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Acts of terrorism have caused us to live in an age of fear. This age of fear casts over our society in a blanket of paranoia.

The media plays on this. They know that fear sells. However, they still need to capture our attention. Generation X has grown up in front of the big screen. With hard core action films used as babysitters.

The media uses our experiences with these films that Hollywood has created for us and applies them to the news. Terrorism is an awesome act of violence that is often seen on the big screen. Therefore the news media can easily glamorize it as an awesome event every night at ten o'clock.

This combined with the-age of fear helps to increase ratings for their programing. Even though terrorism is a heinous act it is done up the same way Hollywood would do up any action blockbuster.

Take 9/11 for example. The day the age of fear began. They played the Twin Towers attack at different angles almost making it into a work of art on the television. Camera shots of victim relatives in a panic. They even used security footage to add a human element. Nothing was simple about this production. From the dramatic performance of the news anchor to the reality comparisons on the streets of New York.

This isn't a new thing though. Watch the explosion of the Hindenburg and listen the the drama of a relatively simple event. "Oh the humanity!"

Learn more about this author, Harry Rucker.
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