Susan Sontag was an American writer, filmmaker, and political activist who wrote and spoke extensively about areas of conflict. “The Imagination of Disaster” was published in 1965, right in the middle of the Cold War and the space race. The fear of mass destruction was prevalent in everyday life and society, which was seen by the common bomb drills and bunkers. The space race was born out of fear and nationalism; competing against Russia as well as fearing what the new technology will create. A common way to express societal events and feelings is in the arts. Sontag introduces this idea by focusing on films, fantasy, science fiction, and the plots of both. She creates a very strong argument by using analogies to create pathos while also relying on historical context to relate to the audience. Fantasy and destruction play an essential role in science fiction films since most have little to do with science (Sontag 44). Sontag describes the generic Technicolor movie plot to have five phases while black-and-white films will have a simpler plot line with four phases and is almost the same as a Technicolor movie except it usually takes place in a remote area. The variations among different films is the discovery of the monster or weapon causing mass destruction–either…show more content… “The threat to man, his availability to dehumanization, lay in his own animality. Now the danger is understood as residing in man’s ability to be turned into a machine” (Sontag 47). This quote is embodied by the fact that there were new inventions being created and scientists doing experiments on the cutting edge of science. A science experiment or invention that would go horribly wrong is a common fear. The fear that AI and robots will take over, enslave, or replace humans is also a common fear. New technology changes human society and that can be scary for some people, especially in the way new technology can be used in weapons and
