movie “The Poseidon Adventure” as metaphor for 1970s loss of confidence in authority?

[GeographyDude]

The Poseidon Adventure opened in theaters on Dec. 13, 1972. But the really interesting date is:

. . . the TV premier on Sunday night, Oct. 27, 1974. And please notice the rating of 39, which means 39% of all possible households. Its “share” was in the low 60s.

Gene Hackman plays Rev. Scott who says:

“Help from where, from the Captain? He’s dead. Everyone’s dead who’s above before the ship turned over because now they’re underneath us, under the water.”

He also called the ship’s purser a “pompous ass.”

1) I have in mind Ford’s pardon of Nixon. And a decision can be bold and brave, and still be the wrong decision.

2) And also the U.S. economy, which was sliding to what was at the time the biggest downturn since the Great Depression.

Your ideas please. Thanks.

 

[Strategos' Risk]

Was the TV premiere such a big deal? I would assume if it had done worse in theaters that would be more indicative of a changing zeitgeist in America.

 

[overoceans]

When I first saw that movie about fifteen years ago, I was struck by just how clearly Rev. Scott was supposed to be Nietzschean in his worldview.

But not in the crude "Rope"-sense of the idea, ie. just extolling cruelty for its own sake, but rather in the more humanistic reading of Nietzsche, challenging everyone to find and harness the power within themselves. All of which strikes me as a concern of screenwriters who woulda cut their teeth in the 1950s or so, under the influence of pop-existentialism.

Not sure about the TV audiences reacting to Watergate: you do have the corporate type ordering the captain into reckless navigation, but the general "feel" of that conflict, as well as the whole movie, strikes me as rather pre-Vietnam. I mean, Shelley Winters prattling on about how she hates to see anyone unmarried, and trying to set up the old merchant with the young woman, was very much a Silent Generation trope. I think most people woulda just seen the navigational conflict as a convenient plot device to get things going.

Now, if you wanna see a paranoid, anti-authoritarian action flick from the 1970s, check out the remake of King Kong. It's got everything: presidential/corporate collusion, "Deep Throat" references(*), and a prediction of radical environmentalists attacking gas stations en masse in the USA. Speaking of which, the name of the oil company is...

"Petrox"

Try saying that as two separate syllables.

(*) The movie, not the informant. But still, totally in tune with the zeitgeist.

 

[CalBear]

The Poseidon Adventure opened in theaters on Dec. 13, 1972. But the really interesting date is:

View attachment 637085

. . . the TV premier on Sunday night, Oct. 27, 1974. And please notice the rating of 39, which means 39% of all possible households. Its “share” was in the low 60s.

Gene Hackman who plays Rev. Scott says:

“Help from where, from the Captain? He’s dead. Everyone’s dead who’s above before the ship turned over because now they’re underneath us, under the water.”

He also called the ship’s purser a “pompous ass.”

1) I have in mind Ford’s pardon of Nixon. And a decision can be bold and brave, and still be the wrong decision.

2) And also the U.S. economy, which was sliding to what was at the time the biggest downturn since the Great Depression.

Your ideas please. Thanks.

That is giving the movie VASTLY more credit than it deserved. It was also based on a 1969 novel, so the source material was well before the "crisis in confidence" for the U.S., in fact it was published at what might have been the post WW II high point in U.S. public confidence, right at the time of Apollo 11.

The movies premier drew huge numbers because it was the first time people could see it outside of the theater. It was one of Irwin Allen "mega disaster" films that blazed across the 70s with massive displays of shit getting blow all to hell and gone, something that always gets people's eyes on the screen.

It is really important to remember that, in 1972, there were exactly two ways to see a film: 1. In the theater (and there were far fewer screens back then, the "multiplex was barely getting started) and 2. on BROADCAST TV. No other way. No real cable to speak of, it was in its infancy as far as anything beyond a way to get a better signal for channels broadcasting more than 40 miles from your home, Home Box Office was the first real "cable channel" and it didn't start up until November of 1972 and it was STUPID expensive. VCRs were just getting started in homes, and were crazy expensive (well over a thousand dollars when you could literally buy a brand new car for under $2,000) and video tapes weren't rentable, they cost $70-80 dollar to BUY per tape.

A Big blockbuster like Poseidon Adventure was a huge draw. There were only three networks at the time, plus PBS, and some UHF local stations, most of which had signals so weak you couldn't get them. In 1972 there were, across most of the U.S. four-six channels that you could watch. Getting 39% of the audience for big movies wasn't that huge of a deal. All in the Family drew 33% FOR THE ENTIRE 26 episode season. On September 24, 1972, ABC broadcast Love Story for the first time. It drew 42.3%. True Grit drew 38.9% with Patton pulling 38.5%

Index to Nielsen Top 10: 1972-1973 - Television Obscurities

Index of historical Top 10 weekly TV ratings from the 1972-1973 season.

www.tvobscurities.com

 

[marathag]

And also the U.S. economy, which was sliding to what was at the time the biggest downturn since the Great Depression.

nitpick: 1957

1957 was worse, but was for a shorter time than what 1975 was

 

[mr1940s]

nitpick: 1957

1957 was worse, but was for a shorter time than what 1975 was

The economic growth rate isn't the best way to compare living standards between 1957 and 1975. Yes there was a sharp contraction but in 1975 both unemployment and inflation were higher.

