Krakatoa in media and popular culture
Encyclopedia
The 1883 eruption
of Krakatoa
, a volcanic island in the Sunda Strait
in Indonesia
, has inspired several books and films (in most cases, with limited understanding of the location or nature of the explosion). Many examples are based in the culture of expression and have no connection in any way with the explosion at all.
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1883 eruption of Krakatoa
The 1883 eruption of Krakatoa began in May 1883 and culminated with the destruction of Krakatoa on 27 August 1883. Minor seismic activity continued to be reported until February 1884, though reports after October 1883 were later dismissed by Rogier Verbeek's investigation.-Early phase:In the years...
of Krakatoa
Krakatoa
Krakatoa is a volcanic island made of a'a lava in the Sunda Strait between the islands of Java and Sumatra in Indonesia. The name is used for the island group, the main island , and the volcano as a whole. The island exploded in 1883, killing approximately 40,000 people, although some estimates...
, a volcanic island in the Sunda Strait
Sunda Strait
The Sunda Strait is the strait between the Indonesian islands of Java and Sumatra. It connects the Java Sea to the Indian Ocean...
in Indonesia
Indonesia
Indonesia , officially the Republic of Indonesia , is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania. Indonesia is an archipelago comprising approximately 13,000 islands. It has 33 provinces with over 238 million people, and is the world's fourth most populous country. Indonesia is a republic, with an...
, has inspired several books and films (in most cases, with limited understanding of the location or nature of the explosion). Many examples are based in the culture of expression and have no connection in any way with the explosion at all.
- In Pudd'nhead WilsonPudd'nhead WilsonPudd'nhead Wilson is a novel by Mark Twain. It was serialized in The Century Magazine , before being published as a novel in 1894.-Plot:...
(published 1894), Mark TwainMark TwainSamuel Langhorne Clemens , better known by his pen name Mark Twain, was an American author and humorist...
compares the changes in Tom Driscoll's moral landscape when his mother Roxy informs him that he was born a black man, with the changes in Krakatoa's landscape after the explosion. - The novel Krakatit by Czech writer Karel ČapekKarel CapekKarel Čapek was Czech writer of the 20th century.-Biography:Born in 1890 in the Bohemian mountain village of Malé Svatoňovice to an overbearing, emotional mother and a distant yet adored father, Čapek was the youngest of three siblings...
, was inspired by the name of the volcano. Krakatit deals with the invention of a substance known as krakatit (although perhaps in English this should be more accurately rendered as krakatite) so named because it is so highly explosive that it rivals the energy output of the Krakatoa explosion. - The Twenty-One BalloonsThe Twenty-One BalloonsThe Twenty-One Balloons is a novel by William Pène du Bois, published in 1947 and awarded the Newbery Medal for excellence in American children's literature in 1948. The story is about a retired schoolteacher whose ill-fated balloon trip leads him to discover an island full of great wealth and...
by William Pene du BoisWilliam Pène du BoisWilliam Pène du Bois , was a French American author and illustrator. He was best known for The Twenty-One Balloons, published in April 1947 by The Viking Press...
tells of an explorer from San Francisco who takes a worldwide trip on a hot air balloon in 1883. Birds cut open his balloon and he falls into the waters off Krakatoa. When he swims ashore, he notices a village of 80 people. They are a secret society that make their living from diamond mines in the volcano. When the volcano erupts on August 27, 1883, all 81 people pile into a platform lifted by 20 balloons and fly across the world, where they drop off with parachutes. This book won the Newbery MedalNewbery MedalThe John Newbery Medal is a literary award given by the Association for Library Service to Children, a division of the American Library Association . The award is given to the author of the most distinguished contribution to American literature for children. The award has been given since 1922. ...
in 1948. - In Arthur C. ClarkeArthur C. ClarkeSir Arthur Charles Clarke, CBE, FRAS was a British science fiction author, inventor, and futurist, famous for his short stories and novels, among them 2001: A Space Odyssey, and as a host and commentator in the British television series Mysterious World. For many years, Robert A. Heinlein,...
's novel Songs of Distant EarthSongs of Distant EarthThe Songs of Distant Earth is a science fiction novel by Arthur C. Clarke, first published in 1986. Clarke has claimed that it is his own favourite novel. He also wrote a short story and a short movie synopsis with the same title.-Plot summary:...
a giant Volcano named "Krakan" erupts. "Child of Krakan", a smaller volcano, also features in the novel. - In The Cowboy Captain of the Cutty SarkThe Cowboy Captain of the Cutty SarkThe Cowboy Captain of the Cutty Sark is a Scrooge McDuck comic by Don Rosa. The story takes place between The Buckaroo of the Badlands and Raider of the Copper Hill in the series The Life and Times of Scrooge McDuck making it part 3B...
