhen Batman, or any hero in general, doesn’t know how to take down the villain, the audience sympathizes with him. Blockbuster films usually try to take the fears of the audience, and, somehow, alleviate them. They try to give them an out. With 9/11, this is becoming increasingly difficult.
Another prime example of the lasting effects of 9/11 is J.J. Abrams’ recent film Star Trek Into Darkness (Huge Spoilers ahead). Not only are 9/11 parallels seen in this
movie, but conspiracy theories are clear within the film: Chris Pine plays Captain Jim T. Kirk of the USS Enterprise. He is up against a terrorist named John Harrison, who was responsible for the bombing of a weapons bay outside of London. Harrison then launches an attack on Starfleet HQ, and escapes to a (seemingly) barren planet. Admiral Marcus, a high ranking officer in Starfleet (the group of space explorers sworn to explore and protect the galaxy) commands Captain Kirk to go after Harrison, using special missiles developed by the government, without starting a war with the indigenous population. It is later revealed in the film that Admiral Marcus was behind the attack the entire time. He was the one ordering John Harrison to bomb Starfleet, just to give Captain Kirk a reason to kill John Harrison. The parallels here are John Harrison: Al Qaeda, Admiral Marcus: The Bush Administration, Captain Kirk & the crew of the Enterprise: The Military. Later on in the film, there’s a shot of a spaceship flying into buildings on the coast of San Francisco. For many audiences, that hit too close to home. Star Trek Into Darkness shows the political undertones that are sometimes placed before an audience, many of which go undetected.
Films that directly deal with the attacks of 9/11 are often harshly criticized. In the film “World Trade Center” starring Nicolas Cage and Michael Peña, “Oliver Stone tried to make a patriotic film.” (LaSalle 1). He tries to make a film that “celebrated the heroism of those called to action as a result of tragedy.” (Terry 2). Many saw it as a film that
focused too much on the human aspect of surviving, and not honoring to those who were killed during the 9/11 attacks. While it takes courage to directly deal with these attacks, many people viewed it as too much human interest too soon.
9/11 changed American cinema more than any event before it. We no longer see movies themed as in most of the twentieth century. We no longer see the United States fighting armies from within or outside our borders. Rather, we are left to sit in a darkened theater in heightened awareness and movie-induced fear of an enemy we can’t immediately identify. We watch in terror for terror.
Works Cited
Crum, Steve. "Nightmares for the American Dream Factory." Rotton Tomatoes. N.p., 19 Oct. 2004. Web. 30 May 2013.
Donarum, Nathan. "The Dark Knight Trilogy and 9/11." The Racked Focus. N.p., 18 Aug. 2012. Web. 30 May 2013.
Fahim, Joseph. “A decade in film.” Al Jazeera (Qatar) 05 Jan. 2010: Newspaper Source. Web. 30 May 2013.
Mick, LaSalle. “How patriotic films change with times.” San Francisco Chronicle (CA) n.d.: Newspaper Source. Web. 30 May 2013.
Jonathan Nolan and Christopher Nolan. The Dark Knight. Revised Final Script. July 2008. Nolan Fans. 30 May. 2013.
Pavia, Frank. "10 Years After: 9/11's Impact on Film." MSN. N.p., 2011. Web. 30 May 2013.
Prince, Stephen. Firestorm: American Film in the Age of Terrorism. Chichester, West Sussex: Columbia University Press, 2009. Print.
Terry, Joshua. "The impact of 9/11 on popular media." Deseret News 8 Sept. 2011. Web. 30 May 2013.
Thompson, David. The New Biographical Dictionary of Film. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 2010. Print.
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