{United States
Main article: United States civil defense
In the United States, the Office of Civilian Defense was established in May 1941 to coordinate civilian defense efforts. It coordinated with the Department of the Army and established similar groups to the British ARP. One of these groups that still exists today is the Civil Air Patrol, which was originally created as a civilian auxiliary to the Army. The CAP was created on December 1, 1941, with the main civil defense mission of search and rescue. The CAP also sank two Axis submarines and provided aerial reconnaissance for Allied and neutral merchant ships. In 1946, the Civil Air Patrol was barred from combat by Public Law 79-476. The CAP then received its current mission: search and rescue for downed aircraft. When the Air Force was created, in 1947, the Civil Air Patrol became the auxiliary of the Air Force.
The Coast Guard Auxiliary performs a similar role in support of the U.S. Coast Guard. Like the Civil Air Patrol, the Coast Guard Auxiliary was established in the run up to World War II. Auxiliarists were sometimes armed during the war, and extensively participated in port security operations. After the war, the Auxiliary shifted its focus to promoting boating safety and assisting the Coast Guard in performing search and rescue and marine safety and environmental protection.
In the United States a federal civil defense program existed under Public Law 920 of the 81st Congress, as amended, from 1951 to 1994. That statutory scheme was made so-called all-hazards by Public Law 103–160 in 1993 and largely repealed by Public Law 103–337 in 1994. Parts now appear in Title VI of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act, Public Law 100-107 [1988 as amended]. The term EMERGENCY PREPAREDNESS was largely codified by that repeal and amendment. See 42 USC Sections 5101 and following.
Post–World War II Earth Defense Force 2017. A remastered version, titled Earth Defense Force 4.1: The Shadow of New Despair, was released for PlayStation 4 and Windows in 2016, which includes the original game as well as a new expansion. A Nintendo Switch version was released in Japan in December 2022. A reboot titled Earth Defense Force 5 was released on December 7, 2017.
Gameplay
The player takes control of an EDF soldier from one of four soldier classes. To fight these alien forces the player can access several weapons in the game, ranging from assault rifles and sniper rifles to rocket launchers, grenades, and laser weapons. Only two weapons may be selected for each mission with the exception of the Fencer, who can have four weapons, and the Air Raider, which can have three. The game has more than seven hundred weapons; roughly 175 weapons per soldier class. This the highest weapon count of any EDF. Some levels also contain vehicles which can be operated. The game takes place across levels featuring destructible environments, taking place in settings such as cities, beaches, hills, tunnels and more. There is no penalty for collateral damage that is inflicted on the environment by the player, for instance when buildings crumble after sustaining a few hits from a rocket launcher or grenade. Other EDF soldiers can be recruited or followed, and attack enemies on sight, as well as provide radio chatter. You can also customize the color of your soldier.
There are several difficulty levels. More effective weapons are dropped by the enemies in the game at the higher difficulty levels, encouraging players to repeat the missions. In addition to weapons, armor enhancements which function as permanent maximum health bonuses are dropped along with healing items.
Story
The Earth Defense Force, a unified multinational military sponsored by nearly every country, is founded after detecting an impending alien visit in case the aliens prove to be hostile. In the year 2017, that proved to be true and the EDF fought against the Ravagers, an alien race that attacked Earth with giant insect-like creatures, UFOs, robots and gigantic, 120-foot-tall lizard-like creatures. Eight years after defeating the last Ravager in Arizona (even though the final battle in the previous game was in Japan), they attack again with new creatures, evolved from their underground nest. Among them is the Retiarius, a spider-like creature which makes gigantic spiderwebs, and giant wasps. In the year 2025, the EDF must protect the Earth again from the alien invaders.
Downloadable content
D3 has released several addons for this game. They were originally announced as bonuses for pre-orders of the Japanese version, including exclusive content for purchasing the game at some web retailers. The content is also available for free on PlayStation Store and Xbox Marketplace as of 2015 in a special bundle named "Unstoppable Shooter Satisfaction Pack" (in Europe) or as four separate bundles, one for each class (in North America). There are a total of 8 weapon packs and 3 map packs (also bundled together in a "Season Pass") for a total of 45 additional missions.
Reception
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Reception
The PC version received "generally favorable reviews", while the rest of the console versions received "mixed or average reviews", according to the review aggregation website Metacritic. In Japan, Famitsu gave it a score of one nine, two eights, and one nine for the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 versions; and all four eights for the PlayStation 4 version.
James Cunningham of Hardcore Gamer called the PS3 version "a fantastic example of everything that makes pure action gaming so much fun, packed with replay value and over the top set pieces, and a more than worthy sequel that tops its predecessor in every way."
Forbes gave the PS4 version a score of eight out of ten and called it "a raucous and fun shooter with a different as well as more open ended approach compared to the more scripted movie wannabe type games out there. The dialogue is both silly and endearing and the combat is very satisfying." Shacknews gave the Xbox 360 version a score of six out of ten, saying, "Shortcomings aside, Earth Defense Force 2025 is an action experience that will put a big, stupid grin on your face. Like Starship Troopers, EDF is a campy adventure that doesn't attempt to redefine the paradigm, but offers a reliably good time." However, The Digital Fix gave the PS3 version five out of ten, saying that it "has a fiercely loyal following, and fans are likely to be happy embracing this latest title, bugs and all. For everyone else though, EDF 2025 is the gaming equivalent of Sharktopus: a bargain basement, low-budget cheesefest of the highest order, mildly amusing for a short time, filled with awful lines, and completely forgettable." The Escapist gave the Xbox 360 version two stars out of five, saying that it "tries too hard at not trying hard enough, like one of those awful SyFy mutant movies. It knows it's terrible, and thinks it can get away with it by doubling down on its own awfulness. Clearly, this has worked for some, as the series has a fanbase. I don't get it, though. This is not so bad it's good. It's just plain bad, and there aren't enough giant insects in the world to convince me otherwise."
Slant Magazine gave the Xbox 360 version two-and-a-half stars out of five, saying that "Even though it tries so very hard to jam-pack a pick-up-and-play shooter with missions, weapons, and multiplayer options aplenty, it's a game that has limits to its staying power, leaving the player hungry for something more substantial." However, the same magazine gave the PS4 version three stars out of five, saying that it "doesn't ever completely shy away from using filler material after successfully building so much momentum."
Notes
Known in Japan as Chikyū Bōeigun 4 (Japanese: 地球防衛軍4, lit. Earth Defense Forces 4)
Japanese: 地球防衛軍4.1 THE SHADOW OF NEW DESPAIRザ・シャドウ・オブ・ニュー・ディスペアー, Hepburn: Chikyū Bōeigun
See also: Leon Gouré
Civil Defense literature, such as Fallout Protection, was common during the Cold War era.
In most of the states of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, such as the United States, the United Kingdom and West Germany, as well as the Soviet Bloc, and especially in the neutral countries, such as Switzerland and in Sweden during the 1950s and 1960s, many civil defense practices took place to prepare for the aftermath of a nuclear war, which seemed quite likely at that time.
In the United Kingdom, the Civil Defence Service was disbanded in 1945, followed by the ARP in 1946. With the onset of the growing tensions between East and West, the service was revived in 1949 as the Civil Defence Corps. As a civilian volunteer organization, it was tasked to take control in the aftermath of a major national emergency, principally envisaged as being a Cold War nuclear attack. Although under the authority of the Home Office, with a centralized administrative establishment, the corps was administered locally by Corps Authorities. In general every county was a Corps Authority, as were most county boroughs in England and Wales and large burghs in Scotland.
Each division was divided into several sections, including the Headquarters, Intelligence and Operations, Scientific and Reconnaissance, Warden & Rescue, Ambulance and First Aid and Welfare.
In 1954 Coventry City Council caused international controversy when it announced plans to disband its Civil Defence committee because the councillors had decided that hydrogen bombs meant that there could be no recovery from a nuclear attack. The British government opposed such a move and held a provocative Civil Defence exercise on the streets of Coventry which Labour council members protested against. The government also decided to implement its own committee at the city's cost until the council reinstituted its committee.
In the United States, the sheer power of nuclear weapons and the perceived likelihood of such an attack precipitated a greater response than had yet been required of civil defense. Civil defense, previously considered an important and commonsense step, became divisive and controversial in the charged atmosphere of the Cold War. In 1950, the National Security Resources Board created a 162-page document outlining a model civil defense structure for the U.S. Called the "Blue Book" by civil defense professionals in reference to its solid blue cover, it was the template for legislation and organization for the next 40 years.
Civil Defense literature, such as Survival Under Atomic Attack, was common during the Cold War Era.
Perhaps the most memorable aspect of the Cold War civil defense effort was the educational effort made or promoted by the government. In Duck and Cover, Bert the Turtle advocated that children "duck and cover" when they "see the flash." Booklets such as Survival Under Atomic Attack, Fallout Protection and Nuclear War Survival Skills were also commonplace. The transcribed radio program Stars for Defense combined hit music with civil defense advice. Government institutes created public service announcements including children's songs and distributed them to radio stations to educate the public in case of nuclear attack.
The United States and Soviet Union/Russia nuclear stockpiles, in total number of nuclear bombs/warheads in existence throughout the Cold War and post-Cold War era. However, total deployed US & "Russian" strategic weapons (ready for use) were far less than this, reaching a maximum of about 10,000 apiece in the 1980s.
