This document provides an analysis of the science fiction disaster movie genre through examining three films: Knowing, The Day After Tomorrow, and 2012. It summarizes the plots and reception of each film. It then discusses various film theories and how they relate to audience engagement with this genre, including reception theory, intertextuality, star theory, and Nick Lacey's elements of genre. The document analyzes why audiences may be drawn to films depicting destruction and catastrophe.

1. Me & My Movies
Understandingthe relationshipsbetweenspectatorandgenre isakeyfactor withinthe film
industry;it’sacritical tool in orderto studythe principlesof bothfilmmakingandaudience
response.Astheatregoerswe view genre asnothing more thana wayfor us to categorise ourfilms-
it’sfull of prediction,expectationandanticipation.Inthe followingessayI’llbe lookingatwhyand
howaudiencesengage withfilmsof aparticulargenre bystudyingthree piecesof mediatext- more
specifically science fictiondisastermovies.
The firstof these is‘Knowing’,aBritish-Americanscience fictiondisastermoviereleasedinMarch of
2009. The conceptfor the filmstemsfromnovelistsRyne DouglasPearsonafterhe approached
producersToddBlack and JasonBlumenthal withhisideainthe summerof 2001. The movie was
originallyattachedtoanumberor directorsunderthe productioncompanyColumbianPictures;
howeveritfaceda turnarounddue dobudgetissuesandwas laterpickedupby Escape Pictures.This
all ledto Alex Proyasbeingnamedasdirector in2005. SummitEntertainmenttookonthe
responsibilitytofullyfinance anddistribute the movie byprovidingabudgetof $50 million- the
movie supersededthisbygeneratinganincome of astaggering$187.9 million.Knowingfinallywent
intoproductiononthe 25th
March 2008 afterthe scriptfaceda numberof rewrites.
In the openingof the movie we’re takentothe fall of 1959, where childreninaprimaryschool have
beenaskedtodraw a picture of life astheyimagine itin50 years.Lucinda,an oddchild,writesa
longstringof numberonherpage before it’sswiftlygrabbedbyherteacherandplacedina time
capsule.It’sthe year2009 and CalebKoestlerisgivenLucinda’spicture whenthe capsule isopened
by hisprimaryschool,howeverhisfatherJohn- anastrophysicist-takesaninteresttooitand begins
to decipherthe code.He soondiscoversthatthe numberonthe page correspondtomajor disasters
that have alreadyhappened,leavingthree datesstill tocome.Calebanda younggirl bythe name of
Abby- Lucinda’sgranddaughter- begintohearstrange whisperswhichinturnleadstoa race against
time to save as manypeople aspossible fromthe catastrophe thatisaboutto strike.
‘The Day AfterTomorrow’hitthe bigscreensinthe springof 2004 and wasto become one of the
highestgrossingHollywoodfilmstobe made inCanada.Havinggeneratedanincome of
$544,272,402 million,ittoppedits $125 millionbudget. The movie wasinspiredbyamultitude of
booksthat explored the themeof global warming-these include‘The SixthWinter’byDouglasOrgill
and JohnGribbin,‘Ice’byArnoldFederbushand‘The ComingGlobal Superstorm’ byArtBell and
WhitleyStrieber- wholaterwrote anovelizationof the film. The movie wasco-written,directedand
producedbyRonaldEmmerichandstars an ensemble castconsistingof DennisQuaid,Jake
Gyllenhaal,IanHolm,EmmyRossumandSellaWard.Althoughthe movie wasproducedbythe
directorsveryownindependentproductioncompany-CentropolisEntertainment- itwasdistributed
by 20th
centuryfox- a majorcontributiontoitsinternationalsuccess.
The movie depictsaseriesof catastrophicweathereffectsthatleadtoglobal cooling,sendingthe
entire worldintoanewice age. Aseverythingturnstochaosand societyfranticallysearchesfor
safetybyevacuatingtoMexico,Jack Hall a paleoclimatologistheadsheadfirstintothe dangerin
orderto bringhis sonand friendstosafety. Itbecomesarace againsttime to findaway out of
Manhattan and intoprotectionbefore life astheyknow itfreezes.

