Superman is no longer just a comic book figure. He is no longer just the hero of several films and TV series. He is in fact part of the human psyche. He is the lone hero who battles to save mankind, even when many of the humans involved do not deserve to be saved, and as such he has become the classic protagonist of many disaster and science fantasy movies. And just as superman is both an anomaly of nature and an alien so the majority of disaster movies are based upon having to battle Nature in the form of a tsunami or twister and science fiction movies are based on an unfriendly alien invasion.
The trouble with disaster movies is that everything has been done. There is nothing new left to depict and so they now tend to go overboard. “Magma” the 2006 TV series had not one volcano exploding but multiple volcanoes all over the world erupting and thus eliminating life on earth. Volcanoes in Iceland, Japan, Tanzania on the African continent and of course America. So now the lone scientists must try and convince the obtuse powers to listen to what he has to say. It is not enough that there are multiple disasters for him to fight but he also has to be hindered and hampered at every turn. But don’t worry despite a few deaths along the way the hero always gets away.
Yet how many of us are prepared to think about potentially real-life disasters? On the small island of Las Palmas in the Canary Island there is an active volcano, Cumbre Vieja, which scientists are certain will erupt. They are worried that this eruption will not be the usual limited disaster but a world catastrophe. The volcano has some unusual geological traits which could cause a section of the island to collapse into the ocean. This would then set off a mega tsunami which would hit and wipe out the east coast of America, including New York and Miami. What a great movie that would make! Of course there may not be too many New York cinemas left to watch it in, so in the meanwhile let’s not make a movie about reality and in this way we can pretend the danger isn’t out there.
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.
During the 1990s, the world witnessed many civil wars: for example, the Burundi Civil War in Rwanda in Africa and the Bosnian war and the Chechen uprising in Europe. Parallel to these events came movies like Men in Black, Independence Day and Invasion from Mars. Although the battles in these films take place between men and aliens, the basic theme was merely a reflection of what was happening on earth all around the planet. The alien block-buster movies do not portray reality. But as the world disintegrates and we see an increase in violence movie makers are making some concessions to the real world. For example Spielberg’s new series “Terra Nova” showed humans not only battling aliens but also each other. But then this series never made it past season 1. Was it too close to reality?
The movies are about entertainment, but we all know they can do so much more than that. Spielberg’s “Schindler’s List” is a perfect example of a film that went way beyond entertainment and educated as well. It also made us reassess our own humanity. But it is easy to think about these things which happened in the past but rather harder to contemplate why we are doing nothing to prevent such recurrences in the present. And this is the reason that makes disaster movies so popular. The majority of us feel helpless in the light of a disaster like an earthquake in Haiti. And when we see that the government and people in Haiti cannot get their act together it accentuates those feelings of helplessness. The movies on the other hand give us the comforting illusion that we will be able to control our own destiny, even when a disaster of massive proportions such as a volcano or alien invasion is occurring. It is so comforting and we all need those moments of comfort and the momentary feeling that life can go right, since at heart we know the real world is not like this.
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