Suddenly 'small potatoes'

The terrorist attacks prompt Hollywood to question its relevance | Andrew Coffin

After a three-week delay brought on by the 9/11 terrorist attacks, the Emmy Awards were canceled last week, just hours before they were scheduled to air nationally on CBS.

The air strikes against the Taliban had just commenced, and rather than immediately reschedule the annual television awards ceremony a second time, organizers of the star-studded event elected to indefinitely postpone. They donated 3,000 servings of already-prepared gourmet food—lobster salad, filet of beef, risotto, Italian espresso layer cake—to no doubt surprised area homeless shelters.

The cancellation of TV's annual self-congratulatory fashion show was just one in a line of difficult, often tortured decisions the entertainment industry has had to make in light of recent events—events that almost instantly brought the industry's relevance into question.