, Chapter 3b of Don RosaDon RosaKeno Don Hugo Rosa, known simply as Don Rosa, is an American comic book writer and illustrator known for his stories about Scrooge McDuck, Donald Duck and other characters created by Carl Barks for Disney comics, such as The Life and Times of Scrooge McDuck.-Early life:Don Rosa's grandfather,...
's The Life and Times of Scrooge McDuckThe Life and Times of Scrooge McDuckThe Life and Times of Scrooge McDuck is a comic book story by Don Rosa about Scrooge McDuck. Originally, the story had twelve chapters totalling 212 pages...
, Scrooge McDuckScrooge McDuckScrooge McDuck is a cartoon character created in 1947 by Carl Barks and licensed by The Walt Disney Company. Scrooge is an anthropomorphic white duck with a yellow-orange bill, legs, and feet. He typically wears a red or blue frock coat, top hat, pince-nez glasses, and spats...
witnesses from a distance the eruption and rides out the tsunamiTsunamiA tsunami is a series of water waves caused by the displacement of a large volume of a body of water, typically an ocean or a large lake...
of Krakatoa, using the entire titular ship for an activity resembling, in Scrooge's words, "a native I saw in TahitiTahitiTahiti is the largest island in the Windward group of French Polynesia, located in the archipelago of the Society Islands in the southern Pacific Ocean. It is the economic, cultural and political centre of French Polynesia. The island was formed from volcanic activity and is high and mountainous...
! He was riding on a long board...in the surf!", to which the actual captain of the Cutty Sark replies, "Sort of a...sufboard?" - "I guess you could call it that!" Prior to this event in the same story, Ratchet Gearloose (grandfather to Gyro GearlooseGyro GearlooseGyro Gearloose is a fictional character, an anthropomorphic chicken created by Carl Barks for The Walt Disney Company. He is part of the Scrooge McDuck universe, appearing in comic book stories as a friend of Donald Duck, Scrooge and anyone who is associated with them. He was also a frequent star...
) collects gasses from Krakatau's eruptive activity to fuel his early automobileAutomobileAn automobile, autocar, motor car or car is a wheeled motor vehicle used for transporting passengers, which also carries its own engine or motor...
prototype. - The volcanic explosion on the island was probably the inspiration for the Victoria Holt novel Mask of the Enchantress.
- KrakoaKrakoaKrakoa is a fictional character in Marvel Comics, commonly associated with the X-Men. It is a living island, an intelligent ecosystem able to command all the living things native to its island body, and even its terrain...
, a living island, features in Giant-Size X-MenGiant-Size X-MenGiant-Size X-Men #1 was a special issue of the X-Men comic book series, published by Marvel Comics in 1975. It was written by Len Wein and illustrated by Dave Cockrum. Though not a regular issue, it jump-started the series after a five-year hiatus. The issue serves as a link between the original...
#1. - Fantasy author Graham EdwardsGraham Edwards (writer)Graham Edwards is an English author of fantasy and crime novels. His most popular books have generally featured dragons as their central characters....
' Stone trilogy begins with the eruption of Krakatoa. - In the poem "This Day in History" by Berte Almon.
- The novel Blood Rites of Jim ButcherJim ButcherJim Butcher is a New York Times Best Selling author most known for his contemporary fantasy book series The Dresden Files. He also wrote the Codex Alera series. Butcher grew up as the only son of his parents, and has two older sisters. He currently lives in Independence with his wife, Shannon K...
's The Dresden FilesThe Dresden FilesThe Dresden Files is a series of contemporary fantasy/mystery novels written by Jim Butcher.He provides a first person narrative of each story from the point of view of the main character, private investigator and wizard Harry Dresden, as he recounts investigations into supernatural disturbances in...
, Ebenezar 'Blackstaff' McCoy, claims responsibility for the eruption. - In Clive Custler's novel, Lost Empire, protagonist Sam and Remi Fargo discover the CSS Shenandoah burried under the volcanic ash from the eruption of Krakatoa.
Film
- The eruption is the subject of a 1969 Hollywood film starring Maximilian SchellMaximilian SchellMaximilian Schell is an Austrian-born Swiss actor who won the Academy Award for Best Actor for his role in Judgment at Nuremberg in 1961...
and Brian KeithBrian KeithBrian Keith was an American film, television, and stage actor who in his four decade-long career gained recognition for his work in movies such as the 1961 Disney family film The Parent Trap, the 1966 comedy The Russians Are Coming, the Russians Are Coming, and the 1975 adventure saga The Wind and...
