1. 1
THE DISASTER GENRE
What themes do disaster movies typically
address?
The themes of any film are the issues and subjects that it deals with aside
from the disaster itself. Sometimes these may be more important to the film-
maker than the disaster. For mainstream Hollywood genre, the disaster movie
is very rich in themes. It’s important that you have knowledge of the themes
that are in Disaster Movies, your exam may ask you to recognize the themes
with a short sequence.
THE DISASTER MOVIE AND THE INDIVIDUAL
Relationships:
The relationship theme in the disaster movie is almost as important as
the disaster itself and gives the audience its most common form of
emotional 'hook’ into the story.
These are a vital component in the disaster movie because they extend it
beyond the confines of the’ big bang’ special effect. As in any film, all kinds of
relationships feature -friendship, hate, love - in fact any kind you can name.
The love theme is the most typical - both romantic and family. Love can be
complicated and can even seem to be the whole point of the story, almost
excluding the disaster itself, as in Titanic, where Jack (Leonardo DiCaprio)
and Rose (Kate Winslet) carry the bulk of the film's interest. Family is
important too and many films see parents and siblings trying to rescue one
another.
TASK 1:
Cut out a stick the poster for The Day After Tomorrow and The Core in your books,
what themes do you think these two films will address?

2. 2
Self-sacrifice:
The theme of self-sacrifice is unavoidable in disaster movies and
provides us with some of the most memorable and emotional individual
scenes of any genre.
In some ways it is more crucial to the genre's success than the theme of
relationships. It is a disaster that allows this theme of self-sacrifice to surface.
Heroes are created in many ways in films. The most common is the character
that ‘saves the day’. Unfortunately, in a disaster film, the day is almost always
beyond saving. This is where acts of self-sacrifice become important for the
genre. The human condition is elevated by these deeds throughout almost all
disaster movies.
Redemption:
Redemption, or making amends for sins committed, is a theme closely
linked to self-sacrifice.
Some characters need so much redemption that only an act of self-sacrifice
will do. An example of this would be Stanley Tucci's character, Dr Conrad
Zimsky, in The Core. He is a vain, arrogant and scheming scientist who has
jeopardised the planet in the pursuit of career and self. In the end he makes
the ultimate sacrifice to try to right the wrongs he has done and manages to
laugh at himself as he enjoys his last cigarette. There are more subtle and
smaller examples of redemption. These can be acts of forgiveness that are
brought into focus by the looming disaster.
TASK 2:
Explain how the theme of Relationships is communicated in one of the following
films:
• The Poseidon Adventure (1972)
• Poseidon (2006)
• The Towering Inferno (1974)
• Armageddon (1998)
• The Day After Tomorrow (2004)
TASK 3:
How is the theme of self sacrifice shown in the two films listed below? (Refer to
audience in your answer)
• The Poseidon Adventure (1972)
• Armageddon (1998)

3. 3
Teamwork:
There are two main kinds of groups or teams that feature in disaster
movies: those that are chosen 'by the disaster' and those that are
chosen 'for the disaster'.
Those that are chosen by the disaster are the group of strangers thrown
together accidentally in their struggle to survive. Their make-up, as discussed
previously, is often an attempt by the film-maker to represent as much of the
potential audience on screen as possible.
Those that are chosen for the disaster are usually the experts that are sent to
deal with the impending disaster. A typical example of this is the range of
experts sent to restart the rotation of the earth's core in The Core. The roster
includes NASA pilots, a weapons expert, a physicist, a university professor
and a computer hacker, all highly trained experts in their field.
In both types of team the theme remains the same: humanity as a group is
larger than the sum of its parts. The films explore how each person can
contribute to, and learn from, the process of working together in the face of a
disaster. The question is 'Why does it need the end of the world to promote
such cooperation?'
The role of people in a group or team provides us with a bridge between the
individual and general themes in the disaster movie. This is because the
largest group we all belong to is a society and this is the area where the
general themes raise questions.
TASK 4:
How does Harlee Claiborne find redemption in The Towering Inferno (1974)?
Provide another example of redemption from a disaster movie of your choice
TASK 5:
Explain how the two films below are good examples for the theme of teamwork
• The Poseidon Adventure (1972)
• Armageddon (1998)

