What Are the Roles in Disaster Movies?

4min Snip

00:00

Play full episode

Summary

Transcript

Episode notes

Hollywood movies are maybe our version of folklore, of tribal myths, right? That's what we have as a mythology. One very common character in this is always a guy. And they always end up falling into the pit of lava or getting eaten by the savor tooth tiger. We want to see this story told over and over again of people, ordinary people acting well in a crisis.

Journalist and author Sebastian Junger talks about his book Tribe with EconTalk host Russ Roberts. Junger explores the human need to be needed and the challenges facing many individuals in modern society who struggle to connect with others. His studies of communal connection include soldiers in a small combat unit and American Indian society in the nineteenth century.