September 11: A Decade in Response

The word "plot" can mean a secret plan, or it can refer to the storyline of a film or novel. Almost as soon as the first hijacked plane hit the north tower of the World Trade Center, 10 years ago on Sunday, people were remarking on the resemblance of the all-too-real calamity striking New York — one kind of plot — to the spectacular moments from another: the action blockbusters that had made a fetish out of blowing up the White House or the Brooklyn Bridge. It was the most banal of observations: "this was just like a movie".