4. 4
THE DISASTER MOVIE AND SOCIETY
Common themes that affect society are subject to change. Some ideas are
constant, like corporate greed; others have arisen in more recent times, like
the potential for environmental disaster.
• corporate greed
• science and technology
• the power of nature of 'nature's revenge'
• human complacency - societal and individual
Corporate greed:
Corporate greed is one of the more specific themes that crops up from
time to time and in some ways it is the trigger for some of the other
general themes. The pursuit of profit by cutting costs and ignoring
safety considerations is the 'accident waiting to happen' in many
disaster movies.
Unlike the real world, where the source of this blame often remains faceless,
disaster movies conveniently focus this on the individual. Such individuals are
one of, if not the, most obvious kind of human villain that appear in the
disaster movie. For most of these characters, except some of those who
redeem themselves, justice is meted out by death in the disaster they helped
to create.
TASK 6:
Provide an example of corporate greed from the film The Towering Inferno (1974),
refer to audience in your answer
Can you think of examples from other disaster movies?

5. 5
Science and technology:
Whether it is in a positive, or more commonly a negative, way, science
and technology as a theme has a key role to play in many disaster
movies.
Our relationship with science and technology has risen in importance in
general culture since we potentially authored our own doom by inventing
the nuclear weapon. Since then, we have entertained, and been entertained
by, many suspect applications of science and technology. Nevertheless,
science and technology is often what we turn to in order to avert disaster.
On the negative side, technology may just simply fail - sinking ships,
crashing aeroplanes, bursting dams etc. Sometimes it is just not up to the
job as society breaks down through its absence, often proving the saying
that we are 'two meals and 24 hours away from complete anarchy'. More
recently, our scientific and technological impact on the globe has become a
more significant concern. Both The Core and in particular The Day After
Tomorrow find the cause of the disaster in science and technology. It is
highly likely that there will be more global warming movies to add to this
genre over the next few years.
TASK 7:
How is science and technology represented in disaster movies? Refer to a movie of
your choice (pictures are to help but you don’t have to use them)

6. 6
The power of nature or 'nature's revenge':
In any form designed for the big screen the real sweeping scope and
destructive energy of nature is a must.
Hollywood enlists them all in the name of spectacle - giant waves,
volcanoes, earthquakes, storms, hurricanes, tornadoes, floods, heat, cold,
even swarms of killer bees and more. The main reason to put these on film
may be to showcase the latest special effects technology and tempt the
audience back into the cinemas en masse, but this is not the only reason
for this theme.
It also allows the film maker to utilise one of the basic responses to any
disaster - the fear - and how we are individually reduced in size in the 'face
of it all! Discussing our fragility and who is really in charge of planet Earth
leads us into our last theme of complacency.
Human complacency - societal and individual:
The business of doing nothing and ignoring what appears to be the
obvious is a very important theme in the disaster movie. On one level it
serves to increase and drive the drama of the situation. On the Titanic
nobody is worried when they are on an unsinkable ship; in Earthquake the
junior seismologist is just overreacting, nobody expected aliens to come
from Mars - but they still did.
In all disaster films this complacency serves to underline normality and what is
about to be turned upside down (literally in some movies). As people continue
to ignore the signs, the tension builds for we, the audience, knows what is
imminent - excellent examples can be found of this in most volcano/earthquake
movies. The eventual special effects explosion is almost a release of relief for
the audience that barely gives us a chance to think 'they told you so'.
TASK 8:
How is the theme of the power of nature or ‘natures revenge’ communicated in two
of the following films. Refer to micro and macro features and the audience in your
answer

7. 7
This complacency is also part of a wider observation for both the audience as a
whole and as individuals. It is the movie as 'warning', like a stern parent
wagging their finger and telling us not to leave things until it is too late. Whether
it is a visit to the dentist or sorting out global warming now, our main enemy is
complacency.
What we have learned
In looking for themes in the disaster movie we find many different ones with
differing levels of meaning for different audiences. They continue to operate
on the contrasting levels of 'the big' and 'the small' which we can find in most
Hollywood big budget genres. Perhaps the huge size of a disaster compared
to the small size of an individual makes the contrast sharper. One thing is
almost certain, at least one of these themes will have an impact on even the
most unconcerned spectator (audience member). Even the thrill seeker who
may only have gone to 'watch the fireworks' that a 'big bang' of a disaster
offers cannot escape their effect.
EXAMINER’S TIP
In dealing with the theme(s) of any film do not forget that what the audience brings to
the film is as important as the filmmaker's intention. Often the best theme to talk
about is the one you feel is most important. Think about how the themes are used by
the film-makers - are they serious statements or just easy ways to get a response
from the audience?