2012 (2009) - Roland Emmerich
Genre Features Table
(unfinished)
| Genre Feature | Example From Film |
|---|---|
| A scenario where the normal equilibrium of life is disrupted by unusual and violent events. | When Gordon and Kate are in the supermarket doing their shopping and all of a sudden the ground splits open because of an earthquake. |
| Characters from a range of backgrounds and with widely different personalities will often be thrown together by circumstance, and their interaction/conflict will be key to the narrative. | Jackson and his family and the Russian guy and his family end up together on the plane to China. |
| A hero or heroes who manage to overcome the disaster and save a small group of people (although the hero may die in the process). | Sasha who maneuvered the plane and saved Jackson and the other people that were on the plane with him. |
| There will be episodes where good characters will sacrifice themselves for the survival of the group. | Yuri sacrifices himself to save his children. Tamara sacrifices herself to save Lily and Caesar (the dog.) |
| Often a child or children will be present to add to the drama of the narrative. | Lilly and Noah, who are in the middle of the drama with their dad Jackson. |
| There will often be a romantic attachment between two characters. | Jackson and Kate, Kate and Gordon, Tamara and Yuri, Tamara and Sasha. |
| The cause of the disaster can often be sourced back to man’s incompetence, meddling or hubris; even if it is not down to these factors, man’s reaction to the disaster is shown to be flawed. | Table Cell |
| There will be an opening section where the key characters are sketched in and the disaster scenario is foreshadowed. | Table Cell |
| The initial impact of the disaster will result in the death of many people, leaving the narrative to focus on a small group. | Table Cell |
| Villains/unpleasant characters will eventually be killed, but the more sympathetic characters are not immune from death. | Table Cell |
| Even characters in the focus group will be killed during the narrative. | Table Cell |
| There will be a series of obstacles which the focus group must overcome to reach safety. | Table Cell |
| As most disaster films are Hollywood-made, the United States is often the scene of the disaster and its individuals/armed forces will often save the day. | Table Cell |
| There will often be a well-known cast affording an audience with the pleasure of guessing who will be the next victim. | Table Cell |
| The disaster will either run its natural course and subside, or the main protagonist/s (usually an unsung professional person who has more common sense than all the world leaders/politicians/military put together) will manage to execute a spectacular rescue or solve the conundrum of how to avert a cataclysmic disaster | Table Cell |
| There will often be a moral, a lesson to be learned by individuals or humanity at the end of the film. | Table Cell |
