The document provides a compare and contrast essay analyzing the disaster films "2012" and "Into the Storm". It summarizes that "2012" focuses on global destruction as the world ends, following a writer trying to save his family. "Into the Storm" focuses on tornadoes ravaging a single town in the U.S., following storm chasers and residents seeking shelter. Both films end tragically as the cities are destroyed, though "2012" leaves only a few survivors on arks while "Into the Storm" sees the town rebuilt after the tornado passes.

1. SCHOOL OF ARCHITECTURE, BUILDING AND DESIGN
THE DESIGN SCHOOL
FOUNDATION IN NATURAL AND BUILT ENVIRONMENT
NAME: Abdullah Mamode
STUDENT ID NO: 0319562
FILMS SELECTED: “2012” and “Into the Storm”
WORD COUNT: 915 Words
ENGLISH 2: (ELG 30605)
WRITTEN ASSIGNMENT 1: COMPARE – CONTRAST ESSAY
LECTURER: CASSANDRA WIJESURIA
SUBMISSIONDATE:APRIL 8th
, 2015

3. Introduction
Paragraph 1: Contrasts on the synopsis ofthe two films
Paragraph 2: Differences on the Leading Roles and Main Characters ofthe two films
Paragraph 3: The differences in the focus ofthe two films
Paragraph 4: Contrasts in the tragic ends but happy ending ofthe two films
Conclusion

4. Disaster – Adventure Films
Disasters have been the subject of film-goers' fascination since the time of silent film
epics, and this interestcontinues to exist up to the present time. Catastrophes can take so many
different forms but they are mostly man-made or natural. The most-commonly portrayed
disasters in films are natural or environmental disasters or destruction, accidents, planetary-
related and so on. The two disaster movies that I am contrasting are “2012” and “Into the
Storm”. Both movies are a bit similar but possess a lot of differences and characteristics that
makes them appear matchless to each other. Let’s contrast on their synopsis, leading roles and
main characters, their main focus and their tragic endings.
Earth's billions ofinhabitants are unaware that the planet has an expiration date which
is by “2012” which is the name of the movie itself. With the warnings of an American scientist
Dr. Adrian Helmsley, world leaders begin secret preparations for the survival of selected
members of the society. When the global cataclysm finally occurs, the failed writer Jackson
Curtis tries to lead his family to safety as the world starts falling apart. But in contrast to the
“Into the storm” movie, a newday begins in the town of Silverton; its residents have little reason
to believe it will be anything other than ordinary. Mother Nature however has other plans. In
the span of just a few hours, an unprecedented onslaught of powerful tornadoes ravages
Silverton. Storm trackers predict that the worst is still to come, as terrified residents seek
shelter, and professional storm-chasers run toward the danger, hoping to study the phenomenon
close up and get an once-in-a-lifetime shot. The difference is that in 2012, the characters are
trying to make it to China, where they can get on a special “ark” to survive the calamities of
Mother Nature. On the other hand, with “Into the Storm”, the main characters are chasing the
storm to study its patterns and howthey can take preventive measures to save other towns from
destruction.

5. The leading roles of the main characters in the two movies are way far different from
each other. As for “2012” the leading male character was John Cusack playing as Jackson
Curtis who was a struggling writer working as a limousine driver to meet his two ends at the end
of the month for his family. The leading female character was Amanda Peet playing as Kate
Curtis, a medical student and the former wife of Jackson Curtis. In contrast to the movie “Into
the Storm”, the leading male character was Richard Armitage playing as Mr. Gary Fuller, Vice
Principal of Silverton High School and the leading female character was Sarah Wayne Callies
playing as Alison Stone, a Meteorologist.
In the “2012” movie, it revolvesaround the whole world, screening how the people on
the planet are struggling to save their lives from the big unknown calamities that are destroying
the planet to a nothing but just water, where everything are crumbling down, falling of
buildings, collapsing ofstreets and mountains, where nothing is left, not even human beings. But
the film actually focusses on the unsuccessful writer Jackson Curtis working as a driver of a
limousine who tries and finds all ways possible to save his families from the coming calamities.
Contrasting to the movie “Into the Storm”,the story doesn’t involves the whole world but rather
turns only around the city of Silverton which is part of the U.S. Its appearances are only of all
the people in that particular city who are trying to save their lives from this known natural
phenomena which is the tornado but in a complete diverse manner. But it focusses on the
Silverton High School vice Principal Mr. Gary Fuller and his two sons, Alison the meteorologist,
Pete the documentary film maker, Kaitlyn a junior of the High School who is also the girlfriend
of Mr. Fuller son and Daryl the camera operator where they are all trying to save their own
lives.
Both the two movies end in a very tragic way. As for “2012”, it ends with all the
calamities ofMother Nature are gone as it destroyed the whole earth to the limit that nothing is
left, not even the land but the “arks” that were built up specially for the survival of selected
people are full with around only 400,000 people and the oceans only. Those “arks” travel to the
Cape ofGood Hope in South Africa where the Drakensberg Mountains have risen in relation to

6. sea level and become the tallest mountain range on Earth. The divorced Jackson Curtis and
Kate come close to each other again. In contrast to the movie “Into the Storm” it ends with the
tornado that finally goes away. In the aftermath, the entire town is destroyed. Trey finishes the
time capsule video by recording the citizens of the town, who are all thankful to be alive. Gary
and his sons become closer as they were distanced due to the divorce of Gary and his wife.
At the end, we can assume that disaster adventure films prove to us people that
anything can happen anytime without any prior notice. To those who knew about what was
going to happen were well prepared and to those who didn’t know died due to the fast
approaching calamities. Both “2012” and “Into the Storm” were different in its own
characteristics and story even though in both film, the cities were being destroyed and people
were being killed.
References:
- Jholowath. (2013), IMDb, Retrieved on March 24th
, 2014
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1190080/
- Morganlevans.(2013), IMDb,Retrieved on March 25th
, 2014
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2106361/