The US President Kennedy (1961–63) launched an ambitious effort to install fallout shelters throughout the United States. These shelters would not protect against the blast and heat effects of nuclear weapons, but would provide some protection against the radiation effects that would last for weeks and even affect areas distant from a nuclear explosion. In order for most of these preparations to be effective, there had to be some degree of warning. In 1951, CONELRAD (Control of Electromagnetic Radiation) was established. Under the system, a few primary stations would be alerted of an emergency and would broadcast an alert. All broadcast stations throughout the country would be constantly listening to an upstream station and repeat the message, thus passing it from station to station.
In a once classified US war game analysis, looking at varying levels of war escalation, warning and pre-emptive attacks in the late 1950s early 1960s, it was estimated that approximately 27 million US citizens would have been saved with civil defense education. At the time, however, the cost of a full-scale civil defense program was regarded as less effective in cost-benefit analysis than a ballistic missile defense (Nike Zeus) system, and as the Soviet adversary was increasing their nuclear stockpile, the efficacy of both would follow a diminishing returns trend.
Contrary to the largely noncommittal approach taken in NATO, with its stops and starts in civil defense depending on the whims of each newly elected government, the military strategy in the comparatively more ideologically consistent USSR held that, amongst other things, a winnable nuclear war was possible. To this effect the Soviets planned to minimize, as far as possible, the effects of nuclear weapon strikes on its territory, and therefore spent considerably more thought on civil defense preparations than in U.S., with defense plans that have been assessed to be far more effective than those in the U.S.
Soviet Civil Defense Troops played the main role in the massive disaster relief operation following the 1986 Chernobyl nuclear accident. Defense Troop reservists were officially mobilized (as in a case of war) from throughout the USSR to join the Chernobyl task force and formed on the basis of the Kyiv Civil Defense Brigade. The task force performed some high-risk tasks including, with the failure of their robotic machinery, the manual removal Omaha Public Power District, or OPPD, is a public electric utility in the state of Nebraska. It is a publicly owned electric utility in the United States, serving more than 855,000 people in Omaha and 13 surrounding counties in southeast Nebraska. OPPD was formed in 1946 as a political subdivision of the State of Nebraska, taking over the operations of Nebraska Power Company. A publicly elected eight-member Board of Directors sets rates and policies.The Florida Keys are a coral cay archipelago off the southern coast of Florida, forming the southernmost part of the continental United States. They begin at the southeastern coast of the Florida peninsula, about 15 miles (24 km) south of Miami and extend in a gentle arc south-southwest and then westward to Key West, the westernmost of the inhabited islands, and on to the uninhabited Dry Tortugas. The islands lie along the Florida Straits, dividing the Atlantic Ocean to the east from the Gulf of Mexico to the northwest, and defining one edge of Florida Bay. The southern part of Key West is 93 miles (150 km) from Cuba. The Keys are located between about 24.3 and 25.5 degrees North latitude.Nuclear warhead stockpiles of the United States and the Soviet Union/Russia, 1945-2014. These The Florida Keys are a coral cay archipelago off the southern coast of Florida, forming the southernmost part of the continental United States. They begin at the southeastern coast of the Florida peninsula, about 15 miles (24 km) south of Miami and extend in a gentle arc south-southwest and then westward to Key West, the westernmost of the inhabited islands, and on to the uninhabited Dry Tortugas. The islands lie along the Florida Straits, dividing the Atlantic Ocean to the east from the Gulf of Mexico to the northwest, and defining one edge of Florida Bay. The southern part of Key West is 93 miles (150 km) from Cuba. The Keys are located between about 24.3 and 25.5 degrees North latitude.Nuclear warhead stockpiles of the United States and the Soviet Union/Russia, 1945-2014. These numbers are total stockpiles, including warheads that are not actively deployed (that is, including those on reserve status, but not those that are scheduled for dismantlement). The numbers of active/operational warheads could be much smaller: in 2014, about 1,980 for the United States are deployed. Inadequate historical data prohibits long-term distinction between the two, hence lumping all numbers together.
The high for the USA is 32,040 in 1967; the high for the USSR is 45,000 in 1986; the point at which the USSR surpassed the USA in warheads is 1978. Note that raw stockpile totals do not necessarily tell you much about nuclear capabilities; delivery mechanisms and types of weapons can make a big difference (many of the weapons added to the stockpile during the "surge" periods were tactical, not strategic, for example)
The goal of this graph is to give a quick, at-a-glance impression of relative stockpile levels between the two countries; those looking for specifics should consult the raw data (compiled on the discussion page of this image).The former United States Civil Defense logo, last used on the FEMA seal before the creation of the Department of Homeland Security. The abolished Civil Defence Symbol survives in the Universal Prepper Patch UPP symbology of today.Picture of the Civil Defense logo located on the side of the rotator mechanism on a 1003 unit.Uploader unknownExecutive Office of the President, NSRB, Civil Defense Office, 1950. Government Printing Office, Washington.
Issued from the Cleveland Office of CIVIL DEFENSE, Room 121, City Hall.Cover of Fallout Protection: What To Know And Do About Nuclear Attack — an official United States federal government booklet released in December 1961 by the United States Department of Defense and the Office of Civil Defense.WW I poster - "It is far better to face the bullets than to be killed at home by a bomb. Join the army at once & help to stop an air raid. God save the King".Annex I to Protocol Additional I to the Geneva Conventions of 1949: Regulations concerning identification, as amended on 30 November 1993 are total
stockpiles, including warheads that are not actively deployed (that is, including those on reserve status, but not those that are scheduled for dismantlement). The numbers of active/operational warheads could be much smaller: in 2014, about 1,980 for the United States are deployed. Inadequate historical data prohibits long-term distinction between the two, hence lumping all numbers together.
The high for the USA is 32,040 in 1967; the high for the USSR is 45,000 in 1986; the point at which the USSR surpassed the USA in warheads is 1978. Note that raw stockpile totals do not necessarily tell you much about nuclear capabilities; delivery mechanisms and types of weapons can make a big difference (many of the weapons added to the stockpile during the "surge" periods were tactical, not strategic, for example)
The goal of this graph is to give a quick, at-a-glance impression of relative stockpile levels between the two countries; those looking for specifics should consult the raw data (compiled on the discussion page of this image).The former United States Civil Defense logo, last used on the FEMA seal before the creation of the Department of Homeland Security. The abolished Civil Defence Symbol survives in the Universal Prepper Patch UPP symbology of today.Picture of the Civil Defense logo located on the side of the rotator mechanism on a 1003 unit.Uploader unknownExecutive Office of the President, NSRB, Civil Defense Office, 1950. Government Printing Office, Washington.
Issued from the Cleveland Office of CIVIL DEFENSE, Room 121, City Hall.Cover of Fallout Protection: What To Know And Do About Nuclear Attack — an official United States federal government booklet released in December 1961 by the United States Department of Defense and the Office of Civil Defense.WW I poster - "It is far better to face the bullets than to be killed at home by a bomb. Join the army at once & help to stop an air raid. God save the King".Annex I to Protocol Additional I to the Geneva Conventions of 1949: Regulations concerning identification, as amended on 30 November 1993 Civil defense
Protection of citizens from natural disaster and military attack
For the Russian band, see Grazhdanskaya Oborona.
Civil defense or civil protection is an effort to protect the citizens of a state (generally non-combatants) from human-made and natural disasters. It uses the principles of emergency management: prevention, mitigation, preparation, response, or emergency evacuation and recovery. Programs of this sort were initially discussed at least as early as the 1920s and were implemented in some countries during the 1930s as the threat of war and aerial bombardment grew. Civil-defense structures became widespread after authorities recognised the threats posed by nuclear weapons. all united state of America by county overseas water position auction ocean flooded all world remove  Index of /archive/storm_wallets/epacific/ep1988-prelim/john [ICO] Name Last modified Size Description [PARENTDIR] Parent Directory - [IMG] prelim01.gif 1997-03-11 12:39 139K [IMG] prelim02.gif 1997-03-11 12:39 42K [IMG] prelim03.gif 1997-03-11 12:39 74K [IMG] prelim04.gif 1997-03-11 12:39 53K [IMG] prelim05.gif 1997-03-11 12:39 60K The international distinctive sign of civil defense, defined by the rules of international humanitarian law and to be used as a protective sign
Since the end of the Cold War, the focus of civil defense has largely shifted from responding to military attack to dealing with emergencies and disasters in general. The new concept is characterised by a number of terms, each of which has its own specific shade of meaning, such as crisis management, emergency management, emergency preparedness, contingency planning, civil contingency, civil aid and civil protection.
Some countries treat civil defense as a key part of defense in general. For example, total defence refers to the commitment of a wide range of national resources to defense, including the protection of all aspects of civilian life.
History
Origins
United Kingdom
British First World War poster, bringing attention to the threat posed by aerial bombardment from German Zeppelins
The advent of civil defense was stimulated by the experience of the bombing of civilian areas during the First World War. The bombing of the United Kingdom began on 19 January 1915 when German zeppelins dropped bombs on the Great Yarmouth area, killing six people. German bombing operations of the First World War were surprisingly effective, especially after the Gotha bombers surpassed the zeppelins. The most devastating raids inflicted 121 casualties for each ton of bombs dropped; this figure was then used as a basis for predictions.
After the war, attention was turned toward civil defense in the event of war, and the Air Raid Precautions Committee (ARP) was established in 1924 to investigate ways for ensuring the protection of civilians from the danger of air-raids.
