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"catastrophe" movies

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After I saw the latest trailers of "The Day after Tomorrow", I've started to wonder about the whole genre of "catastrophe" (or what-d'ya-call-it) movies ("Titanic", "Towering Inferno", "Indepedence Day" to name the few). It puzzled me that these are usually made in Hollywood - do we make those in Europe, too? And don't start with "budget issue": here, during the commie period, movie makers could get a whole infantry division of Russian extras, on call

Why is that USians are willing to pay their hard earned bucks to see New York being destroyed by hundred-feet tall waves? Can you still watch falling skyscrappers after 9/11 massacre? I can't.

Or is it a hidden form of masochism? Obliterating several US cities (plus Paris, as a bonus ) for the sheer thrill... "The Day after Tomorrow" gives me creeps, coz I live in a coastal city... when such wave comes, I'm FUBAR...
I saw the original theatrical release of the Old Trilogy on the big screen and I'm proud of it...
How did I accomplish that (considering my age) is my secret...
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Its all about Voyeurism. If anything notable can be said of the States its that its the most voyeuristic country in the world. We like to watch people having sex, we like to watch them get tortured, we like to watch them get beheaded, we waste precious hours of our lives watching 5 half-naked morons on a remote island surviving off junkfood rations, we drool over the next chance to watch a big time celebrity defend themselves against charges of rape and molestation in a court room, we spend restless nights downloading porn and snuff on the internet, we tune into CNN everyday to catch up on the latest mass murderings, we enjoy snooping into the affairs of other people and other countries, and we arrest or invade them when we can no longer see inside their closets, and we line up outside theaters to watch the latest death-flick where we get to watch millions of people die and the world crumble to an end and thankgod that its not happening to us.

That is America my friend; anything else......is bullshit.
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Roland Emmerich is actually a german. In an interview on german television, he stated that this movie connects his faible for big disaster-films and his wish to incite a discussion and second thoughts about the excessive 'american way of life' that creates pollution and depletes natural resources at a rapid rate and neglects all the possible consequences of such a life-style.

The only thing that makes me doubt his motivations is, that his films usually have a very american flavored happy end. Such an ending would be counter-productive to his goal to provoke a public discussion about the environmental consequences of the irresponsibility in common lifestyles in 'modern' industry nations.

Films like 'Independence Day' and his remake of 'Godzilla' were successful worldwide, so I wouldn't say the phenomenom of people being attracted to disaster films is only present within the borders of the United States.
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SES, you hit the nail on the head, but you forgot about some uniquely American phenomena that only serve to bolster your argument: VH1's Behind the Music and the E! True Hollywood Story.

Princess Leia: I happen to like nice men.
Han Solo: I'm a nice man.

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My favorite "catastrophe" movie, the only one worth watching, is "Threads", I belive the british people here should know about this one.
“Voice or no voice, the people can always be brought to the bidding of the leaders. That is easy. All you have to do is tell them they are being attacked and denounce the pacifists for lack of patriotism and exposing the country to danger. It works the same in any country.” — Nazi Reich Marshal Hermann Goering
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I like the American ones in that train-wreck sort of way. Airport, The Poseidon Adventure, The Towering Inferno, Earthquake and even Independence Day are all gleefully bad, but you just can't help but watch. Airport '77, when the plane winds up underwater, is absolutely priceless.

Princess Leia: I happen to like nice men.
Han Solo: I'm a nice man.

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Originally posted by: GundarkHunter
I like the American ones in that train-wreck sort of way. Airport, The Poseidon Adventure, The Towering Inferno, Earthquake and even Independence Day are all gleefully bad, but you just can't help but watch. Airport '77, when the plane winds up underwater, is absolutely priceless.


Really? That reminds me of a Futurama quote, one of the few I can remember, when their spaceship was under the ocean, it was something like: "The preassure around the ship is 20 atmospheres!" - "How many atmospheres can this ship resist to?" - "Well it's a spaceship, so anything between zero and one."

And how come those airport movies, and some other movies from the 70s, had the year they were made with the title? Like Airport 74, Airport 77... It's like they were proud of being in the 70s.
“Voice or no voice, the people can always be brought to the bidding of the leaders. That is easy. All you have to do is tell them they are being attacked and denounce the pacifists for lack of patriotism and exposing the country to danger. It works the same in any country.” — Nazi Reich Marshal Hermann Goering
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Yep, it's all about fascination with "what could happen". We all hope it doesn't, but it's cool to see how something like that might play out.

I keep pushing for a good disaster movie in Chicago. Alas, we really have none to show for us considering we are the third largest city in the U.S. I've had enough with destroying LA and NYC. We need to demolish Chicago. And, oddly enough, there has never been a movie about the Great Chicago Fire in the late 1800s. Weird. You would think that would be something that someone like Bruckheimer would just love to massacre with historical inaccuracies.
"You fell victim to one of the classic blunders, the most famous of which is 'Never get involved in a land war in Asia'."
--Vizzini (Wallace Shawn), The Princess Bride
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Kevin A
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Originally posted by: Bossk
We need to demolish Chicago.

Damn, I don't like this idea... that's the second biggest Polish city, after Warsaw LOL!

Gee, I feel like a lone hippie in a macho club here...
RRS: "Peace..."
Machos: "STFU! We're gonna blow up things!"
I saw the original theatrical release of the Old Trilogy on the big screen and I'm proud of it...
How did I accomplish that (considering my age) is my secret...
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Originally posted by: RRS-1980
Damn, I don't like this idea... that's the second biggest Polish city, after Warsaw LOL!

So we'd be helping the world?

Whoops! Was that out loud?



JK, m'man!
"You fell victim to one of the classic blunders, the most famous of which is 'Never get involved in a land war in Asia'."
--Vizzini (Wallace Shawn), The Princess Bride
-------------------------
Kevin A
Webmaster/Primary Cynic
kapgar.typepad.com
kapgar.com
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Susie Diamond tampers with a mike: "where is that F*CKING SWITCH!? Ooops, excuse me..."

NOTE: she is a blonde
I saw the original theatrical release of the Old Trilogy on the big screen and I'm proud of it...
How did I accomplish that (considering my age) is my secret...
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I guess that makes Edmonton the 2nd biggest Ukrainian city.

Princess Leia: I happen to like nice men.
Han Solo: I'm a nice man.

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Talking about catastrophe movies, look what I found on MSN. I still belive "The Day After" and "Threads" should be on that list.
“Voice or no voice, the people can always be brought to the bidding of the leaders. That is easy. All you have to do is tell them they are being attacked and denounce the pacifists for lack of patriotism and exposing the country to danger. It works the same in any country.” — Nazi Reich Marshal Hermann Goering
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I cant stand Roland Emmerich's movies. I mean, how many times does this guy have to destroy the statue of liberty?
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i love the guy ID4 has to be on of my favorite movies of all time, and the day after was great. he distorys the statue cus it is a universsal symbol. (you take your joke literaly)
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Originally posted by: SpecialEditionSaboteur
I cant stand Roland Emmerich's movies. I mean, how many times does this guy have to destroy the statue of liberty?


Just until the ruling class gets the point.

Princess Leia: I happen to like nice men.
Han Solo: I'm a nice man.