disaster movie themes

8/14/2019 Disaster Movie Themes

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fn this chopter we will coveri

r whatwe mean ya heme

r what hemes e ypicallyind ndisasterovies

r how hesehemes rehandled

r how mportantheyare o thegenre.

Whot hemesdo disostermoviesThe hemes f any ilmare he ssuesndsubjectshat tdeals ithasiderom he

disastertself. ometimeshesemaybe more mportanto he ilm-makerhan he

disaster.or mainstreamollywoodenre,hedisaster oviesvery ich n hemes.

Most f he hemes iscussedn his haoter anbe ound n most f hedisaster

movies esee. nce oain, owever,ur ist snot ntendedo bedefinitive.

Incommonwith hedisaster ovie odes nd

conventions,he hemes plit nto hose entred

on he ndividualnd hose entred n he

generalituationr'bigger icturei

What hemes resuggestedy he wo posters elow?

lseither hememore erioushan he other?Do heyhave nythingn common? o

they ake erydifferent pproaches?

What ifanything) o these hemes dd o these ilms?

a

a

When ou ook t he hemesna ilm, ry o keeprack f

which hemes repopular tdifferentimes, speciallyn

the 1970s nd1990s.ou ould arry utsome esearchnto

whatwashappeninguringhe imeshe ilmsweremade

to helowith his.



t :cster orfheDayAfter omorrow

AO2 Explore, espond o and reflecton a rangeof filmsand topics

r what hemes oyou hink hould e/are resentn hemodern isaster ovie?

r Compile classis t nd ry o rankhem n mportance.

r Recordour deasoyoucan ook t hemagainater.

The disostermovie ond the individuolHere re ome ommonndividualhemes sedn hedisasterovie.Theyre sual lylinkedo thedevelopmentf hemain haractershroughouthe ilm.

r relationships

r self-sacrifice

r redemption

a teamwork

7 AposterorThe ore



RelotionshipsThesere vital omponentn hedisaster ovie ecauseheyextendt beyondhe

confinesf he'bigbang'specialffect. s nany ilm, llkinds f relationshipseature

- friendship,nmity,ove in actanykind oucanname.Theovehemes hemost

typical both omanticnd amily. ove anbestraightforward,s n hecase f he

RosensShelley intersnd ack lbertson)n hePoseidondventure.ere ehave

acouple ho ean n heir ove oroneanothero get hem hroughhecrisis.ven

afterMrsRosenies,t sherhusband'sove orher hatgetshim hrough. ove an

becomplicated;tewart raffCharltoneston)aceshechoice etween istress

andwife n Earthquake.ove aneven eemo be hewholepointof hestory, lmost

excludinghedisastertself,s nTitanic,here ackLeonardoiCaprio)ndRose

(KateWinslet)arryhebulk f he ilm'snterest.

Familys mportantooandmany ilms ee arentsndsiblingsrying o rescue

oneanother:

r JackHall(Dennisuaid)nTheDayAfterTomorrowndhis earchorhis onSam

(Jake yllenhaal).

r Jenny ernerTea eoni) ndher elationshipithherparentsn Deepmpact1998).

The elationshiphemen hedisaster oviesalmost s mportants hedisastertself

andgivesheaudiencetsmost ommonormof emotionalhook'intohestory.

AO4 Use reativeand technicolskills o construct ilm products

r Think f adisasternd magineour riends r amilyn t.

r Write synopsisf he story.Howwould hey eact?Whatwould heydo?What

roleswould hevhave?

Self-socrificeHeroesre reatedn manywaysn ilmsThemost ommons hecharacterhat'saves

thedayiUnfortunately,na disasterilm,heday salmost lways eyond aving.his

iswhere cts fself-sacrificeecomemportantor hegenre.hehuman onditions

elevatedy hese eedshroughoutlmost lldisaster ovies.xamplesre ommon:

r allmanner f peopleefusinglacesn ifeboatsndgiving p ifeacketsnANight

toRemember1958)

r Reverendcott'sGene ackman)eliberatelungeo savehegroup ndappease

hisGod n ThePoseidondventure

r SamRoyce'sLorne reene)eart ttackn Earthquake,avingescuedverybody

before imself

r Harry tamperBruce ill is)avingheworld nArmageddon1998)

. morepowerfully,ndultimately,ilm hatdeals lmost ntirely ithself-sacrificef

a different ind United 3 2006J.