The Committee produced figures estimating that in London there would be 9,000 casualties in the first two days and then a continuing rate of 17,500 casualties a week. These rates were thought conservative. It was believed that there would be "total chaos and panic" and hysterical neurosis as the people of London would try to flee the city. To control the population harsh measures were proposed: bringing London under almost military control, and physically cordoning off the city with 120,000 troops to force people back to work. A different government department proposed setting up camps for refugees for a few days before sending them back to London.
A special government department, the Civil Defence Service, was established by the Home Office in 1935. Its remit included the pre-existing ARP as well as wardens, firemen (initially the Auxiliary Fire Service (AFS) and latterly the National Fire Service (NFS)), fire watchers, rescue, first aid post, stretcher party and industry. Over 1.9 million people served within the CD; nearly 2,400 died from enemy action.
Air Raid Warden testing his equipment in Brisbane in October 1942
The organization of civil defense was the responsibility of the local authority. Volunteers were ascribed to different units depending on experience or training. Each local civil defense service was divided into several sections. Wardens were responsible for local reconnaissance and reporting, and leadership, organization, guidance and control of the general public. Wardens would also advise survivors of the locations of rest and food centers, and other welfare facilities.
Rescue Parties were required to assess and then access bombed-out buildings and retrieve injured or dead people. In addition they would turn off gas, electricity and water supplies, and repair or pull down unsteady buildings. Medical services, including First Aid Parties, provided on the spot medical assistance.
The expected stream of information that would be generated during an attack was handled by 'Report and Control' teams. A local headquarters would have an ARP controller who would direct rescue, first aid and decontamination teams to the scenes of reported bombing. If local services were deemed insufficient to deal with the incident then the controller could request assistance from surrounding boroughs.
Fire Guards were responsible for a designated area/building and required to monitor the fall of incendiary bombs and pass on news of any fires that had broken out to the NFS. They could deal with an individual magnesium alloy ("Elektron") incendiary bomb by dousing it with buckets of sand or water or by smothering. Additionally, 'Gas Decontamination Teams' kitted out with gas-tight and waterproof protective clothing were to deal with any gas attacks. They were trained to decontaminate buildings, roads, rail and other material that had been contaminated by liquid or jelly gases.
Anderson shelters were widely distributed in the United Kingdom by civil defense authorities, in preparation for aerial bombardment.
Little progress was made over the issue of air-raid shelters, because of the apparently irreconcilable conflict between the need to send the public underground for shelter and the need to keep them above ground for protection against gas attacks. In February 1936 the Home Secretary appointed a technical Committee on Structural Precautions against Air Attack. During the Munich crisis, local authorities dug trenches to provide shelter. After the crisis, the British Government decided to make these a permanent feature, with a standard design of precast concrete trench lining. They also decided to issue the Anderson shelter free to poorer households and to provide steel props to create shelters in suitable basements.
During the Second World War, the ARP was responsible for the issuing of gas masks, pre-fabricated air-raid shelters (such as Anderson shelters, as well as Morrison shelters), the upkeep of local public shelters, and the maintenance of the blackout. The ARP also helped rescue people after air raids and other attacks, and some women became ARP Ambulance Attendants whose job was to help administer first aid to casualties, search for survivors, and in many grim instances, help recover bodies, sometimes those of their own colleagues.
Jewish Civil Defense group in Jerusalem in 1942. The group served as ARP Fire Wardens, equipped with water hoses and buckets, some wearing FW (Fire Watcher) Brodie helmets. Men are in uniform while women wear plain clothes. Composer Josef Tal stands next to the woman with a black sweater.
As the war progressed, the military effectiveness of Germany's aerial bombardment was very limited. Thanks to the Luftwaffe's shifting aims, the strength of British air defenses, the use of early warning radar and the life-saving actions of local civil defense units, the aerial "Blitz" during the Battle of Britain failed to break the morale of the British people, destroy the Royal Air Force or significantly hinder British industrial production. Despite a significant investment in civil and military defense, British civilian losses during the Blitz were higher than in most strategic bombing campaigns throughout the war. For example, there were 14,000-20,000 UK civilian fatalities during the Battle of Britain, a relatively high number considering that the Luftwaffe dropped only an estimated 30,000 tons of ordinance during the battle. Granted, this resulting 0.47-0.67 civilian fatalities per ton of bombs dropped was lower than the earlier 121 casualties per ton prediction. However, in comparison, Allied strategic bombing of Germany during the war proved slightly less lethal than what was observed in the UK,[dubious – discuss] with an estimated 400,000-600,000 German civilian fatalities for approximately 1.35 million tons of bombs dropped on Germany, an estimated resulting rate therefore of 0.30-0.44 civilian fatalities per ton of bombs dropped.
United States
Main article: United States civil defense
In the United States, the Office of Civilian Defense was established in May 1941 to coordinate civilian defense efforts. It coordinated with the Department of the Army and established similar groups to the British ARP. One of these groups that still exists today is the Civil Air Patrol, which was originally created as a civilian auxiliary to the Army. The CAP was created on December 1, 1941, with the main civil defense mission of search and rescue. The CAP also sank two Axis submarines and provided aerial reconnaissance for Allied and neutral merchant ships. In 1946, the Civil Air Patrol was barred from combat by Public Law 79-476. The CAP then received its current mission: search and rescue for downed aircraft. When the Air Force was created, in 1947, the Civil Air Patrol became the auxiliary of the Air Force.
The Coast Guard Auxiliary performs a similar role in support of the U.S. Coast Guard. Like the Civil Air Patrol, the Coast Guard Auxiliary was established in the run up to World War II. Auxiliarists were sometimes armed during the war, and extensively participated in port security operations. After the war, the Auxiliary shifted its focus to promoting boating safety and assisting the Coast Guard in performing search and rescue and marine safety and environmental protection.
In the United States a federal civil defense program existed under Public Law 920 of the 81st Congress, as amended, from 1951 to 1994. That statutory scheme was made so-called all-hazards by Public Law 103–160 in 1993 and largely repealed by Public Law 103–337 in 1994. Parts now appear in Title VI of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act, Public Law 100-107 [1988 as amended]. The term EMERGENCY PREPAREDNESS was largely codified by that repeal and amendment. See 42 USC Sections 5101 and following.
Post–World War II
See also: Leon Gouré
Civil Defense literature, such as Fallout Protection, was common during the Cold War era.
In most of the states of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, such as the United States, the United Kingdom and West Germany, as well as the Soviet Bloc, and especially in the neutral countries, such as Switzerland and in Sweden during the 1950s and 1960s, many civil defense practices took place to prepare for the aftermath of a nuclear war, which seemed quite likely at that time.
In the United Kingdom, the Civil Defence Service was disbanded in 1945, followed by the ARP in 1946. With the onset of the growing tensions between East and West, the service was revived in 1949 as the Civil Defence Corps. As a civilian volunteer organization, it was tasked to take control in the aftermath of a major national emergency, principally envisaged as being a Cold War nuclear attack. Although under the authority of the Home Office, with a centralized administrative establishment, the corps was administered locally by Corps Authorities. In general every county was a Corps Authority, as were most county boroughs in England and Wales and large burghs in Scotland.
Each division was divided into several sections, including the Headquarters, Intelligence and Operations, Scientific and Reconnaissance, Warden & Rescue, Ambulance and First Aid and Welfare.
In 1954 Coventry City Council caused international controversy when it announced plans to disband its Civil Defence committee because the councillors had decided that hydrogen bombs meant that there could be no recovery from a nuclear attack. The British government opposed such a move and held a provocative Civil Defence exercise on the streets of Coventry which Labour council members protested against. The government also decided to implement its own committee at the city's cost until the council reinstituted its committee.
In the United States, the sheer power of nuclear weapons and the perceived likelihood of such an attack precipitated a greater response than had yet been required of civil defense. Civil defense, previously considered an important and commonsense step, became divisive and controversial in the charged atmosphere of the Cold War. In 1950, the National Security Resources Board created a 162-page document outlining a model civil defense structure for the U.S. Called the "Blue Book" by civil defense professionals in reference to its solid blue cover, it was the template for legislation and organization for the next 40 years.
Civil Defense literature, such as Survival Under Atomic Attack, was common during the Cold War Era.
Perhaps the most memorable aspect of the Cold War civil defense effort was the educational effort made or promoted by the government. In Duck and Cover, Bert the Turtle advocated that children "duck and cover" when they "see the flash." Booklets such as Survival Under Atomic Attack, Fallout Protection and Nuclear War Survival Skills were also commonplace. The transcribed radio program Stars for Defense combined hit music with civil defense advice. Government institutes created public service announcements including children's songs and distributed them to radio stations to educate the public in case of nuclear attack.
The United States and Soviet Union/Russia nuclear stockpiles, in total number of nuclear bombs/warheads in existence throughout the Cold War and post-Cold War era. However, total deployed US & "Russian" strategic weapons (ready for use) were far less than this, reaching a maximum of about 10,000 apiece in the 1980s.
The US President Kennedy (1961–63) launched an ambitious effort to install fallout shelters throughout the United States. These shelters would not protect against the blast and heat effects of nuclear weapons, but would provide some protection against the radiation effects that would last for weeks and even affect areas distant from a nuclear explosion. In order for most of these preparations to be effective, there had to be some degree of warning. In 1951, CONELRAD (Control of Electromagnetic Radiation) was established. Under the system, a few primary stations would be alerted of an emergency and would broadcast an alert. All broadcast stations throughout the country would be constantly listening to an upstream station and repeat the message, thus passing it from station to station.
