As a guy who used to take anti-anxiety medication, and would get off airplanes if I got "a bad feeling," I am interested in what scares us-- or tries to.
For some of the country, it's "Brokeback Mountain." For others, it's drag queen Nancy Grace. But vying for the top spot this weekend, Bush Administration Entertainment and Cable News Pictures present "New Osama Tape." Guess the remake of "The Bird Flu" wasn't getting enough traction. But actually the two projects have a lot in common:
-- Both play very well across North America, in all demos (red state/blue state friendly).
-- Both have roots in poor Asian countries.
-- Lack of money and public information fostered their development.
-- Just enough reality to each to inspire viral marketing campaigns.
-- Internet friendly. Rumor is perception, perception is truth.
-- Both make Seattle feel particularly vulnerable.
-- Investors making billions off each.
-- Studio benefits tremendously from release date, overshadowing current flops.
-- As of now, only the Osama tape is dowloadable to your cell phone, ipod or PDA, but the Bird Flu people are working on that.
My feeling about Osama and his "ummm.... you haven't heard from us cuz we're very busy planning" tape is similar to my feeling about the hypothetical mutation of the bird flu virus: no matter how hard those with a vested interest would like us to believe it's gonna happen ANY MINUTE NOW.... I'll believe it when I see it. Where was the bombing of the malls? The wide-spread anthrax attack? The evil crop dusters? Wasn't the Space Needle supposed to be gone by now? That tall building in Chicago?
We've been sold a lot of duct tape, and we keep falling for it. "Better to be prepared" right? Or does our willing consumption of this fear make us culpable, like the audience of a Drew Barrymore movie, who only encourages her to make another?
Have people died at the hands of both these villains? Yes. Will there be a sequel? Probably. But for those of us who can fall too easily in love with our own fear, I would suggest tuning out the latest wave of panic marketing, which blinds us to the much more real threats. Instead of a "coming attraction," how about a virus that is in current release, like HIV/AIDS, which is wiping out a continent before our very eyes? Why not channel some of our fear energy into that? (www.FXB.org is one particularly effective way to save AIDS orphans in Africa right now).
Is it time to ask ourselves why it's acceptable for networks to repeatedly broadcast these vague taped threats that give us no useful information? Why CNN.com has "Worst Case Scenario" links on their home page, about totally hypothetical pandemic scenarios?
Fear has always sold entertainment. But now it's escaped the megaplex and wants to kill us.