, which was titled Krakatoa, East of JavaKrakatoa, East of JavaKrakatoa, East of Java is a movie starring Maximilian Schell and Brian Keith. This film was nominated for Academy Award for Best Visual Effects.-Plot:...
— even though Krakatoa is in fact west of Java. Perhaps Krakatoa was confused with the 1815 eruption of TamboraMount TamboraMount Tambora is an active stratovolcano, also known as a composite volcano, on the island of Sumbawa, Indonesia. Sumbawa is flanked both to the north and south by oceanic crust, and Tambora was formed by the active subduction zone beneath it. This raised Mount Tambora as high as , making it...
(on SumbawaSumbawaSumbawa is an Indonesian island, located in the middle of the Lesser Sunda Islands chain, with Lombok to the west, Flores to the east, and Sumba further to the southeast. It is in the province of West Nusa Tenggara....
, which is east of Java). There was a novelization with the same title by Michael Avallone. - The 1953 South-seas pirate adventure Fair Wind to JavaFair Wind to JavaFair Wind to Java is a 1953 American adventure film directed by Joseph Kane and starring Fred MacMurray, Vera Ralston, Robert Douglas and Victor McLaglen. An American sailor voyages to search for diamonds on a volcanic island but has to contend with mysteries, pirates and an exploding volcano....
concludes with an escape from the exploding island. - At one point in St. Helens (film), Krakatoa is mentioned in a conversation between the characters David Jackson & Sheriff Wayne Temple.
- A TV movie made in 2008 called Krakatoa, that starred Sasha Waddell, Nick Ewans and Pavel DouglasPavel DouglasPavel Douglas is a Polish-born, British-based actor. He was born in Krakow, Poland, six years after the end of the Second World War, and was naturalised in 1959...
. - There are several videos of Krakatoa uploaded onto YouTubeYouTubeYouTube is a video-sharing website, created by three former PayPal employees in February 2005, on which users can upload, view and share videos....
showing footage of it erupting, and inside its crater filmed at the edge of the volcano rim.
Music
- Swedish-born guitar virtuoso Yngwie J. MalmsteenYngwie J. MalmsteenYngwie Johann Malmsteen is a Swedish guitarist, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist and bandleader. Malmsteen became known for his neo-classical playing approach in heavy metal music which became a new musical style in the early 1980s.- Early life :...
recorded an instrumental song entitled "Krakatau," released on his 1988 album Odyssey. - Krakatoa is mentioned by the New Wave band The B-52'sThe B-52'sThe B-52's are an American rock band, formed in Athens, Georgia in 1976. The original line-up consisted of Fred Schneider , Kate Pierson , Cindy Wilson , Ricky Wilson , and Keith Strickland . Following Ricky Wilson's death in 1985 Strickland switched to guitar...
in their song entitled "Lava," which is featured on their 1979 self-titled debut album. - "Krakatoa" is a mostly-spoken-word song by the band StyxStyx (band)Styx is an American rock band that became famous for its albums from the late 1970s and early 1980s. The Chicago band is known for melding the style of prog-rock with the power of hard rock guitar, strong ballads, and elements of American musical theater....
from the album The Serpent Is RisingThe Serpent Is RisingThe Serpent Is Rising is the third album by Styx, released in 1973. The album was reissued in 1980 with new artwork and a new title, Serpent. The band consider this to be their worst recording...
, and served as the inspiration from which filmmaker George LucasGeorge LucasGeorge Walton Lucas, Jr. is an American film producer, screenwriter, and director, and entrepreneur. He is the founder, chairman and chief executive of Lucasfilm. He is best known as the creator of the space opera franchise Star Wars and the archaeologist-adventurer character Indiana Jones...
created the THXTHXTHX is a trade name of a high-fidelity audio/visual reproduction standard for movie theaters, screening rooms, home theaters, computer speakers, gaming consoles, and car audio systems. The current THX was created in 2001 when it spun off from Lucasfilm Ltd...
audio logo, Deep NoteDeep NoteDeep Note is the name of THX's audio logo, a distinctive synthesized crescendo sound. It was created by Dr. James A. Moorer, then an employee of the Lucasfilm Computer Division, in 1983...