The heme f self-sacrificesunavoldablen disaster ovies ndprovidesswithsome

of hemostmemorablendemotionalndividualcenesfany enre.nsome ayst

ismore rucialo hegenre'successhan he heme frelat ionships.t sa disasterhat

allowshis heme f self-sacrificeo surface.

AO2 Explore, espond o andreflecton a rangeof filmsand topics

r Try o find eal xamplesfheroismndself-sacrifice,oth ocallyndnationally.o

theydifferrom hemovies?ould oumake nyof hem ntoa movie?

RedemptionRedemption,r making mendsors ins ommit ted,sa themecloselylnkedo sel f -

sacrifice.omecharacterseedso much redemptionhat only an act of self-sacrifice

wi l ldo.An example f th iswouldbe StanleyTucci 'sharacter ,rConrad imsky, inThe

Core.Hesa vain, rrogant ndscheming c ient is t ho haseopardisedhe planetn

the pursui t f careerand elf .n he end he makesthe l t imate acr i f icetotry toight

the wrongs e hasdoneand manageso laugh t hlmself she enjoys is ast lgaret te.

Otherexamplesnclude'

r Har lee laiborneFred staire)he conmanwho preys n r ich, onelywidows n Ihe

ToweringnfernoHe indsa new viewon lifeas f redeemedhroughhisdoomed

genuine ffect ionor Lisolet te uel lerJennl ferJones)

r More ecently,he part-time elfishatherRayFerrierTomCruise)n WarOf The

Woildswho only rulyshoulders is esponsibil it ieshen acedwith a dlsaster f

interplanetarylze.

There remoresubt le ndsmal ler xamples f redemption.hese anbe acts f

forgivenesshat arebrought nto ocusby the loomingdisaster erhapst isuseful nd

engagingor he audienceo ask 'Shouldt take he endof the wor ld orsomeoneo

do the r ight hlng?'

AOI - Demonstrate nowledgeand understanding f how filmscommunicate

r What owe mean yredemption?

r What ifferentinds an ou hinkof romother ilms ouhave een?

TeomworkThere re wo main inds f groups r eamshat eaturendisaster ovies:hosehat

are hosenby hedisaster 'andhosehat re hosenfor hedisasterlThosehat re

chosenythe isasterre hegroup fstrangershrownogetherccidental lyn heir

struggleo survive heirmake-up,sdiscussedreviously,soften nattempt y he

f i lm-makertoepresentsmuch f hepotent ialudiencen screenspossible.The



8 Armageddon whata team!

Thosehatare hosenor hedisasterreusuallyheexpertshatare ent o dealwith

the mpendingisaster. ypical xamplef his s herange f expertsent o restart

the otation f heearth'sore n TheCore.Iheosterncludes ASA ilots, weapons

expert, physicist,universityrofessornda computer acker,llhighlyrained

trYnprt( in thcir f ic ld

Inboth ypes f eam he heme emainshesame: umanitysa groups argerhan

thesumof tsparts he ilms xplore oweach ersonan ontributeo,and earnfrom, heprocessf workingogethern he ace f a disasterhis aisesgainhe

questionWhy oes t need heendof heworld o promote uch ooperation?'

The ole f peoplenagroup r eamprovidesswitha bridge etweenhe ndividual

andgeneralhemesn hedisaster ovie.Thissbecausehe argestroupweall

belongo sa societynd his s hearea herehegeneralhemesaiseuest ions.

AO3 Demonsfiate lanning,research nd presentational kills

r Think f a disasterwhowouldbe nyour eamT

r Asa class,hooseour'perfect'team.

r Whowould ouchoose ndwhy?

r Whyare eams o mportantn hedisaster ovie?



The disostermovieondsocietvCommonhemeshataffect ociety re ubjecto change. omedeas re onstant,

like orporatereed; thers ave risennmore ecentimes,ikehepotentialor

envionmental isaster.

