International Political Will

As audiences await the opening of “United 93,” a new motion picture centered around the hijacked airliner that crashed in a Pennsylvania field on Sept. 11, 2001, I wonder how America’s definition of reality has become so distorted.

Pundits and critics argue that either Americans are not ready to relive Sept. 11, or that a story of heroism can be an inspiration and should be told — but neither argument seems appropriate.

The real issue is how and why America’s sense of reality has changed over the years to the point that it needs Hollywood to feel anything. Television programming provides an example.

Countless shows are either a spin-off or rip-off of crime shows like “C.S.I.” The daily parade of rape and murder on the evening news isn’t enough — Americans need to see it stylized, sensationalized and solved in one hour. Graphic depictions of dead and mutilated bodies are the standard for each show.

How many shows have worked terrorists into their plot lines? The hit show “24” has become more like 72 hours of violence based around faceless apocalyptic terrorists.

There is also “The Unit,” where a counter-terrorist task force works covertly in foreign countries to thwart would-be jihadi terrorists. The underlying theme is always the same — watch out, because weapons of mass destruction are everywhere (except Iraq).

Americans even need a pseudo-White House to be entertained — the actual misleading speeches and doublespeak rhetoric isn’t exciting enough. Fake presidents, fake cabinet members, fake campaigns and even fake political debates attempt to tell us what the “real” White House is like. C-SPAN is just too dry.

These shows have become part of America’s political socialization, teaching those too young to understand the intricacies of the world that America is the good guy, “they” are the bad guy, and anyone who thinks different shouldn’t be trusted. Subliminally, these same young impressionable minds also learn that patriotism and loyalty rest largely on the color of your skin – or at least your religion.

And what does America consider reality television? Not documentaries or the nightly news — but structured and scripted shows where we wonder if Suzy will choose John even after she finds out he isn’t really a millionaire. Or which young woman will be able to withstand society’s shallow judgement and fit the Barbie doll stereotype to become “America’s Next Top Model?” What happens if we transplant a mom from some redneck, NASCAR, NRA-card carrying family in Alabama to a hippie, vegetarian, pro-choice and tree-hugging family in California — and vice-versa?

America’s definition of reality has become a scripted farce, and now Hollywood wants to make a buck from their version of Sept. 11.

Motion pictures can be a way to bring a social milestone to many people, such as movies about the Vietnam War that became popular in the 1980s for a young generation of Americans who weren’t old enough to witness or comprehend a life-changing event. Made years after the end of the war, these movies were far enough from the incident to avoid the jingoistic political slant that would have been evident if the same movies were made in the 1970s — perhaps even revealing a truth unseen at the time.

But now, not even five years after Sept. 11 and at the beginning of a protracted war on terror, Hollywood wants to make a movie about an event that is yet to be fully understood.

Questions still linger about the truth of Sept. 11, trials are ongoing and there are two wars (with a possible third in the near future), but Hollywood thinks they can take an objective look at something as tragic and unparalleled as the attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon. Americans are too close to their courageous troops overseas to produce, or watch, anything other than patriotic fervor.

If Americans want to see the “reality” of Sept. 11, they need only pay attention to incidents unfolding on a daily basis around the world. Stylized concoctions based on true events and set to a soundtrack are no substitute for the wisdom that can be gleaned from a genuine interest in shaping the world’s future.

It’s not that Americans aren’t ready to relive Sept. 11, it’s that they haven’t finished living it for the first time.

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