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Realities and Mythologies in Disaster Films

Realities and Mythologies in Disaster Films l I.Jahrgang- 1/1985 E.L. Quarantelli Movies depicting disaster and catastrophes have been much talked about, but little studied. To fill in this lacuna we systematically examined three dozen English language films -- most of recent vintage -- with substantial footage on disaster phenomena. Basically we compared movie depictions of the physical and social aspects of pre-, trans-, and post-impact characteristics of disasters and what has been found by the recently burgeoning social and behavioral science research on such mass emergencies. While our focus is on the American scene, it is probable the findings are as applicable elsewhere to the extent that the cinema industry elsewhere is similar to Hollywood. Popular Culture and Disasters Relatively few Americans have personally and directly experienced a major disaster. Some unpublished population surveys undertaken by the Disaster Research Center at The Ohio State University report figures in the range of 15-22 percent. These and other studies furthermore indicate that even in instances of direct exposure to a disasterous situation, the experience has almost always been limited to only one kind of damaging agent such as a fire or a tornado. Nonetheless, it is clear that people generally have images of disaster phenomena, despite http://www.deepdyve.com/assets/images/DeepDyve-Logo-lg.png Communications de Gruyter

Realities and Mythologies in Disaster Films

Communications , Volume 11 (1) – Jan 1, 1985

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References (10)

Publisher
de Gruyter
Copyright
Copyright © 1985 by the
ISSN
0341-2059
eISSN
1613-4087
DOI
10.1515/comm.1985.11.1.31
Publisher site
See Article on Publisher Site

Abstract

l I.Jahrgang- 1/1985 E.L. Quarantelli Movies depicting disaster and catastrophes have been much talked about, but little studied. To fill in this lacuna we systematically examined three dozen English language films -- most of recent vintage -- with substantial footage on disaster phenomena. Basically we compared movie depictions of the physical and social aspects of pre-, trans-, and post-impact characteristics of disasters and what has been found by the recently burgeoning social and behavioral science research on such mass emergencies. While our focus is on the American scene, it is probable the findings are as applicable elsewhere to the extent that the cinema industry elsewhere is similar to Hollywood. Popular Culture and Disasters Relatively few Americans have personally and directly experienced a major disaster. Some unpublished population surveys undertaken by the Disaster Research Center at The Ohio State University report figures in the range of 15-22 percent. These and other studies furthermore indicate that even in instances of direct exposure to a disasterous situation, the experience has almost always been limited to only one kind of damaging agent such as a fire or a tornado. Nonetheless, it is clear that people generally have images of disaster phenomena, despite

Journal

Communicationsde Gruyter

Published: Jan 1, 1985

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