Generations of cutting-edge special effects have met scene-chewing acting (heroic sacrifice, cowardice, bonding) in blockbuster films about humans and catastrophes. The 1950s saw nuclear nightmares (monstrous animals and the scientists who loved them) like Them (1954). A 1970s renaissance included Earthquake (1974), Meteor (1979) and Irwin Allen shipwrecks and skyscraper fires (Towering Inferno, 1974). Both “nature” and human greed figure as causes. The genre also shares features with science fiction.

Ensemble casts mingle current idols, caricaturish villains and glamorous couples, often with children at risk; New York City, NY, Los Angeles, CA and Washington, DC are frequent targets, reaffirming American images of superiority even in interplanetary crises.

A vigorous 1990s cycle includes Jurassic Park (1993), Twister (1996) (tornadoes), Volcano (1997), Godzilla (1998) (transmuting Japanese nuclear nightmares), Deep Impact (1998) and Armageddon (1998) (meteors); Titanic (1997) shares features of the genre. This florescence reflected fears of the millennium, but it also pushed the frontiers of computer-generated effects and global box-office profits.