John Michael Vincent E.

Clarito 12-3 Stem

San Andreas

Earthquake is a natural phenomenon that involves the violent movement of the earth crust. It can
cause numerous casualties, and which depending on its intensity, may even result to a catastrophe. The
world has experienced many earthquakes before and some of the records of the greatest earthquakes
that happened had caused a tremendous damages and losses to the particular area it hit and had even
obliterated few parts of its neighboring places. An example of the one of the most deadly earthquake
ever recorded was the 1960 Valdivia earthquake. Studies have placed it to have a 9.4-9.6 magnitude
which last roughly 10 minutes. It has an estimated death toll ranging between 1000 and 7000 killed and
a monetary losses ranging between $3.31 billion to $6.62 billion. And in the movie San Andreas, the
magnitude jumps to 9.6, almost sharing the same strength with the earthquake that is considered to be
one of the deadliest in the history. As if the film is imitating and portraying what it might be like to
witness such event.

San Andreas is a movie directed by Brad Peyton. The important characters include Ray Gaines, a
helicopter-rescue pilot, his wife Emma, his daughter Blake and the two brothers that Blake later met,
Ben and Ollie Taylor, and Laurence Hayes, the Caltech seismologist. The story is about the massive
earthquake that hits California, specifically the area of San Andreas.

The show has managed to make a good simulation of what might occur in an actual disastrous
earthquake, both in the physical damage and the social behavior it may lead. Like according to studies, a
magnitude of 9 or above, is more than enough to make structures collapse and crumbles, and the
buildings in the film, no matter how tall, either gradually or easily falls. The show is also true to the other
events that may trigger because of the shaking. From triggering incidents caused by a hazardous object
or place like a fire disaster and stampede, to the triggering of another natural phenomenon like tsunami.
The movie also showcases how such earthquake affect the behavioral pattern of the society, showcasing
how most of the people lose their care to other people and their surrounding if in a tragic situations.
From people panicking, competing for a better shelter, and stealing or hi-jacking anything they find
necessary, basically turning everything into a survival of the fittest. The addition of romance between
Blake and Ben can also be explained by this. It is said that when two opposite sex find themselves in a
tragic situation, relying to someone becomes a normal thing and the tendency of a sexual or romantic
formation between the two becomes strong. The only weakness the movie may have is that we follow
the whole story through the perspective of a unique and interesting main characters, and focusing only
to what happens to them and what background story they have, this make it seem that the whole
earthquake thing is only for the protagonists and not something like an apocalyptic event. In an
apocalypse related premise where the story is supposed to imagine to its audience what would it be like
to be in there, the characters should not have a fancy story, but should be a character that represent a
normal person who’s experiencing the problems, but still making them interesting enough to follow.

However San Andreas has still able to visualize to its audiences of what an earthquake with such
high magnitude, can possible do. Thus, the movie is highly recommendable to the people who are
curious to see the closest simulation of such disastrous event.