ABSTRACT
The terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, shocked the world and led to the U.S. invasions of Afghanistan in 2001 and Iraq in 2003. These dramatic events transformed the United States politically, socially, and artistically. But did this transformation lead to changes in the film industry? It may take scholars years or even decades to fully assess the impact of 9/11 on films, given the complexity of the changes unleashed by the terrorist attacks, the normal progression of technology in the film industry, and the fact that new styles, themes, and issues related to the attacks continue to unfold. Initially, many expected Hollywood to decrease graphic movie violence, while others wanted filmmakers to use the opportunity to lay bare underlying volatile sociopolitical issues. Both predictions proved wildly inaccurate. Hollywood’s direct and indirect responses to the attacks initially seemed bewildering and unpredictable but upon deeper reflection appear perfectly reasonable and even inevitable. The attacks uniquely affected Hollywood compared to other events in U.S. history. Some genres that previously appealed to small, cultlike followers suddenly transformed into box office bonanzas appealing to the masses. Other genres became “blended” genres, whereas others disappeared completely. Hollywood melodramas and comedies alike assumed a comic-book quality with larger-than-life heroes and villains battling each other, often with humanity’s very survival at issue.
