Disaster and Memory

Using the media's coverage of the death of Princess Diana as a starting point, the author draws on the effects of new technologies, the role of the star system, the nature of public surveillance, and the development of media conglomerates to explain why Hollywood has become so repetitive. Discussing films such as Titanic the author argues that current films replay the same plotlines with greater wizardry and less humanity than those of fifty years ago and that our culture is fascinated with images of disaster.