Never Forget
Do you remember where you were on 1–31–07?
It was a year ago when Boston was consumed with panic over what appeared to be a coordinated and systematic attack on it's infrastructure by terrorists. Small homemade explosive devices appeared to be planted all around the city, leaving authorities to scramble to locate, retrieve and defuse the devices.
A city froze in fear.
And then they found out it was a hoax.
Where were you when the Mooninite Menace descended upon Boston?
It's easy to make light of the situation a year later, but at the time the fear was very real. What was also very real was the sense of anger – and let's face it, humiliation – after realizing that it was not bombs planted around the city but too–clever–for–their–own–good marketing devices for an upcoming movie.
That movie of course was Aqua Teen Hunger Force Colon Movie Film For Theaters.
Once the jig was up, the city, from the mayor's office to the police chief and State Police, we're looking for someone to hang out to dry. And they found them, in two young artists, and luckily, a global corporation with deep pockets.
Peter "Zebbler" Berdovsky and Sean Stevens took the hit and were charged with placing a hoax device in a way that causes panic and disorderly conduct. Their weapon of choice? Light up devices, similar to that childhood staple the Lite Brite.
I was where I am most days, here at Press Herald Plaza, watching the whole situation unfold. It was inspiring enough that I was able to get some mileage out of it for a column:
"The Mooninites have won and the nation is the worse for it.
Last week, the City of Boston found itself under attack not by robots, consumers or unwashed hordes of Yankees fans, but by two artists, the Cartoon Network and small beings from beyond the moon.
...
Was it a stupid idea to place something weird and blinking under bridges? Probably. But the incident does raise some good questions such as, where is the line between art and marketing? Is this tragi-comedy or a reminder that Sept. 11 really did change everything?"
Now a year later Berdovsky is still clinging to what bit of notoriety he has from the event, the Aqua Teens have moved on to other adventures and the only threat now to Boston's collective psyche is Tom Brady's ankle.
For this first anniversary let us look back fondly at what Boston did, and the rest of the nation avoided.
We look back now through tribute videos and other remembrances. We consider if we should have seen this coming as a society
What were your thoughts at the time?
Will you ever trust the Mooninites again?
What have we learned?
Posted by at 11:54 PM
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