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Mar. 11, 2005 Last April, movie critic Mick LaSalle of the San Francisco Chronicle wrote a wonderful article laying out, in tongue-in-cheek style, the necessary elements to any great disaster movie. According to that piece, there are thirteen different elements, and when that list is put up against some of the best-known representatives of the genre, like “Earthquake” and “Airport”, it really does hold true to form. As a fan of disaster movies, I can attest that Mr. LaSalle’s wonderful list does justice to such deliciously bad popcorn fare. But I’ll admit that I’m dismayed that the disaster-movie genre is one that African-American filmmakers and producers seem to be ignoring. I’m tired of seeing mad black women on screen, and I’m a bit weary of movies featuring predominately black casts in either romantic comedies or segregation-times set pieces. It’s not that those movies aren’t good or don’t have their own artistic merit. But I really enjoy disaster movies. What I’d like to see is at least one brother or sister present to the world his or her vision of catastrophe, whether that is in the form of an incoming asteroid, a nuclear meltdown or a killer storm. Sure, disaster movies have been done to death, and there have been black actors who have played the stock characters in various theatrical and made-for-TV movies—for example, Will Smith as the hero in “Independence Day”, Vivica A. Fox as the damsel in distress (also in “Independence Day”), Morgan Freeman as the President in “Deep Impact”, Keith David as a know-it-all air force general in “Armageddon” and Charles S. Dutton as the earnest mayor in “Aftershock: Earthquake in New York”. But I don’t know of any motion picture made in that genre featuring a predominately black cast and focusing on how those characters deal with matters of survival. In other words, I’m looking for a black version of Irwin Allen to emerge. There’s a reason they called him The Master of Disaster. Not only was he responsible for “The Poseidon Adventure” and “The Towering Inferno”, two of the best disaster movies from the now-infamous 1970s craze, he was also responsible for some turkeys, including “The Swarm”, “When Time Ran Out”, and “The Night The Bridge Fell Down” (which had the dubious distinction of airing on NBC opposite the last episode of “M*A*S*H” in 1983). Allen could be counted on to routinely put people in peril, in a variety of situations. And what makes his films so fun to watch is the fact that, even though you know it could happen, the dialogue probably won’t be as bad when it does. There’s one other thing about disaster movies: As bad as they may be, people can’t help but watch them. It’s that voyeuristic tendency we human beings have, knowing that people will be hurt or killed as we watch, but simply can’t turn away. I’m waiting for the day when I get to see a black director or producer fulfill my fantasy of an Irwin Allen-type epic. I may be waiting a while, but don’t get in my way when the tickets finally go on sale. ------------ About the author: Claxton Graham has written a number of articles for Useless Knowledge. He works as a business systems analyst. Email: scifiwriter8502@email.com Tell a friend about this site! ------------ All articles are EXCLUSIVE to Useless-Knowledge.com and are not allowed to be posted on other websites. ARTICLE THIEVES WILL BE PROSECUTED! |
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