. corporatereed

r sciencend echnology

r thepower f nature r'nature'sevenge'

r human omplacencysocietalnd ndividua.

CorporoteteedCorporatereedsoneof hemore pecifichemeshatcrops p rom ime o time

and n somewayst s he riggerorsome f heother eneralhemes.hepursuit

of profit ycutting osts nd gnoring afety onslderationss he'accidentaitingohappen'in any isasterovies.

Unlikeherealworld, herehesource f hisblame ften emainsaceless,isaster

moviesonvenientlyocushison he ndividual.uchndividualsreoneoi if not

the,most bviousind f human i l lainhatappearn hedisasterovie. ehave

thehistoricalxamplesrom heTitanicilms'.henegligentndweakCaptain mith

andarrogantwnerBrucesmay.choednsimilarictionalharactersn The oseidon

AdventurereCaptain arrisonLeslie ielsen)nd heowner'sepresentative,inarcos

(Fredadoff). ealso avehe

purelyictional xemplified

erfectlynTheToweringlnferno y Roger immonsRichardhamberlain),heslimy on-in-lawhocutsback

on safety tandardsnd rieso ump hequeueo safety.

9 The Towering Inferno rarithWilliam Holdenond RichardChamberlain 7l1s 11666snrahtonro

of copitalism?

Formost f hese haracters,xcept ome f hosewho edeemhemselves,ustices

meted ut bydeathn hedisasterheyhelpedo create. owever,hedivide etween



lsmay uccessful lyscapeshe shipwhichhe helped o make ess afeThe ict ional

vi l la in 'Cal 'HockleyBi l ly ane)mayescapehe shipbut sdealt omemeasure f ust ice

for h isgreedby he stockmarket rashment ionedn he closing arrat ion y Rose.

AOI - Demonstrate nowledgeand understanding f how films communicate

r Howdo societyndbusinessespondo real isasters?or xample,oware hey

depictedndocumentariesikeSpike ee'sWhenheLeveesroke2006)?

r Businesseople vi l la insrheroes?hat oyou hink?

Science nd technologyOur elat ionshipi thscience nd echnology as isenn mportancengeneral

culture incewe potent ia l lyuthored urown doom by nvent inghe nuclear eapon.

Sincehen,we have nterta ined,ndbeenenterta ined y,manysuspect ppl icat ions

of science nd echnologyNevertheless,clence nd echnologysoftenwhatwe turn

to in order o avertdlsaster.

On he negat ive ide,echnologymay ustsimply a i l s lnking hlps, rashing

aeroplanes,urst ing amsetc Sometimest is ustnot up to the ob associety reaks

down hrough tsabsence,f tenprovinghe maxim hatwe are' twomeals nd 24

hoursaway romcompleteanarchylMore ecently,ur sclentlfic nd echnological

impacton the globehasbecomea moresignificant oncernBoth he Core nd

in particular heDayAfterTomorrow'nd he cause f the disastern science ndtechnologyt ishighly ikelyhat herewil lbe moreglobalwarmingmovieso add o

thisgenreover he next ew years.

AO3 Demonstratelanning,research nd presentational kills

Courseworkidea

r Play game sa classr nsmal l roups.

r Taket n urnso suggestnepiece f echnologyo removeromour ives.

r Wouldt bea disaster?ould nyofyour deas eused s hebasisora disaster

movie?

r Keep record fyour deas theymay ome n usefulater.

On heposi t iveide ecan ely n Hol lywoodwhich astsel fncreasinglyel ied pon

sciencend echnologyo maintaints ompet i t ivedge)o adopthemoreradi t ional'sciencend echnologys aviour 'posi t ioneneedook o urtherhat he wo

asteroidilms f 1998, eepmpact ndArmageddon,nwhich hepresidentnnounces

the orthcomingevastation,ith heboasthat t has appenedefore utweare



theonly peciesn historyna positiono stop t. nboth ilms huge rray f devices

areusedndetecting,lanningorandultimatelyvertinghedisaster.erhapse

need o rememberhese re nlymovies'andeality as endencyo'bring sback

down o earth'whenooking t sciencend echnology. hethert s napositive,r

more ommonly negative,ay, ciencend echnologysa hemehas key ole o

playn many isaster ovies.

r How ssciencend echnologyepresentedn disaster ovies?

r Score istof disaster ovies spositive r negativeo decide owscience nd

technologyares. rite pyourconclusion.