In a once classified US war game analysis, looking at varying levels of war escalation, warning and pre-emptive attacks in the late 1950s early 1960s, it was estimated that approximately 27 million US citizens would have been saved with civil defense education. At the time, however, the cost of a full-scale civil defense program was regarded as less effective in cost-benefit analysis than a ballistic missile defense (Nike Zeus) system, and as the Soviet adversary was increasing their nuclear stockpile, the efficacy of both would follow a diminishing returns trend.
Contrary to the largely noncommittal approach taken in NATO, with its stops and starts in civil defense depending on the whims of each newly elected government, the military strategy in the comparatively more ideologically consistent USSR held that, amongst other things, a winnable nuclear war was possible. To this effect the Soviets planned to minimize, as far as possible, the effects of nuclear weapon strikes on its territory, and therefore spent considerably more thought on civil defense preparations than in U.S., with defense plans that have been assessed to be far more effective than those in the U.S.
Soviet Civil Defense Troops played the main role in the massive disaster relief operation following the 1986 Chernobyl nuclear accident. Defense Troop reservists were officially mobilized (as in a case of war) from throughout the USSR to join the Chernobyl task force and formed on the basis of the Kyiv Civil Defense Brigade. The task force performed some high-risk tasks including, with the failure of their robotic machinery, the manual removal of highly-radioactive debris. Many of their personnel were later decorated with medals for their work at containing the release of radiation into the environment, with a number[quantify] of the 56 deaths from the accident being Civil defense troops.
The reinforced door of a fallout shelter of the civil protection in Switzerland. As of 2006, there were about 300,000 shelters in private and public buildings for a total of 8.6 million places, a level of coverage corresponding to 114% of the Swiss population.
In Western countries, strong civil defense policies were never properly implemented, because it was fundamentally at odds with the doctrine of "mutual assured destruction" (MAD) by making provisions for survivors.[dubious – discuss] It was also considered that a full-fledged total defense would have not been worth the very large expense. For whatever reason, the public saw efforts at civil defense as fundamentally ineffective against the powerful destructive forces of nuclear weapons, and therefore a waste of time and money, although detailed scientific research programs did underlie the much-mocked government civil defense pamphlets of the 1950s and 1960s.
The Civil Defence Corps was stood down in Great Britain in 1968 due to the financial crisis of the mid-1960s. Its neighbors, however, remained committed to Civil Defence, namely the Isle of Man Civil Defence Corps and Civil Defence Ireland (Republic of Ireland).
In the United States, the various civil defense agencies were replaced with the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) in 1979. In 2002 this became part of the Department of Homeland Security. The focus was shifted from nuclear war to an "all-hazards" approach of Comprehensive Emergency Management. Natural disasters and the emergence of new threats such as terrorism have caused attention to be focused away from traditional civil defense and into new forms of civil protection such as emergency management and homeland security.
Today
Many countries maintain a national Civil Defence Corps, usually having a wide brief for assisting in large scale civil emergencies such as flood, earthquake, invasion, or civil disorder.
After the September 11 attacks in 2001, in the United States the concept of civil defense has been revisited under the umbrella term of homeland security and all-hazards emergency management.
In Europe, the triangle CD logo continues to be widely used. Created in 1939 by Charles Coiner of the N. W. Ayer Advertising Agency, it was used throughout World War II and the Cold War era. In the U.S., 2006 saw the retirement of the old triangle logo, to be replaced with a stylised EM (for emergency management). A reference to the old CD logo (without the red CD letters) can be seen above the eagle's head in the FEMA seal.[citation needed] The name and logo continue to be used by Hawaii State Civil Defense and Guam Homeland Security/Office of Civil Defense. In Great Britain, a charity providing a Civil Defense response was launched during 2015 to fill the gap since the disbandment of the Government run Civil Defense service.
The term "civil protection" is currently widely used within the European Union to refer to government-approved systems and resources tasked with protecting the non-combat population, primarily in the event of natural and technological disasters. For example, the EU's humanitarian aid policy director on the Ebola Crisis, Florika Fink-Hooijer, said that civil protection requires "not just more resources, but first and foremost better governance of the resources that are available including better synergies between humanitarian aid and civil protection". In recent years there has been emphasis on preparedness for technological disasters resulting from terrorist attack. Within EU countries the term "crisis-management" emphasizes the political and security dimension rather than measures to satisfy the immediate needs of the population.
In Australia, civil defense is the responsibility of the volunteer-based State Emergency Service. In most former Soviet countries civil defense is the responsibility of governmental ministries, such as Russia's Ministry of Emergency Situations.
Importance
Relatively small investments in preparation can speed up recovery by months or years and thereby prevent millions of deaths by hunger, cold and disease. According to human capital theory in economics, a country's population is more valuable than all of the land, factories and other assets that it possesses. People rebuild a country after its destruction, and it is therefore important for the economic security of a country that it protect its people. According to psychology, it is important for people to feel as though they are in control of their own destiny, and preparing for uncertainty via civil defense may help to achieve this.
In the United States, the federal civil defense program was authorized by statute and ran from 1951 to 1994. Originally authorized by Public Law 920 of the 81st Congress, it was repealed by Public Law 93–337 in 1994. Small portions of that statutory scheme were incorporated into the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act (Public Law 100–707) which partly superseded in part, partly amended, and partly supplemented the Disaster Relief Act of 1974 (Public Law 93-288). In the portions of the civil defense statute incorporated into the Stafford Act, the primary modification was to use the term "Emergency Preparedness" wherever the term "Civil Defence" had previously appeared in the statutory language.
An important concept initiated by President Jimmy Carter was the so-called "Crisis Relocation Program" administered as part of the federal civil defense program. That effort largely lapsed under President Ronald Reagan, who discontinued the Carter initiative because of opposition from areas potentially hosting the relocated population.
Threat assessment
Threats to civilians and civilian life include NBC (Nuclear, Biological, and Chemical warfare) and others, like the more modern term CBRN (Chemical Biological Radiological and Nuclear). Threat assessment involves studying each threat so that preventative measures can be built into civilian life.
Conventional
Refers to conventional explosives. A blast shelter designed to protect only from radiation and fallout would be much more vulnerable to conventional explosives. See also fallout shelter.
Nuclear
Shelter intended to protect against nuclear blast effects would include thick concrete and other sturdy elements which are resistant to conventional explosives. The biggest threats from a nuclear attack are effects from the blast, fires and radiation. One of the most prepared countries for a nuclear attack is Switzerland. Almost every building in Switzerland has an abri (shelter) against the initial nuclear bomb and explosion followed by the fall-out. Because of this, many people use it as a safe to protect valuables, photos, financial information and so on. Switzerland also has air-raid and nuclear-raid sirens in every village.
Dirty Bomb
A "radiologically enhanced weapon", or "dirty bomb", uses an explosive to spread radioactive material. This is a theoretical risk, and such weapons have not been used by terrorists. Depending on the quantity of the radioactive material, the dangers may be mainly psychological. Toxic effects can be managed by standard hazmat techniques.
Biological
The threat here is primarily from disease-causing microorganisms such as bacteria and viruses.
Chemical
Various chemical agents are a threat, such as nerve gas (VX, Sarin, and so on.).
Stages
Mitigation
Civil defense logo on an Air raid siren control box in Kansas, USCivil Defense logo on a Thunderbolt 1003 siren
Mitigation is the process of actively preventing war or the release of nuclear weapons. It includes policy analysis, diplomacy, political measures, nuclear disarmament and more military responses such as a National Missile Defense and air defense artillery. In the case of counter-terrorism, mitigation would include diplomacy, intelligence gathering and direct action against terrorist groups. Mitigation may also be reflected in long-term planning such as the design of the interstate highway system and the placement of military bases further away from populated areas.
Preparation
Preparation consists of building blast shelters and pre-positioning information, supplies, and emergency infrastructure. For example, most larger cities in the U.S. now have underground emergency operations centers that can perform civil defense coordination. FEMA also has many underground facilities for the same purpose located near major railheads such as the ones in Denton, Texas and Mount Weather, Virginia.
Other measures would include continual government inventories of grain silos, the Strategic National Stockpile, the uncapping of the Strategic Petroleum Reserve, the dispersal of lorry-transportable bridges, water purification, mobile refineries, mobile de-contamination facilities, mobile general and special purpose disaster mortuary facilities such as Disaster Mortuary Operational Response Team (DMORT) and DMORT-WMD, and other aids such as temporary housing to speed civil recovery.
On an individual scale, one means of preparation for exposure to nuclear fallout is to obtain potassium iodide (KI) tablets as a safety measure to protect the human thyroid gland from the uptake of dangerous radioactive iodine. Another measure is to cover the nose, mouth and eyes with a piece of cloth and sunglasses to protect against alpha particles, which are only an internal hazard.
To support and supplement efforts at national, regional and local level with regard to disaster prevention, the preparedness of those responsible for civil protection and the intervention in the event of disaster
To establish a framework for effective and rapid cooperation between different civil protection services when mutual assistance is needed (police, fire service, healthcare service, public utility provider, voluntary agencies)
To set up and implement training programs for intervention and coordination teams as well as assessment experts including joint courses and exchange systems
To enhance the coherence of actions undertaken at international level in the field of civil protection, especially in the context of cooperation
Preparing also includes sharing information:
To contribute to informing the public, in view of increasing citizens' level of self-protection
To collect and disseminate validated emergency information
To pool information on national civil protection capabilities, military and medical resources
To ensure efficient information sharing between the different authorities
Response
Response consists first of warning civilians so they can enter fallout shelters and protect assets.
