[Public-List] "The Perfect Storm"

[Gordon Laco]

My responses in red below…

Gordon Laco
www.gordonlaco.com




> On Jun 7, 2018, at 1:11 PM, Zachary Smith <zacharysmith.us at gmail.com> wrote:
> 
> 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?

Movie making is indeed my income generator… and it was the author of the book who transcribed the failure of the fishermen to go to St John’s… this decision wasn’t made for story telling purposes, it was a real omission committed by the real people.  For whatever reason, they REALY didn’t put in… they stayed out at sea.
> 
> 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.

Well here’s another issue of the real events being the cause, not anything that happened after…  The two crewmen in the yacht really made the  MAYDAY call without knowledge or authorization by the skipper…  and it is a policy of the USCG to demand abandonment of a vessel if they feel it is warranted.  I don’t think the guys in the helicopter were thinking about politics or business…      With regard to the author, and later the script writers, well I am certain they just didn’t know better than to take the situation as presented.  I have not met Junger, but have made several films with the team that made Perfect Storm… Good people, but not seamen.  They were very surprised when I discussed these issues with them.  No-one told them while they were making the film.

Gord
> 
> Zach
> 
> On Thu, Jun 7, 2018 at 10:50 AM, Gordon Laco via Public-List <public-list at lists.alberg30.org <mailto: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 <http://www.gordonlaco.com/>
> #426 Surprise
> 
> 
> 
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