And then 9/11 happened. I couldn’t write movie reviews for two weeks afterward, but when I came back, it was to demonstrate that irony was not dead, as either The Onion or Time had declared. From my review of Glitter:

Thank you, Mariah, for scheduling your breakdown over the summer. If Glitter had been released in August, as originally planned (a plan foiled by your inability to promote the film, seeing as how you were probably filling your days by staring into space), then our Great Nation would have been deprived of the chance to laugh -- and laugh hard -- when we needed it most, in this, our Darkest Hour.

Truly, it must be Great Patriotism on Carey's part, that she engineered the withholding of Glitter till now, when we all would need reminding that there were other dark times our nation has weathered, and come through stronger. Such as the era of disco and its bastard child, the Early 80s. Yes, there was once a time when bad music, bad fashion, and breakdancing combined to cow our nation into submission. And yet, as Glitter reminds us, merely by allowing us to contrast the present with that unholy world, we survived. We made it. Though the road was long and the odds against us, we were not defeated.

• review of Glitter, posted 09.24.01

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