[Public-List] "The Perfect Storm"

[Zachary Smith]

Both of your points have the same cause IMO:

*1. The Flemish Cap.*

*A huge plot line in the movie, and according to the book (which I’ve read)
in the real story, is the issue of being so far from Gloucester, out on the
Flemish Cap… and the loss of their ice making machine meaning they had to
try to rush back before they lost their bumper haul of fish.  Then when
they know the storm is coming… their distance out is depicted as an issue
of great peril.*

*Well, I have to wonder why they never seem to have even considered putting
in to St John’s Newfoundland.  They’d have been there in a day or so at 10
knots… it’s actually on the way home for them, particularly because they
were already on their way back when the issues developed.  They would have
found more services there than at home in Gloucester… and wouldn’t have had
to face the storm at all.  Why didn’t they go there?  They could have,
easily. *

Media portrays situations so that audiences can easily see alternative
actions, generating an emotional impulse to reach out to the characters and
help them.

This is why people yell at screens.

This emotional impulse is leveraged for sales pitches. It's not an
accident. If movie making was your income generator, wouldn't you?

*2. The Yacht Story.*

*The yacht disaster component of this film, and the book as well, is
dramatically misrepresented.  The owner/skipper wasn’t a fool, as shown and
written… the problem was the two inexperienced crew members he had aboard
who panicked and sent an unauthorized mayday call to the USCG.  And because
the USCG was called out, and forced the abandonment of the fully seaworthy
yacht, the men from the helicopter died after it fell into the sea after
running out of fuel.  Brave men, but basically murdered by the circumstance
created by the needless mayday that they were responding to.   The yacht
was later recovered in fine condition.  The owner was furious with the USCG
for forcing him to abandon it, thereby exposing the rescuers, himself and
his crew to needless peril.  He’s written his own book, and has a website
on the story.*

IMO this is more sinister. There is a huge push from stakeholders in
politics, business, and government to convince people that operating
outside of societal norms puts everyone in danger. That they should
especially fear people who operate independent of their services.

All of these entities have a huge interest in a public that can be
manipulated through fear this way.

Most people scoff at me when I say stuff like this because it implies some
"conspiracy theory" level of backstage organization; some "unseen"
nefarious hand. And that this is silly.

Well it is silly. That's not what I'm suggesting.

I am stating an obvious: that stakeholders have an interest and the message
correlates. Was it intentional? Or emergent? End result is the same.

Zach

On Thu, Jun 7, 2018 at 10:50 AM, Gordon Laco via Public-List <
public-list at lists.alberg30.org> wrote:

> Hello Gang…
>
> I’m home from the office and re-watching ‘The Perfect Storm’ while having
> lunch… two things about that film that bugged me when I first saw it are
> still bugging me.
>
> 1. The Flemish Cap.
>
> A huge plot line in the movie, and according to the book (which I’ve read)
> in the real story, is the issue of being so far from Gloucester, out on the
> Flemish Cap… and the loss of their ice making machine meaning they had to
> try to rush back before they lost their bumper haul of fish.  Then when
> they know the storm is coming… their distance out is depicted as an issue
> of great peril.
>
> Well, I have to wonder why they never seem to have even considered putting
> in to St John’s Newfoundland.  They’d have been there in a day or so at 10
> knots… it’s actually on the way home for them, particularly because they
> were already on their way back when the issues developed.  They would have
> found more services there than at home in Gloucester… and wouldn’t have had
> to face the storm at all.  Why didn’t they go there?  They could have,
> easily.
>
> 2. The Yacht Story.
>
> The yacht disaster component of this film, and the book as well, is
> dramatically misrepresented.  The owner/skipper wasn’t a fool, as shown and
> written… the problem was the two inexperienced crew members he had aboard
> who panicked and sent an unauthorized mayday call to the USCG.  And because
> the USCG was called out, and forced the abandonment of the fully seaworthy
> yacht, the men from the helicopter died after it fell into the sea after
> running out of fuel.  Brave men, but basically murdered by the circumstance
> created by the needless mayday that they were responding to.   The yacht
> was later recovered in fine condition.  The owner was furious with the USCG
> for forcing him to abandon it, thereby exposing the rescuers, himself and
> his crew to needless peril.  He’s written his own book, and has a website
> on the story.
>
> Anyone else had these thoughts?
>
> Gordon Laco
> www.gordonlaco.com
> #426 Surprise
>
>
>
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