Fear Factor

I always thought that the reason that amusement parks had been built was to manufacture fear that we, as Americans, could never experience by living in this cush of a country.

But as this latest terror threat reminds me, fear is an amazingly effective tool. (Panic attacks over hand cream? Terror in my lip gloss? You can't make this up.)

A preview for the movie Snakes on a Plane announced a long list of phobias. Fear of flying. Fear of snakes. Fear of small places. In some ways, these kind of fears are so quaint. We have drugs to deal with these little inconveniences, people. But drugs to deal with bomb-wielding terrorits? Or how about drugs to deal with endless lines at the airport and forgetting to take your toothpaste out of your carry-on luggage? It's no surprise we're all looking for a little suspension of reality, when real-life has become more cinematic than any movie could have imagined. One review called it Flight 93 without the tears.

So I was wondering how this blogger-fueled madness for the movie Snakes on a Plane would do, even with Samuel L. Jackson. Even with snakes. On a mother ***** plane.

Of course, this kind of horror-tainment is closer to the amusement park rides than any real-life event. And yet. When a beauty product or a bottle of water marks you as a potential threat, maybe this is a move whose time has come. Snakes bringing a plane down? Now replace snakes with toothpaste and you have our summer blockbuster.