Sociology Paper
Keith E 4/2013
SOC 310 Environmental Disasters Professor Cantiello
Analysis of 5 disaster movies addressing the realistic and exaggerated properties of the catastrophic event as well as the portrayal of peoples’ behavior before, during, and after the event.
There is nothing more enjoyable than watching an entertaining movie, especially one with a disaster at the climax of the film. Movies are known for their exaggerated properties used to keep the viewer exhilarated. However, some movies are very accurate in the portrayal of the disaster as well as the characters response to them. A disaster is classified as “an actual or threatened accidental or uncontrollable event that is concentrates in time and space, in which a society, or a relatively self-sufficient subdivision of a society undergoes severe danger, and incurs such losses to its members and physical appurtenances that the social structure is disrupted and the fulfillment of all or some of the essential functions of the society is prevented.” (Fischer) There are 10 disaster scale categories ranging from an everyday emergency to a simultaneous massive disruption and adjustment of a society. These will all be covered by the analysis of the following 5 films; The Day After Tomorrow, 2012, Beasts of the Southern Wild, The Impossible, and The Titanic. All of these movies did very well at the box office but only a few were accurate in the portrayal of disastrous events. The first film, The Day After Tomorrow, is a 2004 science fiction disaster film written, directed, and produced by disaster film alumni Roland Emmerich. Emmerich specializes in disaster movies but also specializes in sensationalism. “The plot depicts the worst case scenario of the effects of global warming including extreme weather and the beginning of a new ice age. The protagonist is Jack played by Dennis Quaid who studies paleoclimatology in Antarctica. Jack witnesses ice shelves breaking and
SOC 310 Environmental Disasters Professor Cantiello
Analysis of 5 disaster movies addressing the realistic and exaggerated properties of the catastrophic event as well as the portrayal of peoples’ behavior before, during, and after the event.
There is nothing more enjoyable than watching an entertaining movie, especially one with a disaster at the climax of the film. Movies are known for their exaggerated properties used to keep the viewer exhilarated. However, some movies are very accurate in the portrayal of the disaster as well as the characters response to them. A disaster is classified as “an actual or threatened accidental or uncontrollable event that is concentrates in time and space, in which a society, or a relatively self-sufficient subdivision of a society undergoes severe danger, and incurs such losses to its members and physical appurtenances that the social structure is disrupted and the fulfillment of all or some of the essential functions of the society is prevented.” (Fischer) There are 10 disaster scale categories ranging from an everyday emergency to a simultaneous massive disruption and adjustment of a society. These will all be covered by the analysis of the following 5 films; The Day After Tomorrow, 2012, Beasts of the Southern Wild, The Impossible, and The Titanic. All of these movies did very well at the box office but only a few were accurate in the portrayal of disastrous events. The first film, The Day After Tomorrow, is a 2004 science fiction disaster film written, directed, and produced by disaster film alumni Roland Emmerich. Emmerich specializes in disaster movies but also specializes in sensationalism. “The plot depicts the worst case scenario of the effects of global warming including extreme weather and the beginning of a new ice age. The protagonist is Jack played by Dennis Quaid who studies paleoclimatology in Antarctica. Jack witnesses ice shelves breaking and