Disaster movies, a type of film where the hero is in a life and death confrontation, are one of the most popular modern-day genres. Complete with special effects, they tend to show us our world on the brink of collapse. Another type of movie that shows the world at the brink of annihilation is science fantasy movies. The typical plots in both these types of movies include the lone hero who saves the helpless woman and/or child or children from earthquakes, volcanoes or the whole world from aliens.
There are films on earthquakes, (e.g. Earthquake) volcanoes, (e.g. Dante's Peak, Volcano) tornadoes, (e.g. Twister) and, since this is getting to be too familiar, the producers are out-doing themselves. The latest films include more than one disaster. The movie Forces of Nature (2004) presents tornadoes, floods, erupting volcanoes and of course the inevitable disastrous consequences of these events. The lone hero can no longer go through just one battle and walk into the sunset; the disaster movies now have to contain several catastrophes.
Despite the popularity of natural disaster movies, few of us want to contemplate real natural disasters when they take place, let alone the dire warnings we read or hear about of impending future disasters. We have been faced with tsunamis of major proportion. In 2004 the world watched in horror as literally a giant tsunami swept over tourist resorts in Thailand and all along the coast. But whatever damage that did, it was on the other side of the world for most people. However there are two volcanoes, which should they erupt would do a great deal of damage to America. And these two potential disasters are not discussed much. The first hot spot is Las Palmas in the Canary Islands. A fair distance from America but it has been predicted that if this volcano blew it would set off a chain of events that would end up with a tsunami hitting major cities on the eastern US coast, like Washington and Atlanta. The second danger zone is in America itself. Yellowstone Park is not just a natural beauty spot, it could also become the epicenter of a natural disaster if its active volcano erupted.
But the Canary Islands is not the only danger spot in the world. A glance at the earthquake possibilities in the United States shows that a similar situation exists there. In 1994 the Northridge earthquake in California hit areas believed to be well- protected against such events. Yet, 57 people lost their lives and more than 1,500 were seriously injured. Moreover, thousands of people were left homeless Damage and economic costs totaled about $20 billion dollars. No major Hollywood movie has been made about this reality.
The second group of movies is about alien invasions. These movies are more commonly classified as science fiction or science fantasy but they bear a remarkable similarity to disaster movies. The main difference is that in this case the powerful force is not Nature but something from outer space. In these movies aggressive creatures from outer space invariably wish to destroy us. These extraterrestrials are not your friendly ET type. On the contrary, they are never kind, friendly or willing to communicate. But what they do have are a great many of the negative traits that human beings have. They tend to exhibit the desire for power, and a lack of empathy.
The aggression that tends to be shown by aliens in many movies has in fact been seen in the behavior of man in many places and at many times. And just as we see men battling aliens on the movies we do not see men battling men on earth. Occasionally these battles are shown on the news but basically the war between Eritrea and Ethiopia that flared up yet again between 1998-2000 has never been turned into a movie. The same applies to the tragedy of Darfur, Sudan. The people of Darfur have suffered from war since 2003 and this civil war has turned into genocide. Yet this truly tragic event is ignored or unknown by many, yet the latest movie depicting less violence is part of popular culture and receives full media attention.
Basically disaster and fantasy movies are a form of escapism that give us an illusion of control. Paradoxically, the more disastrous the movie, the greater the sense of control and the subsequent sense of relief for the viewer when s/he walks out of the cinema. Thus it can be claimed that disaster movies serve a useful purpose. The destructive urges we see in nature and aliens calms the doubts and fears human beings suffer from. However, these movies create unhealthy illusions of power and control that have no connection to reality. And perhaps that is why they are here to stay.
Academic Reading
There are films on earthquakes, (e.g. Earthquake) volcanoes, (e.g. Dante's Peak, Volcano) tornadoes, (e.g. Twister) and, since this is getting to be too familiar, the producers are out-doing themselves. The latest films include more than one disaster. The movie Forces of Nature (2004) presents tornadoes, floods, erupting volcanoes and of course the inevitable disastrous consequences of these events. The lone hero can no longer go through just one battle and walk into the sunset; the disaster movies now have to contain several catastrophes.
Despite the popularity of natural disaster movies, few of us want to contemplate real natural disasters when they take place, let alone the dire warnings we read or hear about of impending future disasters. We have been faced with tsunamis of major proportion. In 2004 the world watched in horror as literally a giant tsunami swept over tourist resorts in Thailand and all along the coast. But whatever damage that did, it was on the other side of the world for most people. However there are two volcanoes, which should they erupt would do a great deal of damage to America. And these two potential disasters are not discussed much. The first hot spot is Las Palmas in the Canary Islands. A fair distance from America but it has been predicted that if this volcano blew it would set off a chain of events that would end up with a tsunami hitting major cities on the eastern US coast, like Washington and Atlanta. The second danger zone is in America itself. Yellowstone Park is not just a natural beauty spot, it could also become the epicenter of a natural disaster if its active volcano erupted.
But the Canary Islands is not the only danger spot in the world. A glance at the earthquake possibilities in the United States shows that a similar situation exists there. In 1994 the Northridge earthquake in California hit areas believed to be well- protected against such events. Yet, 57 people lost their lives and more than 1,500 were seriously injured. Moreover, thousands of people were left homeless Damage and economic costs totaled about $20 billion dollars. No major Hollywood movie has been made about this reality.
The second group of movies is about alien invasions. These movies are more commonly classified as science fiction or science fantasy but they bear a remarkable similarity to disaster movies. The main difference is that in this case the powerful force is not Nature but something from outer space. In these movies aggressive creatures from outer space invariably wish to destroy us. These extraterrestrials are not your friendly ET type. On the contrary, they are never kind, friendly or willing to communicate. But what they do have are a great many of the negative traits that human beings have. They tend to exhibit the desire for power, and a lack of empathy.
The aggression that tends to be shown by aliens in many movies has in fact been seen in the behavior of man in many places and at many times. And just as we see men battling aliens on the movies we do not see men battling men on earth. Occasionally these battles are shown on the news but basically the war between Eritrea and Ethiopia that flared up yet again between 1998-2000 has never been turned into a movie. The same applies to the tragedy of Darfur, Sudan. The people of Darfur have suffered from war since 2003 and this civil war has turned into genocide. Yet this truly tragic event is ignored or unknown by many, yet the latest movie depicting less violence is part of popular culture and receives full media attention.
Basically disaster and fantasy movies are a form of escapism that give us an illusion of control. Paradoxically, the more disastrous the movie, the greater the sense of control and the subsequent sense of relief for the viewer when s/he walks out of the cinema. Thus it can be claimed that disaster movies serve a useful purpose. The destructive urges we see in nature and aliens calms the doubts and fears human beings suffer from. However, these movies create unhealthy illusions of power and control that have no connection to reality. And perhaps that is why they are here to stay.
Academic Reading
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