Staffing a response is always full of problems in a civil defense emergency. After an attack, conventional full-time emergency services are dramatically overloaded, with conventional fire fighting response times often exceeding several days. Some capability is maintained by local and state agencies, and an emergency reserve is provided by specialized military units, especially civil affairs, Military Police, Judge Advocates and combat engineers.
However, the traditional response to massed attack on civilian population centers is to maintain a mass-trained force of volunteer emergency workers. Studies in World War II showed that lightly trained (40 hours or less) civilians in organised teams can perform up to 95% of emergency activities when trained, liaised and supported by local government. In this plan, the populace rescues itself from most situations, and provides information to a central office to prioritize professional emergency services.
In the 1990s, this concept was revived by the Los Angeles Fire Department to cope with civil emergencies such as earthquakes. The program was widely adopted, providing standard terms for organization. In the U.S., this is now official federal policy, and it is implemented by community emergency response teams, under the Department of Homeland Security, which certifies training programs by local governments, and registers "certified disaster service workers" who complete such training.
Recovery
Recovery consists of rebuilding damaged infrastructure, buildings and production. The recovery phase is the longest and ultimately most expensive phase. Once the immediate "crisis" has passed, cooperation fades away and recovery efforts are often politicized or seen as economic opportunities.
Preparation for recovery can be very helpful. If mitigating resources are dispersed before the attack, cascades of social failures can be prevented. One hedge against bridge damage in riverine cities is to subsidize a "tourist ferry" that performs scenic cruises on the river. When a bridge is down, the ferry takes up the load.
Civil defense organizations
The old United States civil defense logo. The triangle emphasized the 3-step Civil Defense philosophy used before the foundation of FEMA and Comprehensive Emergency Management.
Civil Defense is also the name of a number of organizations around the world dedicated to protecting civilians from military attacks, as well as to providing rescue services after natural and human-made disasters alike.
Worldwide protection is managed by the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA).
In a few countries such as Jordan and Singapore (see Singapore Civil Defence Force), civil defense is essentially the same organization [clarification needed] as the fire brigade. In most countries, however, civil defense is a government-managed, volunteer-staffed organization, separate from the fire brigade and the ambulance service.
As the threat of Cold War eased, a number of such civil defense organizations have been disbanded or mothballed (as in the case of the Royal Observer Corps in the United Kingdom and the United States civil defense), while others have changed their focuses into providing rescue services after natural disasters (as for the State Emergency Service in Australia). However, the ideals of Civil Defense [clarification needed] have been brought back in the United States under FEMA's Citizen Corps and Community Emergency Response Team (CERT).
In the United Kingdom Civil Defence work is carried out by Emergency Responders under the Civil Contingencies Act 2004, with assistance from voluntary groups such as Joint Civil Aid Corps, RAYNET, Search and Rescue Teams and 4x4 Response. In Ireland, the Civil Defence is still very much an active organization and is occasionally called upon for its Auxiliary Fire Service and ambulance/rescue services when emergencies such as flash flooding occur and require additional manpower. The organization has units of trained firemen and medical responders based in key areas around the country.
By country
Main article: Civil defense by country
See also
The American Civil Defense Association
French Civil Protection
Blast shelter
Civil-defense Geiger counters
Civil defense siren
Collective protection
Continuity of government
Critical infrastructure protection
Effects of nuclear explosions on human health
Emergency management
Fallout shelter
International Civil Defence Organization
Mass fatality incident
State Council of Civil Defense
List of civil defense ranks
General:
Nuclear warfare
Nuclear holocaust
Nuclear terrorism
Industrial antiterrorism
Infrastructure security
Survivalism
Weapon of mass destruction
Notes and references
External links
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Moonrise Kingdom
2012 American film
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Quick Facts Moonrise Kingdom, Directed by ...
Moonrise Kingdom is a 2012 American coming-of-age comedy-drama film directed by Wes Anderson, written by Anderson and Roman Coppola, and starring Bruce Willis, Edward Norton, Bill Murray, Frances McDormand, Tilda Swinton, Jason Schwartzman, Bob Balaban, and introducing Jared Gilman and Kara Hayward. Largely set on the fictional island of New Penzance somewhere off the coast of New England, it tells the story of an orphan boy (Gilman) who escapes from a scouting camp to unite with his pen pal and love interest, a girl with aggressive tendencies (Hayward). Feeling alienated from their guardians and shunned by their peers, the lovers abscond to an isolated beach. Meanwhile, the island's police captain (Willis) organizes a search party of scouts and family members to locate the runaways.
In crafting their screenplay, Anderson and Coppola drew from personal experiences and memories of childhood fantasies as well as films including Melody (1971) and The 400 Blows (1959). Auditions for child actors took eight months, and filming took place in Rhode Island over three months in 2011.
Moonrise Kingdom premiered at the 2012 Cannes Film Festival and received critical acclaim, with its themes of young love, child sexuality, juvenile mental health, and the Genesis flood narrative being praised. Critics cited the film's color palette and use of visual symmetry as well as the use of original composition by Alexandre Desplat to supplement existing music by Benjamin Britten. It was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay and the Golden Globe for Best Musical or Comedy. In 2016, the BBC included the film in its list of greatest films of the twenty-first century.
Plot
On the New England island of New Penzance, 12-year-old orphan Sam Shakusky attends Camp Ivanhoe, a Khaki Scout summer camp led by Scout Master Randy Ward. Suzy Bishop, also 12, lives on the island with her parents Walt and Laura, both lawyers, and her three younger brothers in a house called Summer's End.
Sam and Suzy, both introverted, intelligent, and mature for their age, meet in the summer of 1964 during a church performance of Noye's Fludde and become pen pals. The relationship becomes romantic over the course of their correspondence, and they make a secret pact to reunite and run away together. In September 1965, they execute their plan. Sam escapes from Camp Ivanhoe while Suzy runs away from Summer's End. The pair rendezvous, hike, camp, and fish in the wilderness with the goal of reaching a specific location.
Meanwhile, the Khaki Scouts have become aware of Sam's absence, finding a letter he left behind stating he has resigned. Scout Master Ward tells the Khaki Scouts to use their skills to set up a search party and find Sam. Island Police Captain Duffy Sharp and Ward contact Sam's guardians the Billingsleys, learning they are actually his foster parents and Sam is an orphan with a history of behavioral issues at home.
Eventually, a group of Khaki Scouts confronts Sam and Suzy and tries to capture them. During the resulting altercation, Suzy injures the Scouts' de facto leader Redford with a pair of scissors, and a stray arrow fired by one of the Scouts kills Camp Ivanhoe's dog Snoopy. The Scouts flee, and Sam and Suzy hike to Mile 3.25 Tidal Inlet which they name "Moonrise Kingdom." They set up camp and as the romantic tension between them grows, they dance on the beach and share each other's first kiss.
Suzy's parents, Ward, the Scouts, and Sharp finally find Sam and Suzy in their tent the next morning. Suzy's parents take her home. Ward gives Sam a letter from the Billingsleys stating that they no longer wish to house Sam. He stays with Sharp while they await the arrival of a Social Services worker, who will likely place Sam in an orphanage and possibly treat him with electroshock therapy.
While in their treehouse, the Camp Ivanhoe Scouts have a change of heart and decide to help Suzy and Sam. They help Suzy and Sam sneak out and then together paddle to neighboring St. Jack Wood Island to seek out the help of Ben, an older cousin of the scout Skotak. Ben works at Fort Lebanon, a larger Khaki Scout summer camp on St. Jack Wood Island run by Ward's superior, Commander Pierce. Ben decides to try to take Sam and Suzy to a crabbing boat anchored off the island so that Sam can work as a crewman and avoid Social Services. He performs a wedding ceremony, which he claims is not "legally" binding, before they leave. Sam, Suzy, and Ben set off for the crabbing boat in a sailboat, but quickly return so that Sam can retrieve Suzy's binoculars. As Sam returns to the camp chapel to look for the binoculars, he is confronted by Redford, who alerts the camp to Sam and Suzy's presence. Suzy's parents, Captain Sharp, Social Services, and the Scouts of Fort Lebanon, under the command of Ward, pursue them.
A violent hurricane and flash flood strike, and Sharp apprehends Sam and Suzy on the steeple of the church in which they first met. Lightning destroys the steeple, but Sharp saves them. During the storm, he decides to become Sam's legal guardian. The hurricane erases Mile 3.25 Tidal Inlet from the map. At Summer's End, Sam is upstairs painting a landscape of Moonrise Kingdom. Suzy and her brothers are called to dinner, while Sam slips out of the window to join Sharp in his patrol car, telling Suzy he will see her the following day.
Cast
Bruce Willis as Captain Sharp
Edward Norton as Scout Master Ward
Bill Murray as Mr. Bishop
Frances McDormand as Mrs. Bishop
Tilda Swinton as Social Services
Jason Schwartzman as Cousin Ben
Bob Balaban as Narrator
Jared Gilman as Sam
Kara Hayward as Suzy
Lucas Hedges as Redford
Charlie Kilgore as Lazy-Eye
Andreas Sheikh as Panagle
Chandler Frantz as Gadge
Robert Hadlock as Deluca
L.J. Foley as Izod
Gabriel Rush as Skotak
Seamus Davey-Fitzpatrick as Roosevelt
Tommy Nelson as Nickelby
Larry Pine as Howard Billingsley
Marianna Bassham as Becky
Neal Huff as Jed
Eric Chase Anderson as Secretary McIntire
Jake Ryan as Lionel
Tanner Flood as Murray
Ryatt Ralff as Rudy
Liz Callahan as Mrs. Billingsley
Ada-Nicole Sanger as Sparrow
Harvey Keitel as Commander Pierce
Cooper Murray as Indian Chief Khaki Scout
Steve Smith as the voice of the Weather Man
Production
Development
Director Wes Anderson had long been interested in depicting a romance between children. He described the starting idea for the story as a memory of fantasized young love:
I remember this feeling, from when I was that age and from when I was in fifth grade, but nothing really happened. I just experienced the period of dreaming about what might happen, when I was at that age. I feel like the movie could really be something that was envisioned by one of these characters.
