While initial moves by companies that produce pop culture product products have shown an appropriate sensitivity to content that they think might upset the public (see 'Content Sensitivity Alters Releases'), as the time since the attacks on the U.S. lengthens it's becoming increasingly clear that some are using the attacks to further their own agendas regarding entertainment and pop culture.  Although few are going as far as the Reverends Falwell and Robertson, who initially blamed abortionists, feminists, and gay people for the tragedy, there have been a couple of examples over the past weeks that indicate that instead of allowing consumers to decide for themselves what types of entertainment they prefer, some are urging retailers and manufacturers to change the type of material they produce or sell, especially as it relates to violent content. 

Toys and videogames came under attack over the last week, primarily by Ann Brown, chairwoman of the Consumer Products Safety Commission.  In an appearance on the Today show and in other venues, she made the case that violent toys and videogames are now more inappropriate than they've been in the past because of the existence of violence in real life.  Today anchor Matt Lauer played along, wrapping up the interview with the comment that since many toys for the holiday season have already shipped, it's going to be up to retailers to make sure parents get the right toys for their kids.  While one aspect of this discussion made perfect sense -- the idea that kids are going to be more interested in real-life heroes such as firemen and policemen in the future -- the idea that violent content in videogames or toys involving conflict are less appropriate now than they have been in the past seems to be a major stretch. 

Consumers are perfectly capable of making their own choices and are voting with their dollars.  Blockbuster reported that among the movies that enjoyed the highest rental volume in the weeks after the attack were action blockbusters such as the Die Hard movies, which feature heroes battling bad guys in the midst of big explosions and special effects.  Michael Douglas, star of the winning movie at the box office this weekend -- 'Don't Say a Word' -- has been arguing during his press tour that the public is seeking movies with conflict that is resolved, a situation that is not the case in real life. 

Blockbuster is also coming under some fire for deciding to label Swordfish -- a video to be released by Warner in the coming weeks--with special warnings that it contains terrorist content.  Blockbuster also cut its orders on the title, in apparent contradiction to its own reports of what people are actually renting.  While this is tough to explain in the context of what the public seems to want, it does fit nicely into Blockbuster's ongoing dispute with studios over the pricing of DVDs for sell-through immediately, rather than promoting rentals for a period of time before cutting the sell-through price (Blockbuster opposes the new pricing plans since it derives far more of its revenue from rental than it does from sell-through).  Some have argued that Blockbuster is merely taking advantage of the situation to take a shot at a studio that is pricing a movie -- Swordfish -- for sell-through aggressively out of the gate.  While there's nothing that Blockbuster has said that indicates that this is the reason for the warnings and order reductions, it's an interesting coincidence that has been noted by more than one video industry observer. 

Our observation on these incidents is that now that the initial caution over being seen as exploiting the attacks is wearing off, people with an ax to grind are returning to their normal agendas and using current events to further them when it seems like it might work.  We see this as crass opportunism and urge retailers and others in the industry to stick to their guns regarding freedom of expression and let consumers make up their own minds about what they want to buy.