Physics of Waves in Films
Movies are a major mass medium to everyone in this world. It is a form of entertainment that has kept a large audience and fan base consistently. Hollywood is the center of the entertainment world, and has kept viewers satisfied with the films it has released in the past decades. It is disappointing when a film maker does not go through all the necessary steps before releasing a Hollywood hit. The three films that will be discussed in this paper all have something in common. What do Independence Day (1996), Titanic (1953), and The Little Mermaid (1989), all have in common? They were all victims of not accurately presenting the physics law of waves. All of the waves discussed portray different types of waves, for example: waves that would happen from a huge mass moving in Independence Day, the size of waves in the ocean next to the Titanic, and the direction of waves in the ocean in the Little Mermaid. The waves shown in these films happen, but the outcome isn’t portrayed accurately in the movies.
Independence Day was a widely successful science-fiction film that brought in hundreds of millions of dollars in revenue. Independence Day is about aliens who attempt to invade Earth; but these aliens have large scale attacks up their sleeves. These aliens sent to Earth one huge mother ship that was supposedly a fourth of the size of the Moon, and several dozen saucers that were each 15-miles in width that were sent to major cities around the world. Independence Day was the highest grossing film in 1996, and even won an Academy Award for Special Effects. It is a shame that the film failed to follow the laws of physics.
The mammoth mother ship that was hovering over the world that was being controlled by aliens was supposedly a quarter the size of the Moon. It would have created huge amounts of wind that would cause huge impacts: volcanoes should have been erupting, and massive tidal waves should have occurred. But instead the Earth stood still not fazed by the gravitational pull that was caused by the huge mother ship. While the mother ship was floating a top of the cities, people were able to stand at the bottom and watch in shock. Will Smith is the star of Independence Day; he stands at 6 feet 2 inches and usually weighs around 180 pounds. He is above average and height and weighs a considerable amount. The huge mother ship or one of its smaller saucers should have knocked him down with all the wind the saucers would have created.
Instead he was able to run away and avoid the attacks from the saucers.
This example of the film makes Independence Day an inaccurate physics law portrayed by Hollywood. Tidal waves usually occur when there is a huge movement in nature, for example an earthquake, volcanic activity or a landslide underneath water. Imagine a wind force the size of the moon, or a saucer that is 15 miles wide rush by you. Would you fall or see your surroundings sway a bit? Of course, and that is why this movie is inaccurate. The Empire State building for example, stood still, instead of swaying in the wind or collapsing.
The Titanic at the time of its maiden voyage was the largest passenger steam ship of its time. The Titanic was almost 900 feet long, and over 175 feet tall, and because the Titanic was so grand in size the waves surrounding the ship should be very minuscule compared to the ship itself. This movie is 97 minutes long; and the actual sinking of the ship didn’t occur until 70 minutes into the film. Perhaps the film makers chose not to show much of the actual ship because they didn’t have their fair share of understanding the laws of physics. In the 1953 version of Titanic you can tell the waves and ship ratio was very off. During the film, it was even mentioned that the waters were calm with low winds. So we cannot calculate high winds and high waves to help dismiss the irregularly big waves surrounding the ocean liner. In the 1953 version of Titanic, for transition scenes the film showcased the ocean liner cruising steadily in the Atlantic Ocean. The waves were so large next to the ship, it was very obvious that the filmmakers used a model ship in a small pool of water to film those shots. With waves so big, the ocean alone should have been the cause of the sinking of “The Ship of Dreams” back in 1912 rather than an iceberg.
You can compare and contrast the 1953 film with the more recent 1997 Titanic film created by James Cameron. Cameron was a perfectionist when creating Titanic, so you can see the details of waves next to the ocean liner, you should not see any discrepancies in physics. Perhaps, we can blame the lack of technology for the breaking of the laws of physics in 1953. But nonetheless, Titanic circa 1953 was a victim of inaccurately portraying the laws of physics in waves.
The Little Mermaid is a Disney film made in 1989. It is one of the most beloved full-feature films from Disney. Ariel is the daughter of the King of the Sea, making her a princess of the sea. Ariel has always wanted to live on land, have feet, and fall in love. One day Prince Eric’s ship catches on fire, and if Ariel didn’t save Eric he could have drowned in the shipwreck. The scene in this film that represented the laws of physics wrongly was right after Ariel saves Eric. Ariel is watching Eric walk away; she is leaning on a rock in the ocean. This scene mistakenly got the wind and waves sequence wrong.
Ocean waves happen by strong currents of wind pushing towards the water. The wind is obviously blowing towards her because Ariel’s hair is flying back, except the wind is also blowing towards her back because all the ocean waves are hitting her back. This scene was artistically beautiful to watch: a mermaid longing to be human for the ability to fall in love. However, it’s not beautiful in the world of physics. Walt Disney should have had a physics expert on staff to fact check the film. It is very rare for winds to blow simultaneously at each other. At the rare occasion when it does, it is what causes tornadoes and hurricanes. The film did not represent Ariel in a struggle battling with the weather conditions, but perching happily on a rock, so yes, this Disney film is another victim of being represented wrongly according to the laws of physics.
Hollywood, although just a small town in Los Angeles county, is world renowned for all the forms of entertainment it has released. Independence Day is a prime example of a science fiction film that did very well in the box-office. Aliens trying to take over Earth has always been a prominent staple in the science fiction genre. Titanic is a film that was made after a horrendous real life disaster. Audiences seem to always enjoy movies that were based off of true events. The Little Mermaid is a household owned Disney movie. Every little girl must have watched this film hundred times at least before reaching ten years old. However, all three films discussed were victims of being inaccurately portrayed by Hollywood. Although these problems did not affect the plot or the level of success of the films, it is disappointing to know these films could have been better.
The scene in The Little Mermaid where physics was inaccurately portrayed made the scene a bit more artsy. The scene in Titanic where the size of the waves was portrayed wrong was probably because of the lack of technology available at the time. The stationary buildings and great balance of humans in Independence Day was caused by the lack of fact checkers on staff. If the movie medium wants to survive in the long haul as a respected medium, movie makers should hire a staff member that is an expert in physics to make sure these inaccuracies are not as common and noticeable as they are in these three films. Independence Day, The Little Mermaid and Titanic are respected and successful films created in Hollywood; it is a shame that the inaccuracies will become immortalized in all of our DVD and VHS collections. Next time you watch a new movie, will you be keeping an eye out of the discrepancies a film maker can let slip through the cracks?
