What Are You REALLY Scared Of When It Comes To Disaster Films?
From Titanic to Sharknado, we look back at some classic disaster films and work out the real fears they capitalised on.
The Day After Tomorrow (2004)
Ostensible fear: Climate change.
Actual fear: Knowledge.
If climate change is caused by rapid advances in technology and subsequent pollution (or The Lord™ sneezing a rapture on sinners, depending on where you spend your Sundays), then it is knowledge that is to blame for the roaring waves, heart-stopping chill and large chunks of ice melting with rapid speed. If it weren’t for knowledge, the world wouldn’t be experiencing all the weather simultaneously. Like, literally – all weather conditions are represented in this movie. The first half of the film is just a bunch of scientists talking to each other on the phone like, “Oh shit, it really is COLD isn’t it?” and Bilbo Baggins muttering “North Atlantic current” and then not doing anything about it.
So in a protest against ineffectual intellectualism, Jake Gyllenhaal does the only thing that makes sense: he burns books to keep warm. It’s the new Cultural Revolution, comrades!