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.

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