2. 2012 isthe lastof the science fictiondisastermoviesI’ll be discussing inthe essay;releasedin
Novemberof 2009 and producedbySonyPictures itboughtinan income of $769.9 million,
supersedingits$200 millionbudget. The movie wasonce againdirectedandco-writtenbyRonald
Emmerichandstars JohnCusack, Chiwetel Ejiofor,AmandaPeet,OliverPlatt,ThandieNewton,
DannyGloverand WoodyHarelson. FilmingwasinitiallyplannedtobegininLosAngelesinAugust
of 2008, howeveritwaslatermovedtoVancouver.Ina statementmade byMr Emmerichhe told
‘Time Out’magazine that‘Fingerprints of the Gods’ wasa majorinspirationbehindthe film.
The movie depictsageological andmeteorological disasterthatisunfoldingonearthinthe year
2012- thisisinaccordance to the MesoamericanLongCountCalendar.Inorder toensure humanities
survival,G8 begintobuildnine large arcsinthe yearof 2010 thatare capable of carrying 100,000
people andmankind’smostvalueditems.JohnCurtis,the protagonistof ourmovie,isa science
fictionnovelistwhointhe midstof the catastrophe fightstobringhisfamilyandas muchof society
as he possiblycanto refugee beforetime runsout.
Receptiontheoryreferstothe wayin whichwe react tofilmsbaseduponourage, gender,ethnicity
and evensocial class. The theoryallowsforanunderstandingintexts,whichinturn allowsforan
understandingof howaudiencesperceivethe text.Whenamovie iscreatedthere isnodeeprooted
meaning, the audience will create one themselves.
Stuart Hall,the theoryadvocatorbelievesthattextual factorswillhelpdefine aresponse whilst
contextual factorswill shape eachof ourresponsesindividually;ratherthanfocussingonthe film
alone,we’re aware of otherelementssuchasour preconceivednotions,politicalbeliefs,ourown
identity,social andhistorical pastandthe circumstancesinwhichwe’re watchingthe movie.
Due to my ownpolitical beliefsthathave derivedfrommyfamilyaswellasgrowingupina world
were waris a prominentelementthishasaffectedmyownresponse tothisgenre of movie- this
relatestothe circumstancesinwhichI’mwatchingthe movie aswell asthe political aspect. Growing
up as a childthe onlymoviesIeverknew of consistedof happilyeverafter,howeverasI became
olderpessimismandactualitysetinandI beganseekingmoviesthatprovidedme withoptimismby
settingthingsoutas theyreallyare.Ibelievethatdisastermoviesare oftenusedasa wayto
communicate amessage,forexample the firstwarof the worldsrepresentedthe coldwarwhilstthe
secondone lookedatsociety’sfearof terrorism.2012 exploresthe factthe elite of the worldwill
save themselvesatthe endof the day.
As an individual Ihave apreferredreadingof the text due tomypreconceivednotionsof the world-
disastermoviesalwayslookatthe endof the world,howeverIbelieve there tobe amore deep
rootedmeaning.We live inaworldwhere there issomuch corruption,evil andaclearhigherarchy
whichiscommonlyrepresentedwithinthe movie;I’mable torelate tothisbasedonmy own
opinionsandexperiencesfromwhatI’ve seenonthe newsandaroundme.I’mable tomeetthe
director’sintentionsandengage atthe same level.
Althoughthisaspectcannotbe appliedtothe filmKnowing,one of the majorattractions forme to
thisgenre of movie isthe directorRonaldEmmerich- includinghislatestwork, ‘white house down’.
His stylisticapproachtomoviesignitedthe regenerationof disastermoviesandbig-budget,special
effectsladenblockbusters.The narrativesof hisworkaswell othermediatextsof thisgenre that
incorporate large scale global destructions andthe aftermathare appealingtome due tomy interest

3. inthe themesandthe ethical andpolitical issuessurroundingtheminregardstoourhierarchyin
life. The plotsof these moviesalwaysexplorethe theme of death- somethingthatwe all live infear
of due to the fact we’re leavingsomeone behind-howeverinthe scenariosof the filmsnomatter
whoyou are you can’t escape,pray or pay yourway outof the danger. Catastrophe issomething
that I believewe contemplate andfearona dailybasis,therefore beingable toview the worldina
waythat we knowwouldneverhappenactsas a meansof escape fromreality.
