disaster movie themes
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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.
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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
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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.
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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
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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?
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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
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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
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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.
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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
' ;1J:'1.. ,-1:: . ,
. 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?
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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?
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