A close friend of mine wisely pointed out via Facebook that, while no Hollywood natural-disaster film is complete without a grizzled, determined, and attractive lead character to save the day, the media frenzy surrounding Hurricane Irene’s east coast debut lacked a standard hero type. Since the double lead of Steve McQueen and Paul Newman in 1974’s The Towering Inferno, American film has never missed this opportunity to remind us that, while we will all someday die, we should always go out looking our best. Dante’s Peak had Pierce Brosnan. The Perfect Storm had George Clooney in flannel. Independence Day (because extraterrestrials are still natural) had Will Smith. Twister had Bill Paxton. The Day After Tomorrow touted Dennis Quaid for moms and Jake Gyllenhall for daughters. 2012 featured the boyish duo of John Cusack and Chiwetel Ejiofor. Ad infinitum, et cetera.
Movies work in not-so-mysterious ways. Nothing helps an audience care about a film’s characters, and thus root for humanity over the angry planet earth, more than when the people in question are undeniably beautiful. Carrying toddlers and golden retrievers to safety, it must be noted, also helps. Rousing, passionate speeches in dire moments are an obligation.
Since the amount of televised coverage leading up to the storm was enough to comprise another ten-part Ken Burns documentary, let’s do a brief rundown of the alpha-dog heroes that stood up against Hurricane Irene’s brief but resounding sizzle.
Michael Bloomberg, Mayor of New York City:
“We have never done a mandatory evacuation before – and we wouldn’t be doing this now if we didn’t think the storm had the potential to be very serious. […] The city has already seen the power of Mother Nature once this week, and Mother Nature may not be done with us yet.”
James Molinaro, Staten Island Borough President:
“If there’s a direct hit, it’s going to be a major, major problem. People shouldn’t prepare like it’s going to go out to sea. Prepare for the worst.”
Glenn Rieth, Adjunct General of New Jersey:
“The good thing is that it’s a scheduled event, it’s not a tornado or terrorist attack.”
Michele Bachmann, Minnesota State Representative:
“I don’t know how much God has to do to get the attention of the politicians. We’ve had an earthquake; we’ve had a hurricane. He said, ‘Are you going to start listening to me here?’ Listen to the American people because the American people are roaring right now. They know government is on a morbid obesity diet and we’ve got to rein in the spending.”
Chris Christie, Governor of New Jersey:
“Get the hell off the beach in Asbury Park and get out. You’re done. It’s 4:30 PM. You’ve maximized your tan. […] If it continues on the current track, from a flooding perspective this could be a 100-year event. People should not take this lightly.”
Of course, Chris Christie is the class act who, during the tri-state area’s blizzard last winter, went on a vacation to Florida. Also, I have no professional meteorological knowledge, but his math strikes me as somewhat inflamed.
I don’t mean to minimize the effects of the storm. Twenty-seven people were reported killed, including two children––––a tragedy in any context. Flooding and winds caused property damage totaling in billions of dollars. Various state governments were right to postpone events and clear potentially dangerous areas of residents. I’m sure no one in any seat of authority wanted to risk being held responsible for another avoidable Katrina-like catastrophe, and environmental responsibility is nothing to discount.
But the problem is twofold. Firstly, the rhetoric used by the aforementioned politicians is largely absurd, brutish, overdramatic, and reeks of self-importance. Telling people what to do by scaring them induces irrational panic, an issue beaten further with the news media’s insatiable desire to rebroadcast constantly the most hotheaded and dramatic of these warnings. If there’s anything that Hollywood directors share in common with the news media machine, it’s the implicit understanding that human beings very quickly become addicted to the feelings that arise when confronted with the possibility of death, and will sit close to the screen, awe-struck, to know what happens next. It’s an industry. Those who aren’t driven to fear by their televisions, however, have different reactions to the rhetoric, and this is where the second problem comes in.
I’ve always found that swearing, whether in real-life conversations or in film dialogue, loses its power when overused. A lone curse word amidst a sea of civilized discourse can have a startling effect (something that screenwriters and, I guess, lawyers should remember). Taken to the opposite extreme, an unending geyser of vulgar language can become creative, symphonic, even transfixing in its shock––––if you’ve ever heard an “aristocrats” joke, then you know what I mean. The coverage and rhetoric behind Hurricane Irene, then, met neither interesting end. The histrionic warnings about this once-impending disaster––––delivered by elected officials, no less––––lost their effect in their very overemphasis; and, at the same time, couldn’t possibly have incited enough panic in its limited span to become the spectacle that media broadcasts were winding up for. News channels were reporting defiant beachgoers and surfers up until the actual landing of the storm. In reality, the hurricane was an event of true mediocrity, while Christie and Bachmann, only days ago, predicted and invested their political credibility in exceptional chaos. I say this out of no disrespect to the innocents killed in the rough weather, but those of us who have followed this past decade’s pattern of live, televised fear-mongering couldn’t possibly be moved anymore by a few days of heated words from transient public figures. So when an incident comes along that may well deserve such urgency, those who have been rendered numb by the constant broadcast of panic into American homes will never believe it––––a class “boy who cried wolf” scenario, if ever there was one.
Contrast the previously selected quotes with a few words from…
Peter Shumlin, Governor of Vermont:
“We are all proceeding as if life hadn’t changed. And we’re thankful that it hasn’t. But there’s always the danger that we might think that it won’t. And I’m here to ask Vermonters to realize that in all likelihood it will change rapidly tomorrow, and therefore, now is the time to plan.”
Granted, Vermont lies further north than the project disaster zone, but what shouldn’t be overlooked are the calm and control in his communication with the people that depends on him. Like any elected official, Governor Shumlin is a liaison between the populace and the decisions made behind the curtain that affect them.
As such, a heartfelt thank you to those who kept their cool and sense of responsibility last week––––especially the MTA workers, for whom the hurricane did not entail a break from their jobs.