. - KrakatauKrakatau (band)Krakatau is a gamelan-influenced jazz band from Bandung, West Java, Indonesia. The group was formed in 1985 and is unique in that their instruments are all specially tuned to slendro, a pentatonic scale used in Indonesian traditional music...
is a gamelanGamelanA gamelan is a musical ensemble from Indonesia, typically from the islands of Bali or Java, featuring a variety of instruments such as metallophones, xylophones, drums and gongs; bamboo flutes, bowed and plucked strings. Vocalists may also be included....
-influenced jazz band from BandungBandungBandung is the capital of West Java province in Indonesia, and the country's third largest city, and 2nd largest metropolitan area in Indonesia, with a population of 7.4 million in 2007. Located 768 metres above sea level, approximately 140 km southeast of Jakarta, Bandung has cooler...
, West JavaWest JavaWest Java , with a population of over 43 million, is the most populous and most densely populated province of Indonesia. Located on the island of Java, it is slightly smaller in area than densely populated Taiwan, but with nearly double the population...
. - Krakatoa is an Italian DJ set formed by two of the members of the electronic band Motel connection
- Krakatoa is a song by BritishUnited KingdomThe United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
heavy metalHeavy metal musicHeavy metal is a genre of rock music that developed in the late 1960s and early 1970s, largely in the Midlands of the United Kingdom and the United States...
band SaxonSaxon (band)Saxon are an English heavy metal band, formed in 1976 in Barnsley, Yorkshire. As front-runners of the New Wave of British Heavy Metal, they had 8 UK Top 40 albums in the 1980s including 4 UK Top 10 albums. Saxon also had numerous singles in the Top 20 singles chart...
, released only on a "best of"-album. - The Red Clay Ramblers (band) song entitled "Merchant's Lunch" contains the lyric: "an earthquake of excitement shook her Krakatoan hips"
- Krakatoa is mentioned in the title song off of rock band Biohazard's 1999 album "New World Disorder."
Television
- Krakatoa was the setting for a Mighty MouseMighty MouseMighty Mouse is an animated superhero mouse character created by the Terrytoons studio for 20th Century Fox.-History:The character was created by story man Izzy Klein as a super-powered housefly named Superfly. Studio head Paul Terry changed the character into a cartoon mouse instead...
cartoon that featured the song "Krakatoa Katie." - In Time Tunnel episode #6, "Crack of Doom", Tony and Doug try to convince a scientist that the volcano will soon erupt violently.
- In the Doctor WhoDoctor WhoDoctor Who is a British science fiction television programme produced by the BBC. The programme depicts the adventures of a time-travelling humanoid alien known as the Doctor who explores the universe in a sentient time machine called the TARDIS that flies through time and space, whose exterior...
serial InfernoInferno (Doctor Who)Don Houghton came to Terrence Dicks with an idea for the story based on the real life Project Mohole. A smaller budget for the serial drove the idea of a parallel world, where the studio could use the same actors in multiple roles...
, the Third DoctorThird DoctorThe Third Doctor is the third incarnation of the protagonist of the long-running BBC television science-fiction series Doctor Who. He was portrayed by actor Jon Pertwee....
implied that he may have heard the sound of the eruption. In the episode "RoseRose (Doctor Who)"Rose" is the first episode of Series One of the British science-fiction television series Doctor Who. Written by show runner Russell T Davies and directed by Keith Boak, the episode was first broadcast on 26 March 2005....
", a sketch dated 1883 was said to have washed ashore following the eruption; it showed the Ninth DoctorNinth DoctorThe Ninth Doctor is the ninth incarnation of the protagonist of the long-running BBC television science-fiction series Doctor Who. He is played by Christopher Eccleston....
in front of the volcano. - In Fawlty TowersFawlty TowersFawlty Towers is a British sitcom produced by BBC Television and first broadcast on BBC2 in 1975. Twelve television program episodes were produced . The show was written by John Cleese and his then wife Connie Booth, both of whom played major characters...
, a guest is disgruntled over the view from her window, which is in reality a rather picturesque view of TorquayTorquayTorquay is a town in the unitary authority area of Torbay and ceremonial county of Devon, England. It lies south of Exeter along the A380 on the north of Torbay, north-east of Plymouth and adjoins the neighbouring town of Paignton on the west of the bay. Torquay’s population of 63,998 during the...
