Page 92 - A Handbook Genre Studies in Mass Media

HISTORICAL CONTEXT

Giant squids flee in horror as reservoirs of methane frozen at the bot-
tom of the ocean begin to thaw, releasing bubbles that rise to the surface.
Soon the ocean surface is churning and burping gas like a billion overfed
infants, transforming the composition of our atmosphere.
That’s a scene from a new horror movie I’m envisioning, called Killer
Ocean. I’m hoping it might play in the White House and Congress, be-
cause it depicts one of the more bizarre and frightening ways in which
global warming could devastate our planet—what scientists have dubbed
the “methane burp.”
Methane is a greenhouse gas that is 20 times more powerful than
carbon dioxide. And thousands of gigatons of methane, equivalent to the
total amount of coal in the world, lie deep within the oceans in the form
of ice-like solids called methane hydrates.
The big question is whether global warming—temperatures have
risen about one degree Fahrenheit over the last 30 years—will thaw
some of these methane hydrates. If so, the methane might be released as
a gargantuan oceanic burp. Once in the atmosphere, that methane would
accelerate the greenhouse effect and warm the earth and raise sea levels
even more.
The best reason for action on global warming remains the basic impera-
tive to safeguard our planet in the face of uncertainty, and our leaders are
failing wretchedly in that responsibility. If we need an apocalypse to con-
centrate our minds, then just imagine our descendants sitting on the top of
Mount Ararat beside their ark, cursing us for triggering a methane burp. 21

Formulaic Elements

Formulaic elements can furnish perspective into the historical context
of a genre.

Premise

The premise of genric programming is frequently based on historical events.
For instance, the romantic comedy Just Like Heaven (2005) derives its
significance from the controversy surrounding the Terri Schiavo case. In
1990, Terry Schiavo suffered brain damage when her heart stopped briefly
because of a chemical imbalance. She could breathe on her own but relied
on the feeding tube to keep her alive. Her husband requested her tubes be
removed after court-appointed doctors determined she was in a persistent
vegetative state with no hope of recovery. However, the case became a
center of controversy after her parents insisted she could recover with

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