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By:
JBR
Last week, as soon as British intelligence unearthed a plot to blow up 10 American planes bound for the US from London, all airports worldwide have been put on high alert. All passengers are subject to heavy inspection and suspects are being interrogated thoroughly by security forces. For 3 days after the threat was uncovered, panic spread like wild fire and many flights were delayed or cancelled.
Ever since the World Trade Center in New York was attacked, alarms and threat to life has become a part of daily life. People are forever looking out for safety instructions. However, this latest scare has really put the world into a panic. About 24 suspects have already been arrested but the panic has still not decreased in any way.
The reason is the substance used for explosion. Substances like RDX are easy to detect. Sniffer dogs are trained to sniff out where RDX explosives are located. Nothing can escape the X-ray detectors at airports.
But the new chemicals used are not easily detected and sniffer dogs have not yet been trained to recognise them. This looks just like ordinary water, and this is what has put airports worldwide into panic.
In Hollywood films, we continue to see various types of explosives being used, novel kidnappings and holding hostages as well as cruel treatment. There are groups of people who research and come up with such plots. For 'The Da Vinci Code,' author Dan Brown did research with many assistants for nearly ten years to gather material for the book.
Many of those who saw repeated clips of the twin towers being blown up as well as the attack on the Pentagon, felt as if they were watching one of the Hollywood action films. This created a lot of debate inside the US as well as outside. Many a time, a Hollywood film has shown the land being devastated through terrorist acts, natural disasters as well as extra terrestrial invasions. 'Volcano,' 'Deep Impact,' 'Terminator,' 'Artificial Intelligence' are a few examples. Having seen disasters portrayed realistically, it cannot be denied that many enjoyed the scene of the twin towers blowing up as another special effects of a Hollywood blockbuster. Such films also boost panic attacks among people.
For instance, the fear associated with number 666 thanks to films like 'Omen' spread the belief that a child born on a day like that would be satanic and destroy the world. This year, the numbering of the 6th of June (06-06-06) spread panic rumours that much destruction would happen because of the date.
For the latest terror leashed out among the public with last week's bomb scares, the culprit is a Hollywood film.
'Live Wire' was released in 1992 in the US. It was directed by Christian Duguay. American Senators are mysteriously killed one by one. It is difficult to determine how each one has been killed. When the reason or the means for the murders have not been established, the police struggle to conduct investigations and proceed with the case. Finally, America's FBI gets bomb disposal expert Danny O' Neil on to the case. The Justice drinks a little water just before reading out the verdict and soon falls dead. Only after this incident, the weapon used by the terrorists comes to light.
When certain colorless chemicals enter the intestines, they react with the digestive juices to create heat and pressure and explode. Once it has been ascertained that a chemical explosive has been used, the investigation gathers momentum. Pierce Brosnan (who plays James Bond) does the role of Danny O' Neil. After the film was released, the question was raised about destruction by chemical explosives.
Scientists say chemical explosives are possible. In foreign countries, it is common to see passengers carrying bottles of alcohol and imbibing from it. It is very easy to carry peroxide variety of chemicals in liquor bottles and take it into the aircraft. Once the aircraft takes off, all it needs is a laser beam flashed on it, maybe from a special camera flash, and it will explode.
Is a little bottle of such liquid strong enough to blow up a huge plane?
The heat produced by the chemicals creates lot of pressure in the outside air. If the air pressure is increased even by 2% in an airborne plane, the plane will be exploded to smithereens. So a quarter bottle of chemical is enough to create this pressure. When a plane with tank load of fuel crashed into the World Trade Center, the strength of explosion was of that magnitude.
What we read above happens not only in Hollywood films, but we see that in our Indian films too - especially activating an explosion through a camera flash.
A few years ago, Mammootty acted as a CBI officer in a Malayalam film 'the Truth.' When Kerala's chief minister is talking on the dais, the stage explodes. The terrorist is seated among journalists and he triggers off the explosive hidden on stage by using the camera flash. Till now, there have been no reports of terrorist groups resorting to this mode of attack in India.
One can list out miles of film titles that depict terrorist acts. What is meant for entertainment on screen, sends wide spread terror among people when such things happen in real life. It is the responsibility of directors to keep this in mind when they compose such scenes.
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-19.08.2006