. She declares she has decided to stay, but expects a reduction in the price of her room. Basil FawltyBasil FawltyBasil Fawlty is the main character of the British sitcom Fawlty Towers, played by John Cleese. The character is often thought of as an iconic British comedy character, and has been deemed unforgettable despite only a dozen half-hour episodes ever being made....
sarcastically questions her, "why, because Krakatoa's not erupting at the moment?!" - In the SpongeBob SquarePantsSpongeBob SquarePantsSpongeBob SquarePants is an American animated television series, created by marine biologist and animator Stephen Hillenburg. Much of the series centers on the exploits and adventures of the title character and his various friends in the underwater city of "Bikini Bottom"...
episode "Mermaid Man and Barnacle Boy V," Squidward becomes "Captain Magma". He says "Krakatoa" before lavaLavaLava refers both to molten rock expelled by a volcano during an eruption and the resulting rock after solidification and cooling. This molten rock is formed in the interior of some planets, including Earth, and some of their satellites. When first erupted from a volcanic vent, lava is a liquid at...
spews out of his volcanoVolcano2. Bedrock3. Conduit 4. Base5. Sill6. Dike7. Layers of ash emitted by the volcano8. Flank| 9. Layers of lava emitted by the volcano10. Throat11. Parasitic cone12. Lava flow13. Vent14. Crater15...
-shaped helmetHelmetA helmet is a form of protective gear worn on the head to protect it from injuries.Ceremonial or symbolic helmets without protective function are sometimes used. The oldest known use of helmets was by Assyrian soldiers in 900BC, who wore thick leather or bronze helmets to protect the head from...
. - In the sitcom SeinfeldSeinfeldSeinfeld is an American television sitcom that originally aired on NBC from July 5, 1989, to May 14, 1998, lasting nine seasons, and is now in syndication. It was created by Larry David and Jerry Seinfeld, the latter starring as a fictionalized version of himself...
, Jerry was auditAuditThe general definition of an audit is an evaluation of a person, organization, system, process, enterprise, project or product. The term most commonly refers to audits in accounting, but similar concepts also exist in project management, quality management, and energy conservation.- Accounting...
ed for claiming a donation to a fraudulent organization helping "Those brave Krakatoans". - In Drop the Dead DonkeyDrop the Dead Donkey- Major characters :* Gus Hedges — The unctuous Chief Executive of the company, and yes-man to Sir Roysten Merchant. A management stereotype, complete with clichés and clumsy metaphors, he swiftly transforms GlobeLink from a serious news network to a ratings-chasing tabloid channel...
, reporter Henry Davenport threatens a rage that would make "Krakatoa sound like an earwigEarwigEarwigs make up the insect order Dermaptera, found throughout the Americas, Africa, Eurasia, Australia and New Zealand. With 1,800 species in 12 families, they are one of the smaller insect orders...
's fartFartFart is an English language vulgarism most commonly used in reference to flatulence. The word "fart" is generally considered unsuitable in a formal environment by modern English speakers, and it may be considered vulgar or offensive in some situations. Fart can be used as a noun or a verb...
" - In an episode of the children's series TUGSTUGSTUGS is a British children's television series, first broadcast in 1988. It was created by the producers of Thomas the Tank Engine and Friends, Robert D. Cardona and David Mitton. The series dealt with the adventures of two anthropomorphized tugboat fleets, the Star Fleet and the Z-Stacks, who...
, the naval tramp steamer Krakatoa explodes on the docks after naval tug Bluenose mishandles its cargo of fuel and munitions.
Video games
- ZX Spectrum game "Krakatoa" was released in 1983, also known as "Escape from Krakatoa", voted CRASH Magazine's new game of the month March 1984.
- In the 1996 SNESSuper Nintendo Entertainment SystemThe Super Nintendo Entertainment System is a 16-bit video game console that was released by Nintendo in North America, Europe, Australasia , and South America between 1990 and 1993. In Japan and Southeast Asia, the system is called the , or SFC for short...
game Donkey Kong Country 3: Dixie Kong's Double Trouble!Donkey Kong Country 3: Dixie Kong's Double Trouble!Donkey Kong Country 3: Dixie Kong's Double Trouble! is a platform game developed by Rare and published by Nintendo and was the third and final installment in the Donkey Kong Country trilogy until Nintendo announced Retro Studios would be developing the next installment, Donkey Kong Country Returns...
, the lost world of that game is a volcanic island by the name of "Krematoa". It is named as such because the enemies inhabiting the island are known as "Kremlings". - Krakatoa is a discoverable wonder in Sid Meier's Civilization V.
- In the city-building game Cities XL 2011Cities XL 2011Cities XL 2011 is a city simulator developed by Focus Home Interactive. Cities XL 2011 is the second game in the Cities XL franchise. The game focuses on a single-player mode, and was released on October 14, 2010...
there is a map of Krakatoa you can build a virtual city on.