As far as how that affected entertainment, several television shows and movies had to be postponed or canceled in the wake of the tragedy. Some material had to exclude any references to terrorism or scenes
that closely resemble to buildings being destroyed. Even in music, several songs
were banned from the radio in the wake of the attacks. Granted I'm not an expert
when it comes to making discussions on politics, as it's quite a touchy subject. Popular songs such as Pat
Benetar's "Hit Me With Your Best Shot", "Free Fallin" by Tom Petty, and Bob
Dylan's "Knocking on Heaven's Door" were the notable ones on that list. Though
many of those mentioned were among those tracks banned, they would eventually be put
back into rotation in the coming years. However you feel about this, the impact
9/11 had in the states not only impacted the media , but even society had to
adapt with the change in scenery.
In videogames, the sixth generation era in home consoling was hitting full
swing. After Sega retired from the home console market as a result of the
Dreamcast's failure, Microsoft stepped up and produced a little gaming system
called the X-Box. 2002 rolls around competing with Sony (Playstation 2) and
Nintendo (Gamecube) as they did battle for the next few years, providing some of
the most top quality games exclusive to their respective consoles. The Nintendo
64 had been discontinued at this point with Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 3 the last
game released in North America. It's also to note the 6th generation era was an
earlier glimpse at online gaming, a move that would change the landscape of
video gaming forever; The days of playing co-op with your friends in the basement
would no longer be the only way of sharing the experience. When the 2010s arrived, we have to factor the inclusion of Downloadable content (DLC) or microtransactions
that require people to pay in order to gain access to additional features in a
video game. Overall, the sixth generation era helped lay the foundation when it
came to the technological advancements of gaming.
Though I'm not much of a sports fan, during the 2001-2002 season, ABC won bidding
rights to the NBA coverage that had been airing on NBC for over a decade at that
point. With this move, the network would also lose its license to the NBA Inside
Stuff as it would also be packaged with the coverage. Its tenure on NBC brought
some of its biggest ratings thanks in large to showcasing marquee matchups
involving the Chicago Bulls at their zenith. As the new millennium rolled
around, not only did NBC dropped the NFL (though it returned in 2006 on Sunday
nights), but they lost rights to continue airing NBA coverage any further. Some
longtime TV fanatics consider this as a dork period NBC went through, coupled
with the ending of Friends and Frasier in 2004 that marked the decline and
extinction of multi camera sitcoms on the station. Then again opinions can be
subjective so take it what you will.
Teen pop also went through a dramatic shift
as well. The 2000s kicked off with the boy band/pop group craze with notable
acts such as the Backstreet Boys, NSYNC, 98 Degrees, Westlife, and even mid tier
artists like O-Town, BBMak, SClub 7, A-Teens, & the parody boy band 2ge+her. As 2001
winded down and 2002 kicked in, many of those aforementioned groups either
disbanded, underwent a hiatus, or just so happened to evolve their sound in music. In
fact, there was a brief period when certain band members from their respective
entity pursued solo careers as side projects. Nick Carter released Now or Never in 2002 as did the likes of Nick Lachey with SoulO the following year and JC Chasez
in 2004 with Schizophrenic. Of all the solos, only Justin Timberlake managed to
break through thanks in part to the marketing promotion of his debut album
Justified; He would continue to ride on that momentum with Futuresex Love Sounds
in 2006, the 20/20 Experience in 2013, and Man of the Woods in 2018. As the boy
band craze fizzled out by 2003, pop punk & pop rock acts like Good Charlotte,
Avril Lavigne, Maroon 5, & Simple Plan took over that mantle while established artists like Britney Spears and Christina Aguilera
continued to ride waves throughout the decade.
As a lifelong wrestling fan, the Monday Night Wars reached its
endgame when, after nearly six years in a head-to-head contest between Nitro and Raw,
Vince McMahon and the World Wrestling Federation purchased World Championship
Wrestling for $2.5 million. This gave way to an influx of talent from their respective
organizations as the WWF became the only mainstream wrestling company in North America. Coupled
along with the purchase of ECW, such a massive roster of that caliber played a
factor in the creation of what we now know as the brand extension. In this scenario, the roster
would be divided into two shows (Raw & Smackdown) with each wrestler competing on that specific show alone. While the initial brand split lasted
from 2002 to 2011, the company would reinstate the brand extension in 2016 and
has remained in effect since. Speaking of 2002, talk about a dramatic difference
the first half and the remaining half of the year it was. The top superstars headed
into Wrestlemania X8 comprised of Attitude Era favorites such as The Rock & Stone Cold Steve Austin along with the returning icon Hulk Hogan dominating WWF programming. By that time, the three superstars were off TV for the duration of 2002 (though they'd make sporadic appearances in the years to come). Fast forward to
Summerslam, Brock Lesnar won the (Undisputed) WWE Championship within
a few months after his debut, cementing him as the top superstar of the company; This new talent initiative paved the way for several athletes such as Batista, Randy Orton, & John Cena to lead the charge into the next phase in wrestling (or in WWE terms "Sports Entertainment"). Following the premature breakup of the nWo, HBK comes
out of retirement and begins wrestling on a regular basis. Did I need to get started about the company's name change from World Wrestling Federation to World
Wrestling Entertainment?
All in all, the more I think about it, that 2001/2002 time period was a very interesting transition phase. For better or worse, it demonstrated the cultural shift that transpired during
the first few years of the 2000s. It may not seem like an elaborate essay but
rather just the aura coming from a young tween at the time who lived through it. For folks that lived through that timeframe, how was your experience adapting to the post 9/11 landscape in the United States?