Since the daysof Armageddonwe’vecome alongway in termsof special effects;withthe use of
bothoptical and mechanical effectsthe producersare now able tostimulate andcreate a worldthat
isbeyondthatof reality. Disastermoviesfromthe 90’sonwardssuch as Independence Dayappeal to
me the mostdue to emergence of computergeneratedeffectswhichallowedformore dramaticand
mayhemfilledmovies,furtheraddingtothe effectof realness.Moviespriortothisdidnothave the
same resultforme due to the fact the stage productionfeltunrealistic;disastermoviesneedto
make youbelieve thatthiscouldpossiblybe happeningrightoutside yourwindow.
Understandingwhyasan audience we maybe attractedto a genre thatdepictssomuch corruption,
deathand evil iscomplex.Inthe novel ‘filmgenre forthe screenwriter’itexplainsCarmenAndre’s
theory;she believesthatwe relishthe chance toimagine triumphoverimmense misfortune orthat
our dissatisfactionwithourownworldandsocietyhasgivenusa longingtostart over.Livingina
worldwhere there are somany existingcrisis’s-wars,threats,poverty,corruption,unfaithful
governments- allowsustodeal withthe situationsinametaphorical form.
In the earlydaysintertextualitywasreferredtoasinfluence,howevernow it’susedasa wayto
describe the interrelationshipbetweentwopiecesof mediatexts- one textsmeaningwill shape the
meaningof another. Whenthe ideaforthe day aftertomorrow firstcame about,producerswere
reluctantto release amovie soclose tothe disasterof 9/11, howeverEmmerichbelievedthatitwas
the right time toshowcase the unitythathas now beencreatedamongsocietywhenfacinga
disaster. Althoughthisparticularaspectof the movie doesnotshare intertextualitywithanother,
the day aftertomorrowisoftenpoliticallyviewedasPresidentBush’sfailure tocope withthe crises’
that followedthe 9/11 terroristattacks.
Whendisasterfirstbeginstostrike andsurvivorsbecome confinedwithinthe library,twoworkers
ask whethertheyshouldburnFriedrichNietzschenovelswhose piece of literarytext,‘The
Antichrist’,sharesintertextualityandwasthe influenceforthe title.The novel states‘onlythe day
aftertomorrowbelongstome.Some are born posthumously.’ The title isironicallymimickingthe
fact that evenreligioncan’tsave you.
Intertextualitywithindisastermoviesoftenderivesfromearlierpiecesof work withinthe genre;
take for example the 1996 filmtwister.Thisisamovie thatconcernsitself withthe destructionof a
communitybecause of weatherona much smallerscale,whereasthe dayaftertomorrow takesa
more immense approachona similartheme. One of the first destruction sceneswithinthe movie
the day aftertomorrowwe see a multitude of tornadoeshittingthe city- anexactreplicaof the
scene withintwister.
‘Alas,Babylon’isaliterarynovel releasedin1959 by AmericanwriterPatFrank that exploresan
apocalypticworldafteranuclearwar. Vividdescriptionsof earth’swasteland iscontinuouslyused
whetherpurposelyornotinboth the day aftertomorrow and 2012- particularlyduringfloodscenes.

4. The intertextualityfoundwithin2012 is the mostprominentdue tothe narrativesuncanny
resemblance tothe novel ‘Noah’sArk.’Justlike inthe Genesisfloodnarrative inwhichGodinstructs
Noahto buildanark inorderto save himself,hisfamilyandearthsanimals,2012 depictsa similar
theme inwhichnine arksare builtinorder to save humanity. The mostshockingintertextuality
foundwithinthe movie 2012 isdeathof the Frenchmuseumdirectorinthe PontD’almatunnel- the
exacttunnel princessDianalostherlife- whowasonhiswayto tell everyoneaboutthe elitesplanto
leave societybehind.The moviedeemedhisdeathtobe anaccident,howeverthere almost
questioningaudiencesby sayingwhatdoyouthinkhappenedtoPrincessDianna.Manyotherswho
had the public’sinterestatheartbegintomysteriouslydie,thereforegivingthe indicationthatthere
deathisa ritual sacrifice forthe elite- the conspiracythatsurroundsPrincessDianna’sdeath.
