Still the best Science March sign.
Listen. We’re going to need a lot of content to hold our attention through this quarantine thing. This blog is doing its part with a guest post from fellow emergency management researcher, John Carr.
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Thanks to COVID-19, you find yourself working from home. Maybe you are a student on what is now a 2 to 3 week extended spring break of sorts. While your professors or bosses figure out how to make working from home happen you probably have some down time which is the perfect opportunity to learn about the timely world of emergency management and disasters.
It’s fine if you want to be super basic and watch Contagion.
“I just watched Contagion last night, it was fascinating!”
“Me too, so crazy that we are living that!”
Alternatively, you could be eccentric and interesting and watch these other disaster movies that will make you laugh, expand your brain, and give you something to talk about on google hangout happy hours.
Note: Since we are on this self-quarantine and limiting your exposure kick, I can’t recommend a group watch party. Watching at home and live-tweeting with your friends is encouraged.
For Humor:
Dr. Strangelove (or How I learned to stop worrying and love the bomb) Rental on Amazon : Probably one of my favorites on this list. This is a dark satire from the 60s, directed by Stanley Kubrick, starring Peter Sellers, George C Scott, and Slim Pickens, with a small appearance by James Earl Jones. The story is based in the Cold War Era, and tells the story of a renegade general launching the nuclear missiles, while the rest of the country tries to unravel the madness before it is too late. If you like Wes Anderson Films and Monty Python, this one is for you.
Shaun of the Dead- Rental on Amazon Zombies are basically a pandemic right? This is a great Simon Pegg and Nick Frost tag team about a group of friends who barricade themselves in a pub while they face mobs of zombies.
Doomsday Preppers- Netflix- Is this show good? No. Is it bad enough that you will laugh, yell at the TV, and think “are these people real”? Absolutely. The show interviews “extreme preppers” and asks them how they are preparing for the end of the world. Reactions range from learning to hunt, to practicing escaping manhattan, to having a priest bless their gun collection, to hiring a team of fake soldiers to kidnap their children. This show is all over the place, and it will make you appreciate the sanity you currently possess.
Ok so turns out very few people are making funny disaster movies. That’s all I got. If you would like some funny Emergency Management YouTube videos, check out Preparedness Piggy from Johnson County KS Office of Emergency Management.
For Expanding Your Brain:
Boatlift- An untold tale of 9/11 resilience (Mini documentary) Free on YouTube- Covering the waterborne evacuation of Manhattan following the 9/11 attacks. This was the largest waterborne evacuation in history, with roughly 500,000 people being evacuated off the island by every type of boat and captain in the area.
Gander Newfoundland and 9/11 (Mini documentary) Free on YouTube- Covering how a small Canadian town doubled in size during the grounding of planes on 9/11
Fire Chasers Netflix- This is an inside look at the individuals on the ground in the California wildfires. From the fire service, to prison inmates, to scientists, this is a great look at all the groups coming together to battle these fires and stop future events.
The Trees Amazon Prime- This is the story about how the 9/11 memorial got all their trees, and the processes necessary to support them.
Trouble the Water Amazon Prime- This is a first person perspective of Hurricane Katrina and the challenges displaced individuals faced during the time. The story follows a family from before the storm, their evacuation, and their return to their community.
The Old Man and the Storm Free on PBS- Herbert Gettridge is an 82 year old man trying to rebuild his home after Katrina. See the challenges he faces with insurance the Road Home Program, and the challenges of having his family separated after the storm.
For Drama:
These movies are more focused on entertainment and art than they are about the accuracy of the film. Some are great on information, such as Fire in Paradise, while others have a number of factual errors, such as Chernobyl which exaggerates or completely makes up details to better shape the storyline.
Fire in Paradise- Netflix A short set of interviews covering the fires in Paradise, California and the challenges facing individuals throughout the response
Chernobyl- HBO A great drama that is a solid binge watch. Note the link above. Some of you science nerds will be crying out about the accuracy of how radiation impacts some of the patients. If you want to read through some of the more accurate source material check out the book Voices from Chernobyl
22 July- Netflix This movie covers the 2011 attacks in Norway in Oslo and Utoya, Norway. This event is a lesser know one for many Americans, especially younger ones.
The Day After Free on YouTube- A nice 1980s campy movie about what happens if we all press the big red button. This is definitely a standard for some of those early disaster movies. Samantha hates this movie but she can deal with it. It is a standard of the genre.
Only the Brave- Rental on Amazon- Covers the events of Yarnell Hill Fire (Arizona) of 2013, where the Granite Mountain Hotshots lost 19 of their 20 members. Rated very high on rotten tomatoes. Firefighters, you may not want to watch this with your significant other.
Twister- Rental on Amazon- As a Midwesterner from tornado alley, I can say this movie was shown in at least 3 of my public school sciences classes. For those not familiar, the movie is about the high paced world of storm chasing and storm research. Fun side note, this movie led to a spike in research articles about the culture of storm chasing, which then faded away as quickly as Robin Thicke after Blurred Lines.
Bonus Material:
(Food network narrator voice) Need something to munch on while you wait for Coronavirus to go away? Try these tasty recipes from FEMA’s outreach office. Try a Potato Tornado, or maybe a Lil Tremor Slider. If you are feeling really wild, make yourself some Drop it like its tot!
If you aren’t sure how to best prepare your pet possum for disasters, be sure to check out this video.
Here’s the link to the Virtual Museum Tours that your mom has probably already sent you.