Studying Disaster Movies

The disaster film taps into our fear of events beyond our control, onesthat are often rooted in real-life experience, making the genre a particularlypotent mixture of entertainment and grounded events. Studying DisasterFilms provides a comprehensive introduction to a sub-genre that hasflourished since the 1970s, fully accounting for the genre's origins and focusing onkey films, including Airport, The ToweringInferno, The Day After Tomorrow, and, most recently,Cloverfield. Each case study presents a complete examination ofthe film, covering production, distribution, and marketing, and tackles such majorcritical areas as close textual analysis of scenes, issues of representation ,andcritical reaction. Within this context, The Day After Tomorrowand Cloverfield are examined as products of current moralpanics. There is also a consideration of "reality" disaster films, such asUnited 93. Written in a lively manner, this volume synthesizescentral film and media concepts, affording the reader a thorough overview of thesub-genre.