A religiousapproachisyetagaintakeninthe movie Knowing- withinthe closingsceneof the movie
we see Lucindaand Caleb runningthroughafieldof grasstowardsa tree thatresemblesthe tree of
life inthe newworld;the scene sharesintertextualitywiththe storyof AdamandEve.
One thingthat has become apparenttome is thatthisparticulargenre likestoplaywiththe concept
of bothreligionandscience;justlike2012 withthe Mesoamericanlongcountcalendarand the
Adamand Eve homage in knowing,the moviescontainmythological,biblical andhistorical
underlyingmeanings.Thisallowsthe moviestoappeal toa diverse audience whilstalsocausing
conflictasto what theysymbolise.
RichardDyer- an Englishacademicinfilmstudies-believesthatcelebritiesare fabricatedby
productioncompaniesforfinancialgain- thisisknownasstartheory.They’re manufacturedinsuch
a way that as an audience we feelasif we can bothrelate to themandrespondto aspectsof their
personalitythereforegivingthemourmoney.The general theoryisthatthe starwill influence
everythingwe doaswell aswhatwe buy- thismay be that we start acting or dressinglike them as
well asthe fact that if they’re inourfavourite genre of movie we’ll instantlywatchanythingthey’re
appearingin.The celebrityactsasa brandidentityforthe producttherefore increasingsales.
Science fictiondisastermoviesare averyniche genre of movie andmore oftenthannot producedby
independentcompanies,therefore the actorsare knowntothat particularaudience- anexampleof
thisisChiwetel Ejioforbeforehe rose tofame due to hisrole in12 years a slave.Due tothe factthe
moviesIhave chosento discusswere producedbymajorproductioncompanies,the protagonists
are playedbyfairlya-listactors,howevertheyare notparticularlyknow tothe genre – these include
NicolasCage inKnowing,JohnCusackin2012 andDennisQuaidinthe day aftertomorrow.
My own personal reasonbehindwatchingthe moviesisthe factthat I wasalreadyfondof the
actors- particularlyDennisQuaid- andtherefore decidedtogive thisnew genre he wasappearingin
a go. The producersknewthat byputtingan alreadyfamousactorin a niche genre he isnot yet
knownforwouldattract hisalreadyexistingfanbase aswell asexistingfansof thismovie category.
HavingseenNicholasCage inNational Treasure asachild,he’sanactor that I grew up with,
therefore causingme towatchany movie he appearsin.
NickLacey’srepertoire of elementsisone wayinwhichcananalyse film, thereforeprovidingan
insightasto whyaudienceswatch a particulargenre.NickLaceybelievesthatbybreakingdowntext
intofive distinctareasandidentifyingthe elementswithineachwe’re thenable toplace apiece of
mediatextintoa particularcategory.The five elementsinclude:

5. Character:a genericcharacterthat’salwaysfoundinthat genre.
Narrative:storystructure.
Setting:adistinctlocationcommonlyfoundinthat genree.g.Cowboysand Aliens- Western Saloon.
Iconography:iconicelements- visual,audio,imagery- thatisassociatedwiththe genre e.g.James
bond- guns,carsand women.
Technical andAudioCodes:particularstylisticelementscommontothatgenre e.g.camera angles,
editing,lighting,diegetic/non-diegeticsound.
If we take awaythe science fictionelementof the disastermovie genre,we cansee thatwe’re left
witha form of textthat followscloselytoactionmovie conventions.We know thatactionmoviesare
designedtoappeal toa particularniche- maleswhoare seekingthrill andexcitement-andcan
therefore determine that disastermoviesaimtoappeal tothe same audience.