 

[marathag]

The economic growth rate isn't the best way to compare living standards between 1957 and 1975. Yes there was a sharp contraction but in 1975 both unemployment and inflation were higher.

1957: GDP fell by 3.7% and unemployment peaked at 7.4%
1974: GDP fell by 3.4% while unemployment nearly 9%
Inflation was around 3%, while '70s were a roller coaster

 

[GeographyDude]

I’m not saying the movie is a cause.

I’m saying it’s pretty good metaphor. And it might give some people a language. I mean, people frequently pick up on movie lines they like.

 

[GeographyDude]

nitpick: 1957

1957 was worse, but was for a shorter time than what 1975 was

Thrilled to death that we’re discussing economics!

 

[overoceans]

Was Ibsen's An Enemy Of The People the ur-text for all those stories where the powers-that-be ignore scientific advice and go ahead with some dangerous course of action? I know I've seen that play mentioned as the template for Jaws, which is quite similar in its basic set-up to The Poseidon Adventure, Towering Inferno etc.

 

[mr1940s]

1957: GDP fell by 3.7% and unemployment peaked at 7.4%
1974: GDP fell by 3.4% while unemployment nearly 9%
Inflation was around 3%, while '70s were a roller coaster
View attachment 637121

The recession of 1957-1958 was in part caused by monetary policy meant to contain inflation.

 

[GeographyDude]

. . . you do have the corporate type ordering the captain into reckless navigation, . . .

Was Ibsen's An Enemy Of The People the ur-text for all those stories where the powers-that-be ignore scientific advice and go ahead with some dangerous course of action? . . .

Poseidon Adventure has the tight-faced corporate guy directly standing in the ship’s bridge ordering the captain to order full speed ahead even without the delay of taking on more balast for the rough seas. But this was not a 100% necessary plot element, since the wall of water from the undersea quake was plenty big enough to turn over the ship by itself.

What was a necessary element was the possibility of the radio guy getting off a Mayday. Even on re-watching, I’m not sure whether he did or not. But the possibility of such . . . gives a lot of extra meaning to Rev. Scott leading the small group up through the ship. Because then, there might be someone trying to rescue them.

 

[CalBear]

Poseidon Adventure has the tight-faced corporate guy directly standing in the ship’s bridge ordering the captain to order full speed ahead even without the delay of taking on more balast for the rough seas. But this was not a 100% necessary plot element, since the wall of water from the undersea quake was plenty big enough to turn over the ship by itself.

What was a necessary element was the possibility of the radio guy getting off a Mayday. Even on re-watching, I’m not sure whether he did or not. But the possibility of such . . . gives a lot of extra meaning to Rev. Scott leading the small group up through the ship. Because then, there might be someone trying to rescue them.

The corporate clone was an obvious nod to the legend of a White Star Line idiot ordering Titanic to full speed.

 

[Comte de Geneve]

NO! It was just a disaster flick and a classic Irwin Allen flick. Not everything has to have deep and hidden meanings or be a metaphor. Some movies are just for entertainment, especially anything from Irwin Allen whether on the big screen or TV. One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, now lets talk meanings and metaphors for the mid-70's.

 

[GeographyDude]

The corporate clone was an obvious nod to the legend of a White Star Line idiot ordering Titanic to full speed.

And I don’t think many people would argue with the thesis that there are example after example of corporate misconduct, often egregious, blatant examples of, Holy shit, just what were they thinking? !

And yet . . .

Example after example of government being viewed as the main villain. At times, because they have a weak response, other times, paradoxically, viewed as too strong.

We could point to the 2008 banking crisis (more broadly, financial institution crisis) if it is long enough ago to be out of the realm of current politics. At the time, viewed as some corporate malfeasance, some gov’t. But over time, more of the blame’s been put on government.

And I think abundant other examples of the “blame government” phenomenon.

 

[overoceans]

One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, now lets talk meanings and metaphors for the mid-70's.

Actually, Fredric Jameson, in one of his more coherent observations, argued that OFOTCN reflected 1950s concerns moreso than 1970s ones. That could probably be rephrased as saying it's more beatnik than hippie, IOW more concerned with asserting individuality against conformity than with the search for community. (And this is arguably backed up by looking at the date of the source material, 1962).

But yeah, the fact that American cinema was ready for that kind of story to be put onto the screen certainly reflects a post-1960s mindset.