Thepowerof notweor 'noture's evenge'Inany ormdesignedor hebigscreenhereal weepingcope nddestructive

energy f naturesa must.Hollywoodnlistshemall n hename f spectaclegiant

waves,olcanoes,arthquakes,torms,urricanes,ornadoes,loods,eat, old, ven

swarmsf killer ees ndmore. hemain easono put hese n ilmmaybe o

showcasehe atestpecialffectsechnologynd empt heaudienceacknto he

cinemasnmasse,ut his snot heonly easonor his heme.

Italso llowshe ilmmakero utiliseneof hebasicesponseso anydisasterthe ear

- andhowweare ndividuallyeducednsizen he'facef talliDiscussingur ragiliry

andwho s eallyncharge fplanet artheads s ntoour astheme fcomplacency.

AO3 Demonstrateplanning,researchand presentationalskills

. List smanynatural isasterssyoucan.

rNowmatch ilms o these.

r Which re hemostoooular?

r Are hereanynot eatured s ilms?

r Try o explain hatyouhave ound.

Humon omplocencysocietol nd ndividuolThebusinessf doingnothing nd gnoring hatappearso be heobvioussa very

imoortantheme n hedisaster ovie. none evelt serveso increasenddrive

the dramaofhesrtua(orr.Orr\heTirqnicrubodyisworredhen heyareon an

unsinkablehip;n Earthquakehe unior eismologists ustoverreacting,obody

expectedlienso come romMars but hey ti ll id.



IOTheTitanicand hey aidtwouldn't ink

Inal ldlsasteri lms hiscomplacencyerveso under l ine ormal i ty ndwhat sabout

to be urnedupside own ( l i teral lyn somemovies)Aspeople ont inueo ignore

the signs,he ension ul lds orwe, he audience,nowswhat scoming excel lent

examplesanbe oundof this n mostvolcano/earthquakeovies heeventual

special ffects xploslonsalmosta release f rel iefor he audiencehat barely ivesus

a chanceo think ' theyoldyou soi

This omplacencysalsopartof a widerobservat ionorboth he audience sa whole

andas ndiv idualst is he movieas'warningiike stern arentwagging heir f inger

and el l lng snot o leavehingsunt i l t s oo lateWhether t sa vis i t o the dent ist r

sor t ing ut globalwarmingnow,our mainenemy scomplacency

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. t ; : - :r .

l" ,. -- ,1,. ; : '

AOI - Demonstratenowledgeandunderstanding f how films communicate

* In he ilms ouhave een, howere hemost omplacenteople?

x Asa classiscusshy ou hinkhismight e.Wereheyust tupid? hatwould

youhave one?

n Doeshis each sanything?hy?



Whotwe hove eornedIn ookingor hemesn he disaster oviewe ind many ifferent neswithdiffering

levels f meaningordifferent udiences.Theyontinueo operate n hecontrasting

levels f'thebig'and'themall'whichecan ind n mostHollywoodigbudget enres.

Perhapshehuge ize f a disasteromparedo

thesmall ize f an ndividual akeshecontrast

sharper.ne hing salmost ertain,t east ne

of hesehemes illhave n moact n even

the mostunconcernedpectator.venhe hrill

seeker homay nlyhave one o'watchhe

fireworks'that'bigbang'of disasterffers

cannot scaoeheireffect.

Indealing ith he heme(s)f any ilmdo not orgethatwhat

theaudienceringso the ilm sas mportant s he ilm-

maker'sntention. ften hebest heme o talkabouts he

oneyou eel smost mportant.Thinkbouthow he hemes

areused y he ilm-makersare heyserioustatementsr

justeasy aysogeta responserom heaudience?

disaster movie themes

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