Analysis Of Sebastian Junger's The Perfect Storm

Each person is composed of stories that happen throughout their lives. For some, the biggest stories are of their connection to the stories of others. The children of swordfisherman Bobby Shatford are connected to the story of their father’s death at sea in what came to be known as the “perfect storm.” This event is told in Sebastian Junger’s book The Perfect Storm, which is an extended journalism piece on the storm at sea and the crew of the lost ship, the Andrea Gail. Junger, being tied to fact through the nature of journalism, focuses on the pure facts of the events— and of the people involved in them. Adversely, the Hollywood film by the same title, is marked as being “based on a true story,” and therefore not tied to the same commitment

For example, when going to the movie theater to see a movie about their father’s death, the children of Bobby Shatford find that they were completely deleted. The movie shows Shatford’s wife, but the existence of his children are never mentioned. This then erases not only their existence, but any connection Bobby Shatford had with his children; they are cut out of the story of their father’s life. Although The Perfect Storm as a film is a work of fiction and therefore entitled to fictional alterations, the film’s use of real people’s names and stories unfairly villainizes real people’s remembrance, romanticizes their tribulations, and capitalizes off their tragedies. Often times, true stories that happen within human lives do not fit into an ideal narrative for a film. Because of this, the story of The Perfect Storm was altered to fit cinema. The audience needs a story with conflict, and they need a story with a villian. The unfortunate targets of this villinifaction are Bob Brown, the boat owner, and, to a lesser extent, the crew’s captain, Billy Tyne. In Junger’s book, the antagonist of the story is the storm. Even the full title of the book is “The Perfect Storm: The True Story of Men Against the Sea.” Junger

It pins false blame on people such as Bob Brown and Billy Tyne, romanticizes hardships of Linda Greenlaw and Bugsy Moran, and capitalizes off Murph’s tragedy and the human interest in the tragic woes of others. As each person continues to create stories out of their own lives, one might consider how these stories would be depicted — if one might be the villain of their own tragedy. These stories deserve to tell the real truths of the real people, not to be altered at their expense. After all, all humanity is in the end is the stories of the people of whom it is