By Libby Coker, Graphic by Bridget Bauman
Growing up, I had always been captivated by the 1996 film, Twister. I mean, who doesn’t love a good ol’ tornado classic. First was The Wizard of Oz, then came Twister, and now we have Twisters. Something about these natural disaster movies just screams classic, although it may be a little too normal of a scene to those living in the Midwest. It would be more surprising to walk up to a stranger to ask if they have seen the new blockbuster hit and hear “no” rather than “yes.” The movie is still being shown and viewed in theaters months later, so that’s how you know it’s truly the smash hit of 2024, so far.
Across the past few years, Hollywood can be identified through their consistent recreations, remakes and sequels of past movies. This is evident in cases with The Lion King, Mean Girls: The Musical, The Little Mermaid, A Star is Born and, most recently, Twisters, starring Glen Powell and Daisy Edgar-Jones. The movie itself is a captivating whirlwind of adventure, comedy, action, awe, and fans of these two movie stars were ready to grab tickets in July on release day. A second portion of the audience who rushed to the box office consisted of those loyal fans to the original 1996 film, Twister.
Surprising to many of these fans, the new rendition of the classic film did not particularly play off of the original storyline. As a previous viewer of the 1996 version, there is seemingly only a minute connection to the plot of the original, starring Helen Hunt. This connection was the short appearance of an old and tattered “Dorothy V,” the tornado tracking device developed by Jo and Bill Harding in the 1996 movie. Instead this new release was a modernized take to the concept of storm chasing experienced in the ‘OG version.’ This modernization can be witnessed through the Youtube stardom of Tyler Owens (played by Glen Powell).
Both movies share a theme of adventure and conflicting admiration between male and female lead characters, but they were done in a slightly different manner in accordance with relevance in today’s trends. For one, Glen Powell is currently THE hot commodity on almost every viewers’ minds. Second, the use of social media influencers within the movie plot was a very relevant and intentional detail. The current world is teeming with people among young generations gaining followers and attention on their individual social platforms…at this point, each town, no matter how small, surely has their own version of an “influencer.” Although the movie character, Tyler used his social platforms to livestream and upload his heart stopper encounters chasing deadly tornadoes, it was still unequivocally relevant to the current focuses of society. Watching it in theaters felt like I had just opened my own phone and was watching a vlogger’s most recent adrenaline chasing Youtube video. Overall, this inclusion provided a much more real and current picture to the movie for youthful viewers.
This “realism” within the film industry is incessantly sought after by producers, filmmakers, and audience members in theaters today. The live-action remakes of old classics such as Disney movies are an example of this seeking of realism. Along with the 2018 film, A Star is Born featuring Bradley Cooper and Lady Gaga. This film is actually the third remake of the original 1937 picture. This classic tale has been rebooted and renewed many times throughout the years to adjust to an ever changing society and new audiences. Realism equates to relatability, and even people do visit theaters to be transported into a different realm and storyline through certain films, it helps create a deeper connection when the picture on-screen is relatable and current to those sitting in the recliners.
By Alex Avellino
Say it’s raining — thundering, even — and two kids need something to do with their Saturday evening. What better to do, where better to go, than the movies? It’s a staple night activity that will never fall out of style, especially in the height of hurricane season and while the cold months inch closer. As the years go by, the Hollywood industry does not get any smaller, but the variety of options to choose from does.
The entertainment and media industry is one of America’s most profitable industries. The entertainment market accrued a value of $8.20 billion in 2022 and is only projected to increase in value as the decade comes to a close (Statista, 2024). Part of this industry’s incredibly profitable success is the idea of the movie of the summer. Every year, Hollywood production companies fight to be the pick of the year. Last year, it was an unusual tie between Greta Gerwig’s iconic “Barbie” and Christopher Nolan’s equally iconic historical drama “Oppenheimer,” both relatively new film ideas. This year, America received a change of pace, with the movie of the summer being Lee Isaac Chung’s reprised version of the 1996 classic “Twister,” starring Daisy Edgar-Jones alongside Glen Powell.
Despite the film’s box office success, it created public controversy. The question being asked: with an entertainment industry constantly growing in fiscal revenue, due to increased public access, high demand and a brand new generation of employees, why the need for Hollywood remakes? Why do we keep seeing the same films from not only our childhood, but our parents’ childhood making their way back onto the big screen?
The answer lies within the public and their specific needs. With the current socio-political polarization between climate activists and climate science deniers, classics like “Twisters” reemerge at just the right time to remind the public of the prevalence of climate related disasters, like tornadoes.
According to the Storm Prevention Center, the average number of tornadoes in the U.S. from 1991-2020 was reported to be around 80 each year. Within that three-decade span, the United States saw only one year with an exponential surge in tornadoes with 2004 reporting 179. Since then, ratings stayed steady to that national average of 80 reports, but after 2020 — which reported 182 tornadoes, followed by 2021 reporting 153, and again in 2023 with 145 — we are seeing more consecutive years with dramatic tornado turnouts.
Now back to that rainy day: while the wind is blowing outside, kids don’t care because they are sitting in those popcorn-dusted recliners, fully immersed in the eerie chaos of “Twisters.” Automobiles are flying through the air, barns are being ripped to shreds by those colossal storms, eliciting fear. Then it hits them — a theater-wide reconciliation.
Those monsters are not only seen on the big screen, but are becoming increasingly more widespread throughout America.
Chung’s “Twisters” revives the idea of colossal disasters becoming more frequent in a vivid, captivating way. Unlike the old 1996 classic, our new 2024 version illustrates these monsters with breathtaking cinematography involving Glen Powell inside the storm and Daisy Edgar-Jones chasing them. Chung’s depiction of tornadoes as both destructive monsters that should be revered and environmental oddities that are commonly misunderstood leave the audience on the edge of their seats with animosity and intrigue. Daisy Edgar-Jones’ portrayal of Kate Carter, a meteorologist in rural Oklahoma and the main protagonist, somewhat romanticizes tornadoes as not just giants of massacre, but also entities of scientific anomaly. Glenn Powell’s character, Tyler Owens, a country bad boy who is unseemingly enraptured by meteorology, also contributes to the movie’s comedic element through both his sarcastic demeanor and overzealous arrogance about chasing the volatile storms. Through Powell’s performance, the scare factor behind tornadoes is diminished, encouraging the audience to see tornadoes in the film as spellbinding and somewhat thrilling. From Jones’ performance, the audience gains clarity on the science behind these anomalies and unsuspected delight. Her irrevocable passion for meteorology is different from Powell’s, evoked through her persistence to understand and tame the stormy beasts. Ultimately, her sentiment becomes contagious for those sitting in the recliners. Through these characters, the audience is not only reminded of the looming presence of natural disasters and the chaos that ensues, but a newfound appreciation and wonder for their mystery is born.
“Twisters” compels the audience to follow Kate and Tyler’s lead: to keep an open mind and be aware of these environmental anomalies. They are out of science’s control, yet their presence cannot be ignored any further. Chung’s rendition of “Twisters” succeeds in keeping the audience at the edge of their seat, reminding them of our ever-present climate crisis, but it admirably takes the edge off with comedic commentary and adoring zeal from Glen Powell and Daisy Edgar-Jones.