SCHOOL OF ARCHITECTURE, BUILDING AND DESIGN

THE DESIGN SCHOOL

FOUNDATION IN NATURAL BUILD ENVIRONMENT

NAME: THERESA THIA AI MIN

STUDENT ID NO: 0323170

FILMS SELECTED: ACTION – AMERICAN GANGSTER | DISASTER – THE PERFECT STORM

WORD COUNT: 1008

ENGLISH 2 (ELG 30605)

WRITTEN ASSIGNMENT 1: COMPARE – CONTRAST ESSAY

LECTURER: GOPIGHANTAN MYLVAGANAM

SUBMISSION DATE: DECEMBER 4TH 2015

In the world of films, there are many films that have their differences but yet are similar in some way. For this comparison essay, I have chosen to write about the similarities of two movies from two genres, with the genres being action and disaster. Action films are a film genre in which the heroes of the film face several challenges and overcome them. These films are typically fast paced and include scenes of violence. As for my other chosen genre, disaster films, they feature either natural disasters such as earthquakes or accidents like plane crashes from the perspective of several specific people. The similarities of these action and disaster films are the thrills they give the audience as well as the anticipation the audience gets from wanting to find out the fate of the heroes in the films.

My movies of choice for action and disaster film genres are American Gangster and The Perfect Storm respectively. Both plots are based on a true story, and feature the hardships faced by the heroes in their respective cultures. The plot for American Gangster revolves around the life and criminal career of heroin dealer Frank Lucas while the plot of The Perfect Storm revolves around the fate of commercial fishing boat Andrea Gail’s crew of fishermen while out on sea for a fishing expedition. In both films, the heroes are faced with challenges in their quest for money. American Gangster’s Frank Lucas is faced with attraction from the police and disputes with another mafia as well as the local crime figure due to his success from heroin deals. He is also faced with problems when a war in Vietnam cuts off supplies for his heroin business. Family is also a challenge for him as well when he has to make a decision between his mother and lover, and his career. As for The Perfect Storm’s crew of fishermen, they are faced a series of natural disasters out at sea when they make a decision to brave a building storm with the reason of rushing back to shore to sell their catch before it spoils without the presence of a functioning ice machine. Their situation is further complicated by their ship’s broken stabilizer, which rams the side of the ship.

The fates of the heroes for both films are similarly unfortunate. American Gangster’s Frank Lucas is sentenced to 70 years in prison, while The Perfect Storm’s crew of fishermen do not survive the disastrous storms and huge waves, not even one of them. Two members of the crew were thrown overboard and drowned when the ship’s broken stabilizer rammed the side of the ship. The captain of the ship chose to drown along with it when a wave capsizes the ship. Almost all the remaining crew members were trapped inside the ship when it capsized and drowned inside. The only crewmember who survived the storm did not make it alive to shore as well, due to the absence of a life jacket and any signs of land nearby. Another similar part of both films are the fact that their heroes face their tragic fate after the peak of their careers. American Gangster’s Frank Lucas was arrested after he became Harlem’s crime boss and monopolized operations such as prostitution, nightclubs, casinos and drug deals. As for The Perfect Storm, Andrea Gail’s crew of four fishermen met their fate after the peak of their fishing, where their catch was a far larger amount than any catch they have ever done. It could bring a worthy sum of money that would improve their impoverished lives as well as their families had they been able to make it to shore.

As for the setting of the films, both films took place in the United States. American Gangster took place in Harlem, Manhattan. Harlem is known as a major African-American neighbourhood, which influenced the culture and economical activities that took place there. The Perfect Storm took place in the South Shore of Long Island. South Shore is the shoreline that spans across Long Island, and is the place where the storm took place in the film. The early part of the film took place in Gloucester, Massachusetts, which was an important centre for the fishing industry, where fisherman sold their catch to the locals as well as suppliers. The budgets for both films were closely similar as well, with the budget for American Gangster being 100 million dollars and the budget for The Perfect Storm being 120 million dollars.

Moving on to the main characters of both films, American Gangster’s hero Frank Lucas was an African American from Harlem who takes control of the crime scene there. The Perfect Storm has Frank William Tyne, Jr as the main character. He is known as Billy by the other members of his crew and is the captain of commercial fishing ship Andrea Gail. Both of the main characters show similarities in their characteristics throughout the films. It is the love for their family. In American Gangster, Frank Lucas respects his mother and her warning towards him to prevent him from killing a police, even though that decision landed him into prison. In The Perfect Storm, Billy is a divorced father of two daughters. He takes the risk of braving an upcoming storm in the South Shore of Long Island because he was too focused on getting the catch back to shore before it spoils. He wanted to sell off the catch for money to improve the lives of his daughters. Out of love and responsibility for his daughter’s welfare, he made a decision that cost him his crew member’s life and his own.

In conclusion, it is known that films are typically categorized according to the genre they belong in, and the genre creates and expectation from the audience as whether or not the film meets the criteria for it to fit into the genre. Even though two films may come from very different genres, there can be several segments of the films which give them their similarities.