Disaster Movies : The Cinema of Catastrophe

An introduction to the history and development of this genre, this book provides insightful methods of reading and appreciating an extremely popular cinematic form. Ranging from 1950s sci-fi B-movies to high concept 1990s "millennial movies," Stephen Keane looks at the ways in which the representation of disaster and its aftermath are born out of both contextual considerations and the increasing commercial demands of contemporary Hollywood. Through detailed analyses of such films as Airport, The Poseidon Adventure, Independence Day, and Titanic, the book explores the continual reworking of this to-date undervalued genre.