When he was 12, Anderson lived in Texas with two brothers. His parents were separating, and influenced his later depictions of crumbling marriages. He was briefly a Scout, and had acted Noye's Fludde, an opera for children about Noah's Ark. A childhood incident inspired the scene where Suzy reveals her parents' book Coping with the Very Troubled Child. He found a similarly titled book belonging to his father and remarked, "I immediately knew who that troubled child was."
After working on the screenplay for a year, Anderson said he had completed 15 pages and appealed to his The Darjeeling Limited collaborator Roman Coppola for help; they finished in one month. Coppola drew on memories of his mother Eleanor in giving Mrs. Bishop a bullhorn to communicate inside the house. Anderson described the 1965 setting as randomly chosen, but added it fit the subject of the Scouts and the feel of a "Norman Rockwell-type of Americana". While preparing the script Anderson also viewed films about young love for inspiration, including Black Jack, Small Change, A Little Romance and Melody. François Truffaut's 1959 French film The 400 Blows about juvenile delinquency was also an influence.
After his 2009 film Fantastic Mr. Fox underperformed, Anderson said he had to pitch Moonrise Kingdom with a smaller budget than he would have otherwise requested. The budget was US$16 million, and his producers Steven Rales and Scott Rudin agreed to back the project.
Casting
The crew scheduled a substantial amount of time for casting the Sam and Suzy characters. Anderson expressed apprehension about the process saying, "there's no movie, if we don't find the perfect kids". The auditions took eight months at different schools. Anderson chose Jared Gilman finding him "immediately funny" thanks to his glasses and long hair, and for his voice and personality at the audition. Kara Hayward was cast because she read from the screenplay and spoke naturally as if it was real life. Hayward had seen Anderson's 2001 The Royal Tenenbaums and interpreted Suzy as having a secretive nature, similar to that of Margot played by Gwyneth Paltrow. All the child actors were novices. Anderson believed they had never even auditioned before. He put the successful candidates through months-long rehearsals. He assigned Hayward book reading, and had Gilman practice scouting skills. Although Anderson could not envision one young auditioner, Lucas Hedges, as Sam, he felt the boy was talented enough to be given an important role and cast him as Redford.
Bill Murray and Jason Schwartzman were regular actors in Anderson's filmography. Schwartzman said he accepted the role of Cousin Ben without asking for a larger part, because in his experience Anderson always planned thoroughly what was best for his films, including casting characters. Unlike Murray and Schwartzman, Bruce Willis, Edward Norton, Frances McDormand and Tilda Swinton had not worked with Anderson. Journalist Jacob Weisberg characterized them as "the ensemble cast". While Anderson said that he wrote the part of Captain Sharp imagining the deceased James Stewart playing him, he thought Willis could be the "iconic policeman" once the screenplay was completed. Willis said he had seen all of Anderson's films and was interested in collaborating with the director. Anderson also hoped Norton would play Scout Master Ward, commenting, "he was somebody who I thought of as a scoutmaster ... He looks like he has been painted by Norman Rockwell." In June 2011, it was reported Harvey Keitel joined the cast after most of the other principal actors.
Pre-production
Maps were among the props designed for the production.
In the film, 12-year-old Suzy packs six fictitious storybooks she stole from the public library. Six artists were commissioned to create the jacket covers for the books, and Wes Anderson wrote passages for each of them. Suzy is shown reading aloud from three of the books during the film. Anderson had considered incorporating animation for the reading scenes but chose to show her reading with the other actors listening spellbound. In April 2012, Anderson decided to animate all six books and use them in a promotional video where the film's narrator Bob Balaban introduces each segment.
Anderson described designing the maps for the fictitious New Penzance Island and St. Jack Wood Island saying: "It's weird because you'd think that you could make a fake island and map it, and it would be a simple enough matter, but to make it feel like a real thing, it just always takes a lot of attention." In addition to the books and maps, Anderson said the crew spent a substantial amount of time creating the watercolor paintings, needle-points and other original props. He wanted to ensure that even if a prop is only briefly seen in the film "you kind of feel whether or not they've got the layers of the real thing in them".
The costumes for Suzy and Sam are based on photographs from the 1960s and Boy Scouts.
Anderson used Google Earth for initial location scouting, searching for places where they could find Suzy's house and "naked wildlife", considering Canada, Michigan and New England. The filmmakers running the Google search also looked at Cumberland Island in Georgia, and the Thousand Islands. Camp Yawgoog, an actual Scout camp in Rhode Island, served as the inspiration for the Khaki Scout sets, and many items were borrowed from the camp for props.
Kasia Walicka-Maimone was the costume designer. Anderson presented her with concepts of how the characters should look. She drew on photographs from the 1960s and the uniforms of Boy Scouts when designing Suzy and Sam's costumes. (Their characters inspired many Halloween costumes in 2012.) While the filmmakers planned to model the animal costumes on those in real Noye's Fludde productions, they decided instead to fashion them as if they were made for U.S. schools, consulting photographs from Anderson's former school.
Filming
Conanicut Island Light was the model for Suzy's house.
Principal photography took place in Rhode Island from April to June 2011. The film was shot at various locations around Narragansett Bay, Rhode Island, including: Conanicut Island, Prudence Island, Fort Wetherill, Yawgoog Scout Reservation, Trinity Church, and Newport's Ballard Park. A house in the Thousand Islands region in New York was used as the model for the interior of Suzy's house on the film's set. The set for the Bishop home was constructed and filmed inside a former Linens 'n Things store in Middletown, Rhode Island. Conanicut Island Light, a decommissioned Rhode Island lighthouse, was used for the exterior. Cinematographer Robert Yeoman shot the film on Super 16mm with a 1.85:1 aspect ratio, as opposed to Anderson's usual 35mm anamorphic format, using Aaton Xterà and A-Minima cameras. Anderson said the Aaton cameras were ideal for photographing child actors, as they were roughly the same height as the camera set up.
According to Anderson, the kissing scene between Sam and Suzy was not rehearsed so it could be "spontaneous"; it was the first kiss, on or off screen, for both actors. Hayward was given the cat seen in the film as a pet after the production was concluded.
Themes
Noye's Fludde is referenced in the film.
Professor Peter C. Kunze wrote that the story depicts "preteen romance", exploring child sexuality in the vein of The Blue Lagoon. Several critics interpreted the ear-piercing scene as symbolizing the characters losing their virginity. Author Carol Siegel judged the portrayal to be a positive take on "youthful sexual initiation", from a mainly male perspective, but like many other U.S. films she said it missed a female perspective. Academic Timothy Shary placed the story in the cinematic tradition of exploring "young romance" and the resulting strife, with Titanic (1997) and Boys Don't Cry (1999).
The film scholar Kim Wilkins rejected the notion that Moonrise Kingdom is a romance film. She argued the severity of Sam and Suzy's behavior, and their "profound existential anxiety", indicate the characters were created as products of a more widespread concern for juvenile mental health. Wilkins wrote that the story dealt with "existential" questions, with the two young protagonists rejected by society and allying to escape to "a limited existence beyond its boundaries". According to a Chicago Tribune analysis, Moonrise Kingdom represented Anderson's most focused study on a theme running through his work, "the feelings of misunderstood, unconventional children".
J.M. Tyree of Film Quarterly argued the story illustrated both an affinity with and "arch skepticism" of the "comedy of love", where in Shakespearean comedy lovers, after courtship and marriage, would "return to a reconstituted civilized order". Sam and Suzy escape civilization but are always taken "back into twisted knots of communal ties". Critic Geoffrey O'Brien wrote that, while camps are common settings for stories about "innocence" lost, the truer theme was "the awakening of the first radiance of mature intelligence in a world liable to be indifferent or hostile to it".
The narrative features collapsing families, represented by the Bishops' failing marriage. Professor Emma Mason suggested their large house serves as a "mausoleum-like shelter". Sam is also disowned by his foster family for behaviors like arson while sleepwalking. While he told Suzy "I feel like I'm in a family now", academic Donna Kornhaber argued Sam, as an orphan, has a realistic perspective on the difficulties of building a family. As an adoptive father Sharp may not be ready, Tyree wrote, "but [his] lack of self-centeredness sets him apart from other would-be fathers or mentors in Anderson's world".
Professor Laura Shakelford observed how Suzy as the raven in Noye's Fludde is followed by a historic rainstorm echoing Noah's flood. Scholar Anton Karl Kozlovic suggested that while the film includes no quotes from the Book of Genesis and no shots of a copy of the Book, Noah's story is used for symbolism. The children dress as animals before floods cause them to seek shelter in the church, Kozlovic observed. Following the Genesis narrative, after the New Penzance flood, there is "abundant regeneration" with great harvests of high-quality produce. Shakelford read the story as a commentary on the characters grappling with the relationship between "the material world" in "postmodern cultures" and that of animals.
Style
Roger Ebert wrote the color scheme emphasized khaki and green.
