by interns David Longo & Haley Schiffer
Photo credit: Neshan H. Naltchayan
“After 10 days without power [in America], everything becomes apocalyptic; yet in Sub-Saharan Africa, there are 600 million people without power everyday,” stated Ari Goldberg from The One Campaign Bonos International Advocacy Organization at National Geographic’s World Premiere of “American Blackout.”
The film exemplifys the possibilities of what could happen through technological advancement in the near future and included film clips from past events – Hurricane Katrina, Hurricane Sandy and many other national disasters. It also focused on the struggle of a ten day span of time in our nation without power.
Denis DiBlasio and his daughter, Natalie DiBlasio, reporter for USA Today
The film questioned people’s reactions to a world without power. “The movie is an interesting opportunity, in my opinion, to have the world live in the dark and see how dependent the modern world is on technology,” added Goldberg.
Michael Hayden, former NSA and CIA Director with Jane Holl Lute, former Deputy Secretary of Homeland Security
Guests included Cody Becham and the author of Preparedness Now, Aton Edwards. “We’re trying to raise awareness of cyber issues to keep people safe online as well as giving them the resources that we provide such as presentations and pamphlets,” said Becham. When asked about the reality of the film, Aton responded “I think it could happen tomorrow, but if I were to put a timeline on it, I’d say about two or three years. I have a passion for being prepared, people must be prepared at all times to deny the fantasy that the government will always be there to take care of them.”
Aton Edwards
As a way of bringing in outside support and showing the reality of cyber attacks, the National Geographic invited the navy. As one of the Navy Seals attending the event stated, “We’re here because of the cyber command portion, that’s a big portion of the military now where our defenses are going less towards the physical readiness and more towards the defenses of computer systems, making sure that our future is safe.”
Courteney Monroe, Chief Marketing Officer at National Geographic Channels, took a new approach to disasters after watching the film. “I watched the movie and I’ve never had any extra supplies in my house, and I now realize I am not remotely prepared.” After realizing these disasters were a possibility, Monroe agreed that now was the right time to prepare: “The idea that a natural disaster could occur and we could be left without power, have stores closed scared me. So I now have excess water in my basement, a manual can opener, some shelf stable soy milk. … I feel I did the responsible thing for my family.”
David Lyle, Richard Reed, Michael Hayden, Robert Bristow, Jane Holl Lute, Scott Aaronson and Howard Owens
“American Blackout” premieres on the National Geographic Channel on Sunday, October 27th at 9 PM.
The Trailer:
