The Day After Tomorrow
The disaster film The Day After Tomorrow depicts the imaginary story that only a
few people in NewYork survive the flood and the chill, resulted from the punishment of nature to people’s ruthless exploitation of the earth.
Like other American films, it gives shocking visual impact by the pictures: the
high-rise buildings toppling down, the tornado destructing the world and the flood engulfing all the things it meets. Furthermore, the highlight of the film is
the affection between father and son and between the lovers, never yielding to the fatal threat of the disaster, which inevitably catches your breath and touches your most tender part of your heart. What’s also worth mentioning is its satire towards the United States itself, which I suppose no films in other countries
dare to present: thousands of American people throngs before the boundary between the U.S. and Mexico, but they are not allowed to enter Mexico until the American president consents to cancel all the debts of Mexico owned to the United States and then all the Americans are settled in “the American Refugee Camp”, the
title being purposely conspicuous. Such a distortion of the reality will never
fail to bring out your hearty laughter.
Do you think such disaster films are only films? However, I hold the opposite
views though I may seem a little pessimistic. No one had ever anticipated the September 11 attack in 2001. The documentary recorded the scenes more vivid and horrible than those in the films: the plane striking into the gigantic building,
the crazy flames engulfing the upper part of the building, the thick smoke rising into the sky, the screaming helpless people attempting to jump out of the high
building for the slim chance of survival, the seemingly solid 48-story-building
eventually collapsing, the long wall with the long list of the names of the victims besides a great number of unidentified dead people…The whole world, as if
hypnotized, were gazing at such spectaculars, not believing it. The most unrealistic thing became true and then who are qualified to say what will be like tomorrow, let alone the day after tomorrow?
Since even the world itself is unpredictable, likewise, surprises and great
changes, though distressing and even heartbreaking sometimes, seize us in our individual life in spite that how unprepared we are for that. Consequently, it is
in vain to make plans for tomorrow and the only thing we can do is just to enjoy
NOW.43`1`!
