In late September 2001, two weeks after 9/11, The Onion published one of its most memorable headlines: “American Life Turns Into Bad Jerry Bruckheimer Movie.” “For nearly two full weeks,” the article reads, Americans had been “transfixed in front of their televisions, listening to shocked newscasters struggle to maintain their composure while describing events that would have been rejected by Hollywood producers as not believable enough for a Sylvester Stallone vehicle.” One “Irwin Trotter” is both sad and confused by his sadness. “‘There are Air Force jets flying over Manhattan and warships in New York harbor,’ he says, but none of it is exciting or entertaining at all.” The vibes were similarly off for “Thom Gardner” of Cedar Rapids, Iowa. “In the movies, when the president says, ‘It’s war,’ that usually means the good part is just about to begin,” he muses. “Why doesn’t it feel that way now? It doesn’t feel like the good part is about to begin at all. It feels like there’s never going to be another good part again.”
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