Rather, this is solely out of respect for the victims, their families and, indeed, for all the rest of us who have suffered together through the attacks and continue to live with the after-effects. It would be beyond trivial now to pay a small fortune to watch buildings being blown up and people being murdered when we've all endured the real thing. We've wondered that very thing about numerous other aspects of our lives which were once so simple. That would be just as wrong as flaunting terrorists on the screen or page in the face of the attacks. Now, more than ever, we know first-hand the world is a violent place.
People die - horribly on occasion.
There is hurt and heartache and, yes, there are even terrorists. I don't think the challenge is to entirely eliminate these depictions from our popular culture, but to portray them honestly, to step away from the mindless, gratuitous violence that has become so prevalent and accepted. There are still those who, like some in the wake of Columbine, believe that only blanket censorship will deter copycats. Already there have been ridiculous conspiracy theories floating around - speculation that the attacks were reminiscent of various thriller novels, or plot lines in countless movies. Hence, we must sanitize to protect ourselves in the future.