Academic James MacDowell evaluated the film's style as displaying "the director's trademark flat, symmetrical, tableau framings of carefully arranged characters within colorful, fastidiously decorated sets" with "patent unnaturalism and self-consciousness". Considering the emphasis on symmetry (as opposed to other photographic composition strategies such as the rule of thirds) and color, authors Stephanie Williams and Christen Vidanovic wrote, "Almost every frame in this movie could be a beautiful photograph." Critic Robbie Collin added that besides the symmetry, many shots are "busy with detail, and if something visually dull has to happen, Anderson embellishes it: when Sam and Suzy retreat to have a quiet heart-to-heart, he places their silent conversation on the left hand side of the frame and an enthusiastic young trampolinist on the right". Roger Ebert identified the color scheme as emphasizing green in the grass, khaki in the Scouts camp and uniforms, and some red, creating "the feeling of magical realism".
Scholar Nicolas Llano Linares wrote that Anderson's films are "distinctively andersonian to the limit", "filled with ornate elements that create particular worlds that define the tone of the story, the visual and material dimensions of his sets". Linares particularly commented on the use of the animated maps, which make Anderson's universe more credible, and also have metaphorical significance. Macdowell pointed to the characters' books and the production of Noye's Fludde as examples of the "indulgent, excessive, yet attractive neatness" that children in Anderson's films enjoy. He also interpreted the animated maps as showing a naïve style.
In the scene where the Khaki Scouts meet with Cousin Ben, writer Michael Frierson observed how the tracking shot is combined with "clipped, military dialogue". The tents in the background in the tracking shot are in symmetry. Frierson also judged the moving camera as "smooth, stabilized". Joshua Gooch observed the dissolve between Sam's artwork and the Moonrise Kingdom beach tied together art with desire.
The dialogue is similarly "stylized" and "mannered" as in other Anderson films, which O'Brien viewed as fitting for "alienated twelve-year-olds who, on top of everything else, must invent a way to communicate with each other". This dialogue is spoken with "self-aware deadpan" performances.
Soundtrack
Main articles: Moonrise Kingdom (soundtrack) and Moonrise Kingdom (score)
Alexandre Desplat composed the original score, with percussion compositions by frequent Anderson collaborator Mark Mothersbaugh. The film's final credits feature a deconstructed rendition of Desplat's original soundtrack in the style of English composer Benjamin Britten's Young Person's Guide, accompanied by a child's voice to introduce each instrumental section.
The soundtrack also features music by Britten, a composer notable for his many works for children's voices. At Cannes, during the post-screening press conference, Anderson said: "The Britten music had a huge effect on the whole movie, I think. The movie's sort of set to it. The play of Noye's Fludde that is performed in it—my older brother and I were actually in a production of that when I was ten or eleven, and that music is something I've always remembered, and made a very strong impression on me. It is the color of the movie in a way.
With many Britten tracks taken from recordings conducted or supervised by the composer himself, the music includes The Young Person's Guide to the Orchestra (Introduction/Theme; Fugue), conducted by Leonard Bernstein; Friday Afternoons ("Cuckoo"; "Old Abram Brown"); Simple Symphony ("Playful Pizzicato"); Noye's Fludde (various excerpts, including the processions of animals into and out of the ark, and "The spacious firmament on high"); and A Midsummer Night's Dream ("On the ground, sleep sound"). Also featured are extracts from Saint-Saëns's Le Carnaval des animaux, Franz Schubert's "An die Musik", Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart's opera Così fan tutte and tracks by Hank Williams. The soundtrack album reached number 187 on Billboard's Top Current Albums chart.
Release
Director and stars at the 2012 Cannes Film Festival
Focus Features acquired world rights to the independently produced film. Moonrise Kingdom premiered on May 16, 2012, as the opening film at the 2012 Cannes Film Festival, Anderson's first film to be screened there. Studio Canal released the film in French theaters on the same day. The U.S. limited release followed on May 25, in New York City and Los Angeles. A short film, Cousin Ben Troop Screening with Jason Schwartzman, also directed by Anderson, was released on Funny or Die to promote the film. By its fifth week, the release was expanded to 395 theaters.
In Region 1 Moonrise Kingdom was released on DVD and Blu-ray by Universal Studios Home Entertainment on October 16, 2012, with featurettes like "A Look Inside Moonrise Kingdom". The Criterion Collection released both a DVD and Blu-ray with a 2K restoration on September 22, 2015.
Reception
Box office
In its opening weekend, Moonrise Kingdom earned $523,006 in four theaters, setting a record for the greatest gross per theater average for a live action film of $167,371. After five weeks, it made $11.6 million. By September, it grossed $43.7 million, doubling that of Anderson's Fantastic Mr. Fox.
Finishing its theatrical run on November 1, 2012, Moonrise Kingdom had grossed $45,512,466 domestically and $22,750,700 in international markets for a worldwide total of $68,263,166. It was Anderson's highest-grossing film in North America.
Critical response
Review aggregation website Rotten Tomatoes gives the film an approval rating of 94% based on reviews from 262 critics, with an average score of 8.24/10. The consensus states, "Warm, whimsical, and poignant, the immaculately framed and beautifully acted Moonrise Kingdom presents writer/director Wes Anderson at his idiosyncratic best." Review aggregation website Metacritic gives the film a weighted average score of 84 out of 100, based on 43 reviews, indicating "universal acclaim". Moonrise Kingdom was also listed on many critics' top 10 lists of the year. In 2016, it was voted 95th in an international critics' poll, the BBC's 100 Greatest Films of the 21st Century.
Roger Ebert rated the film three-and-a-half stars, praising the creation of an island world that "might as well be ruled by Prospero". A devoted fan of Anderson, Richard Brody hailed Moonrise Kingdom as "a leap ahead, artistically and personally" for the director, for its "expressly transcendent theme" and its spiritual references to Noah's Ark. Peter Bradshaw of The Guardian gave the film four stars out of five, calling it "another sprightly confection of oddities, attractively eccentric, witty and strangely clothed". The New York Times's Manohla Dargis reviewed Anderson and Coppola's screenplay as a "beautifully coordinated admixture of droll humor, deadpan and slapstick". Peter Travers positively reviewed the actors' performances, calling Norton engaging, Balaban "delightful" and Willis agreeable. Travers also credited cinematographer Yeoman for "a poet's eye" and composer Alexandre Desplat for his contributions. As novice actors, Jared Gilman and Kara Hayward also received praise. The Daily Telegraph's review stated it was "exhilarating" to see different elements combined, such as the music of Britten and Hank Williams. It called the end result "an extraordinarily affected piece of filmmaking". The Hollywood Reporter's review by Todd McCarthy described the film as an "eccentric, pubescent love story", "impeccably made". For Empire, Nev Pierce declared it "a delightful film of innocence lost and regained". Christopher Orr of The Atlantic wrote that Moonrise Kingdom was "Anderson's best live-action feature" and that it "captures the texture of childhood summers, the sense of having a limited amount of time in which to do unlimited things". Kristen M. Jones of Film Comment wrote that the film "has a spontaneity and yearning that lend an easy comic rhythm", but it also has a "rapt quality, as if we are viewing the events through Suzy's binoculars or reading the story under the covers by a flashlight".
Dissenting, Leonard Maltin wrote the "self-consciously clever to a fault" approach to depicting the children gave him "an emotional distance" to them. Rex Reed dismissed it as "juvenile gibberish" displaying "lunatic fragments of surrealism". Postmedia News' Katherine Monk gave a mixed review, calling it "kind-hearted and heavily contrived".
In later years, IndieWire placed Scout Master Ward in Anderson's top 10 most memorable characters in 2015, at ninth place, calling him "completely charming"; the same list also identified Suzy as "one of Anderson's best-drawn female characters". Chuck Bowen of Slant Magazine judged Moonrise Kingdom and The Grand Budapest Hotel as exemplifying Anderson's new leaner style (compared to what Bowen called "bloated speechifying" of past films) and credited editor Andrew Weisblum for "precise, unsentimental editing". In 2018, Variety named Moonrise Kingdom as Anderson's seventh best of nine films, saying Sam and Suzy did not feel real.
Accolades
Main article: List of accolades received by Moonrise Kingdom
Wes Anderson and Roman Coppola were jointly nominated for the Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay.
At Cannes, the film was in competition for the Palme d'Or, although the only award it won there was the unofficial "Palme de Whiskers" in recognition of the cat, "Tabitha". In anticipation of the 85th Academy Awards, journalist Lindsey Bahr called Moonrise Kingdom a "wild card" in the awards campaign given it received no nominations at the Screen Actors Guild or Directors Guild, but had won the Gotham Independent Film Award for Best Feature. Early in the campaign, it was a contender for a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Picture. Anderson and Coppola were ultimately nominated for the Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay.
The film was also nominated for the Golden Globe for Best Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy. It received five nominations at the 28th Independent Spirit Awards, including for Best Feature, and two nominations at the 17th Satellite Awards, including Best Film.
Controversy
The Huffington Post journalist Mina Zaher criticized the depiction of the sexual awakening between Sam and Suzy, expressing discomfort with the scene where Sam touches Suzy's breasts, calling it "a step further or perhaps too far". Zaher questioned if the children's sexuality could have been portrayed in a more appropriate way. Reviewing the scene where the characters dance wearing only their underwear, the Catholic News Service stated "The interlude doesn't quite cross over into the full-blown exploitation of children, but it teeters on that edge". Professor Carol Siegel summed up the portrayal as "delicate and to a large extent inoffensive".