NickLacey believesthateverygenre of moviehasagenericcharacter;havingan antagonistand
protagonisthasbecome a principle itself withinfilmmaking.Within2012 our herois JohnCurtis,in
Knowingit’saman by the name of Johnagainand inthe day aftertomorrow it’sJack Hall.These are
ultimatelythe onesthathave all control of actionandbringharmonyto the movie. Howeveronlyin
the trailerforknowingare we made aware of whoour protagonistis,thisisbecause conventionally
withinthisparticulargenre the disasterisultimatelythe focusof the entire filmandwhatdrives
people towatchit- the biggerthe calamitythe biggerthe impacton audiences.The charactersand
theirrelationshipsrunalongside the movie- the genre oftenreliesonstockcharacters. Thisis
because deathis an unavoidableconvention withinthe disastergenre andtherefore we needalarge
mass of characters that we can learnto hate and love.Some of the genericcharactersthatwe come
across withinthe trailersare the reluctanthero,the kid,the self-doubter,the voice of reason,the
victimsandour damsel indistress.Asmentionedearliersome conventionsfollow closelytothatof
the action movie genre andthereforeasshouldbe expected,withinthe knowingtrailerwe see our
handsome herosavingthe damsel indistress.Withineachof the trailers,it’sbeenmade apparent
that these charactersare throwntogetherandforcedtowork togetherdespitetheirdifferencesin
orderfor survival,therefore makingstockcharactersa conventionof the genre.
The movie trailersfollowlinearnarratives,therefore leadingustobelieve thatthisisthe structure
the movie will follow.Conventionallythe moviesof thisgenre leaduptoandaway fromthe central
disasteranditsaftermath;the mainnarrative behindthe ideaisverysimple- will theyorwontthey
survive? Disastermoviesoftenhave central themestothe movie thatsurroundthe catastrophe and
are an importantaspectof the plot- these themesare representedtouswithinthe trailersinorder
to provide aninsightandattract audiences.Forexamplewithinthe trailerforknowingitbecomes
apparentthat our protagonists’priorityisgettinghissontosafety,thereforemakingself-sacrifice
the theme.Withinthe dayaftertomorrow trailerwe see agroup of people trappedinalibrary,
seeminglymakingteamworkthe theme,whereas2012 looksat the ignorance of people andself-
worthiness.
Althoughthe trailerbuildasense of enigmainordertoleave audiencewonderingwhathappens
nextandto engage them,havingseenthe movie,Ican determinethatTodorov’stheoryof narrative
structure can oftenbe appliedtodisastermovies. Withinthe equilibriumwe meetourcharacter

6. and getan understandingof theirsituation,the disruption iswhenourstorybeginstoleadtothe
disasterandmove forward,whilstthe recognitioniswhenourplotdevelopsandthe catastrophe
occurs. Finallywe have the attempttorepairthe disruption-usuallywhenatwistof eventoccurs-
and the newequilibriuminwhichthe problemissolved,althoughthingshave changed.
Conventionallythere will oftenbe amoral lessonthathas beentaught to our charactersby the end
of the movie.
Stereotypicallywithinthe firstfewsecondsof the trailersitbecomesapparent tousthat they’re set
withinmetropolitancitiesdue tothe iconicsymbolsthatwe relate tothose cities- the whitehouse,
lady libertyandempire estate.Thisisacommonconventionthatitshareswiththe actiongenre,
since metropolitancitiesconnoteasense of exhilarationanddangerwhichiswhatasan audience of
thisgenre we’ve beenaccustomed toexpect- thisiswhatdrivesthe audience towatcha movie.If
you’ve seenagenre of movie thatyoureallylove,you’llseeksimilarfilmsagainandagaintosatisfy
that needanddesire thatitprovidedyouwiththe firsttime round.
