D for disaster: the May update
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D for disaster: the May update
Disaster movies under the spotlight, plus stories that touch on fatherhood
Hello, you. Looking for fresh angles on familiar books and films? Here’s what's new at thehaughtyculturist.com.
Trending » Event Horizon: the 90s grunge horror film about the spaceship that went to hell is back with a vengeance. Get a refresher.
New to the site
Fresh takes on retro stories
1. Children of Men (2006): dystopia or disaster movie?
Putting Alfonso Cuarón's disturbing dystopia under the lens and asking ... what makes it a disaster movie? Quite a lot, actually.
“As one more type of narrative mirroring, dystopia takes us through the looking glass, essentially to alternate universes. Children of Men, however, flips the glass … and shows us who we are right now."
2. The Day After Tomorrow (2004): when hell freezes over
Ice-bound doomsday thriller The Day After Tomorrow has copped a lot of flack over the years, but disaster movies may be our new religious stories.
“The Day After Tomorrow picks at a very modern existential dread, in which the eco-apocalypse reinvents religious damnation (think Judgement Day, but also narratives of the flood).”
Fatherhood in the frame
Flawed dads may be central to disaster stories (including both of the above), but how does fatherhood fare in other genres?
1. Jurassic Park 2: The Lost World
Good guys, bad guys and dinosaurs - and how Dr Ian Malcolm is twinned with a daddy T-Rex.
2. Terminator 2
The first Terminator sequel sees Sarah Connor turn into the single mother who's also an absent father.
3. 12 Angry Men
Classic courtroom drama plays out the consequences of broken father-son relationships.
4. Inheritance
2020 Netflix thriller stuffed with bad dads, and the women who bear the brunt.
5. The Foreigner
The Foreigner blends tragic backstory with an action-figure dad who’s out for revenge (though it's bad news for the women on both sides of the story).
From daddy issues in horror to the flawed fathers of disaster movies, there’s a whole lot more on the site.
This month’s update doesn’t feature the usual bumper crop of new content - for good and bad reasons.
Good because I managed a mini break to Liverpool in the north of England (a brilliant city, and well deserved Eurovision 2023 host). Bad because of family illness, followed by my tonsils nearly exploding on me. This hasn’t left much time for writing, but normal service should resume shortly so - like my tonsils - do stick around!
Until next time,
Ruth / The HC
Pic credit: Arthur Mazi
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