New Year’s Eve Aboard The Poseidon Adventure (1972) Ringing in Disaster

In this episode of The Problematic Gaze, we revisit The Poseidon Adventure (1972), beginning with its iconic New Year’s Eve celebration that turns instantly catastrophic. Using the overturned ship as both spectacle and metaphor, we examine how the film reinforces—and occasionally challenges—traditional 1970s gender roles, particularly around masculinity, leadership, faith, and sacrifice. We also place The Poseidon Adventure alongside its sister disaster films of the era, exploring why these large-scale spectacles resonated so strongly with 1970s audiences. In a decade shaped by social upheaval and institutional mistrust, we ask what comfort, reassurance, or ideology these films offered when the world felt unstable.

Click here to follow us on all our socials

Please leave us a review wherever you get your podcasts. They really help to spread the word of The Problematic Gaze.
 
And if our fellow Gazers want to comment on what they've heard in our episodes, or to suggest future topics, please email us at theproblematicgaze@gmail.com. We love hearing from you!

Click here to follow us on all our socials

Don't forget to hit that FOLLOW button to get every episode of The Problematic Gaze downloaded and ready to listen!

Please leave us a review wherever you get your podcasts. They really help to spread the word of The Problematic Gaze.

And if our fellow Gazers want to comment on what they've heard in our episodes, or to suggest future topics, please email us at theproblematicgaze@gmail.com. We love hearing from you!

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.