Foreshadowingwithinthe science fictiondisastermoviegenre isaniconicelementinthatit
graduallyletsusknowsomethingisgoingtohappen- visualclueswill be providedtous,suchas
whenthe roadscrack in the 2012 trailer.The disasterelementitself isaniconicaspectwithinitsown
rightand a conventionthatwe’ve become accustomedtoasan audience- withinall three trailerswe
see burning/collapsedbuildings,floodedstreets,crashedcarsandfallingaeroplanesmakingthem
the pinnacle aspectsof the movie.Inordertoshow the ‘true’ destructionthathasbeencaused,
typicallyaniconicsimple withinthe originof countrythe movie issetinwill be destroyed- for
example the dayaftertomorrowusesladyliberty.
In termsof the technical andaudiocodeswithinthe movie,likeall real lifedisasterstheyhappenso
quicklywhichiswhatthe editingwithinthe trailerconveys.
As we move furtherintothe 21st
centurythe way inwhichwe’re able tofindoutabout andseek
moviesisbecomingincreasinglyadvanced- thisisknownasmedialiteracy.Accordingto
medialiteracy.orgitallowsusto‘understandthe complex messageswe receivefrombothprintand
digital media.’
For me personally,when2012 wasreleasedin2009, a fake website wassetupunderthe name
‘institute forhumancontinuity’thatwentviral inwhichyouenteredthe ‘lottery’inordertogaina
ticketforsurvival whenthe endof the worldcame.The marketingcampaignwassuccessboth
negativelyandpositively- onone handitprovidedthe movie withnumerousattention,however
people begantopanicas theybelievedittobe real.The website alsoprovidedyouwithmovie
teasers,release datesandcompetitionstowinticketstothe movie premiere.Socialmedialike most
youin thisday andage ismy numberone source forfindingoutaboutfilms.Inrecentyearsmany
productioncompanieshave caughtontothe trendof Facebookandtwitterandwill setup‘official’
pagesinorder to promote the movie- it’salsoaneasywayforfree marketingsince the page isfree
to setup and fansof itwill share the informationtotheirfriends.Wordof mouthisno longeras
popularas the powerof the internet infindingoutaboutreleases. AlthoughpersonallyIbelievethis
to be the mostpopularwayin findingoutaboutmovies,thereare multiple otherwaysinwhichyou
can be medialiterate- maybe youreadmoviesmagazinessuchasempire orevenlistento‘the film
programme’onBBC 4.

7. We as an audience willall respondtomoviesdifferentlywhetheritbe emotionally,physicallyor
eventhe effectof itinducingcopycatbehaviour- thisisknownasactive spectatorship. We will
questionthe movie andthe message thatisputin front of us indifferentwaystoother;agood
directorwill allowustomake our owninterpretationof the movie ratherthatblindlygivingusthe
answer- a greatexample of this,althoughnotwithinthe genre of movie I’mlookingatispulpfiction.
Nothingwithinthe moviesisoutlinedtous,we’re notclearlysetoutwithagood or bad guy-mwe’re
give the chance to make our owndecisionsona character,we’re notforcedintofeelingsorryfor
them,or loving,orhatingthem.
Personally,moviesof the science fictiondisastergenre make me questionpolitical factorsaswell as
thinkaboutconspiracytheories- Ipurposelysetoutlookingforanswersandotherspeopleviewson
the mattersonce I’ve watchedthe movie.Forexample 2012 made me think aboutsacrifice and
whetherinhardtimeseventhe elite wouldcome togethertohelp, aswell asthe conspiracy
surroundingthe tunnel adprincessDiana.Ilike thatthe moviesprovideyouwithsomethingtothink
aboutwhetheritbe philosophically,religiouslyorpolitically.
Typicallythere isalot of fandomthat will surroundamovie,whichisone wayinwhichwe can relate
the ideaof active spectatorship- extreme fansof the genre willsetupsocial mediapages,fansitesor
evensocietieswere otherpeoplecancome and share theirlove forthe movies.Marketerswill
sometimesseekoutthese pagesandlookthroughthe postsandcommentswhencarryingout
research- thisallowsthemtogetan understandingof whatthe audienceslike,don’tlike,wantto
see more of or evensuggestionstheyhave.Whenextreme fandomtakescontrol andindividual may
begintoadopt itas theirown- star wars isa prime example of this.