In one scene, the dog Snoopy is killed by an arrow in a scene compared to Lord of the Flies by William Golding. This inspired a New Yorker editorial by Ian Crouch, "Does Wes Anderson Hate Dogs?". Crouch said that in the theater where he saw the film, "the shot showing the dog impaled and inert elicited a shocked, yelping exhale from many people in the audience", and he observed outrage on Twitter. The Washington Post critic Sonia Rao held up Snoopy's death as a prime example of "[A] particular kind of darkness [that] lurks" in Anderson's filmography, where "[p]ets are so often the victims of the writer-director's quirky storytelling", but argued Anderson's 2018 Isle of Dogs served to remedy this.
References
Bibliography
External links
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{Infobox video game
| title = Earth Defense Force 2025
| image = Earth Defense Forces 4 japanese PS3 cover.jpg
| caption = Japanese PlayStation 3 box art
| developer =
Sandlot
| publisher =
- NA: Marvelous USA (PS4)
- EU: PQube (PS4)
| director =
- Toshio Noguchi
- Takehiro Homma
| designer = Takehiro Honma | programmer = Toshio Noguchi | artist = Masatsugu Igarashi
| composer =
- Masafumi Takada
- Jun Fukuda
| series =
Earth Defense Force
| platforms =
PlayStation 3
Xbox 360
PlayStation 4
Microsoft Windows
Nintendo Switch
| released =
-
PlayStation 3, Xbox 360PlayStation 4Microsoft WindowsNintendo Switch
- WW: July 18, 2016
- JP: December 22, 2022
| genre = Third-person shooter | modes = Single-player, multiplayer }} Earth Defense Force 2025 [a] is a third-person shooter developed by Sandlot and published by D3 Publisher, for the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360. It is the follow-up to Earth Defense Force 2017. [3] [4] A remastered version, titled Earth Defense Force 4.1: The Shadow of New Despair, [b] was released for PlayStation 4 and Windows in 2016, which includes the original game as well as a new expansion. A Nintendo Switch version was released in Japan in December 2022. [5] A reboot titled Earth Defense Force 5 was released on December 7, 2017.
Gameplay
The player takes control of an EDF soldier from one of four soldier classes. To fight these alien forces the player can access several weapons in the game, ranging from assault rifles and sniper rifles to rocket launchers, grenades, and laser weapons. Only two weapons may be selected for each mission with the exception of the Fencer, who can have four weapons, and the Air Raider, which can have three. The game has more than seven hundred weapons; roughly 175 weapons per soldier class. This the highest weapon count of any EDF. Some levels also contain vehicles which can be operated. [6] [7] The game takes place across levels featuring destructible environments, taking place in settings such as cities, beaches, hills, tunnels and more. There is no penalty for collateral damage that is inflicted on the environment by the player, for instance when buildings crumble after sustaining a few hits from a rocket launcher or grenade. Other EDF soldiers can be recruited or followed, and attack enemies on sight, as well as provide radio chatter. You can also customize the color of your soldier.
There are several difficulty levels. More effective weapons are dropped by the enemies in the game at the higher difficulty levels, encouraging players to repeat the missions. In addition to weapons, armor enhancements which function as permanent maximum health bonuses are dropped along with healing items.
Story
The Earth Defense Force, a unified multinational military sponsored by nearly every country, is founded after detecting an impending alien visit in case the aliens prove to be hostile. In the year 2017, that proved to be true and the EDF fought against the Ravagers, an alien race that attacked Earth with giant insect-like creatures, UFOs, robots and gigantic, 120-foot-tall lizard-like creatures. Eight years after defeating the last Ravager in Arizona (even though the final battle in the previous game was in Japan), they attack again with new creatures, evolved from their underground nest. Among them is the Retiarius, a spider-like creature which makes gigantic spiderwebs, and giant wasps. In the year 2025, the EDF must protect the Earth again from the alien invaders. [8]
Downloadable content
D3 has released several addons for this game. They were originally announced as bonuses for pre-orders of the Japanese version, including exclusive content for purchasing the game at some web retailers. The content is also available for free on PlayStation Store and Xbox Marketplace as of 2015 in a special bundle named "Unstoppable Shooter Satisfaction Pack" (in Europe) or as four separate bundles, one for each class (in North America). [9] There are a total of 8 weapon packs and 3 map packs (also bundled together in a "Season Pass") for a total of 45 additional missions. [10]
Reception
| Aggregator | Score | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| PC | PS3 | PS4 | Xbox 360 | |
| Metacritic | 79/100 [32] | 69/100 [33] | 64/100 [34] | 68/100 [35] |
| Publication | Score | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| PC | PS3 | PS4 | Xbox 360 | |
| Destructoid | N/A | N/A | 8/10 [11] | 8.5/10 [12] |
| Edge | N/A | N/A | 6/10 [13] | 5/10 [14] |
| Eurogamer | N/A | 5/10 [15] | N/A | N/A |
| Famitsu | N/A | 34/40 [16] | 32/40 [17] | 34/40 [16] |
| Game Informer | N/A | 8/10 [18] | N/A | 8/10 [18] |
| GameRevolution | N/A | N/A | N/A |   
[19] |
| GameTrailers | N/A | N/A | N/A | 8/10 [20] |
| GameZone | N/A | 8.5/10 [21] | N/A | 8.5/10 [21] |
| IGN | N/A | 6.5/10 [22] | N/A | 6.5/10 [22] |
| Joystiq | N/A |
[23] | N/A | N/A |
| PlayStation Official Magazine – UK | N/A | 6/10 [24] | 6/10 [25] | N/A |
| Official Xbox Magazine (US) | N/A | N/A | N/A | 7.5/10 [26] |
| PC Gamer (UK) | 80% [27] | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| Polygon | N/A | N/A | N/A | 7.5/10 [28] |
| The Escapist | N/A | N/A | N/A |
[29] |
| Slant Magazine | N/A | N/A |
[30] |
[31] |
The PC version received "generally favorable reviews", while the rest of the console versions received "mixed or average reviews", according to the review aggregation website Metacritic. [32] [33] [34] [35] In Japan, Famitsu gave it a score of one nine, two eights, and one nine for the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 versions; [16] and all four eights for the PlayStation 4 version. [17]
James Cunningham of Hardcore Gamer called the PS3 version "a fantastic example of everything that makes pure action gaming so much fun, packed with replay value and over the top set pieces, and a more than worthy sequel that tops its predecessor in every way." [36]
Forbes gave the PS4 version a score of eight out of ten and called it "a raucous and fun shooter with a different as well as more open ended approach compared to the more scripted movie wannabe type games out there. The dialogue is both silly and endearing and the combat is very satisfying." [37] Shacknews gave the Xbox 360 version a score of six out of ten, saying, "Shortcomings aside, Earth Defense Force 2025 is an action experience that will put a big, stupid grin on your face. Like Starship Troopers, EDF is a campy adventure that doesn't attempt to redefine the paradigm, but offers a reliably good time." [38] However, The Digital Fix gave the PS3 version five out of ten, saying that it "has a fiercely loyal following, and fans are likely to be happy embracing this latest title, bugs and all. For everyone else though, EDF 2025 is the gaming equivalent of Sharktopus: a bargain basement, low-budget cheesefest of the highest order, mildly amusing for a short time, filled with awful lines, and completely forgettable." [39] The Escapist gave the Xbox 360 version two stars out of five, saying that it "tries too hard at not trying hard enough, like one of those awful SyFy mutant movies. It knows it's terrible, and thinks it can get away with it by doubling down on its own awfulness. Clearly, this has worked for some, as the series has a fanbase. I don't get it, though. This is not so bad it's good. It's just plain bad, and there aren't enough giant insects in the world to convince me otherwise." [29]
Slant Magazine gave the Xbox 360 version two-and-a-half stars out of five, saying that "Even though it tries so very hard to jam-pack a pick-up-and-play shooter with missions, weapons, and multiplayer options aplenty, it's a game that has limits to its staying power, leaving the player hungry for something more substantial." [31] However, the same magazine gave the PS4 version three stars out of five, saying that it "doesn't ever completely shy away from using filler material after successfully building so much momentum." [30]
Notes
References
- ^ Zimmerman, Conrad (January 21, 2014). "Earth Defense Force 2025 lands February 18". Destructoid.
- ^ Spencer (March 19, 2013). "Earth Defense Force 2025 Jetpacks To Japan In July". Siliconera.
- ^ Martin, Liam (December 14, 2012). "'Earth Defence Force 2025' announced for Xbox 360, PS3, releasing 2013". Digital Spy. Retrieved July 6, 2017.
- ^ Romano, Sal (December 13, 2012). "Earth Defense Force 4 localization announced". Gematsu.
- ^ "Earth Defense Force 4.1: The Shadow of New Despair for Switch launches December 22 in Japan". Gematsu. 2022-09-17. Retrieved 2022-09-18.
- ^ "『地球防衛軍4』複数人で乗る大型武装兵器が明らかに！" ['Earth Defense Force 4' Large-scale armed weapons riding with multiple people is obvious!] (in Japanese). Famitsu. December 27, 2012.
- ^ "『地球防衛軍4』進化した最強のバトルマシン新型BM03ベガルタ登場" ['Earth Defense Force 4' The strongest battle machine has evolved: New model BM 03 Vegalta has appeared] (in Japanese). Famitsu. December 6, 2012.
-
^
D3Publisher (January 31, 2013).
"Earth Defense Force 2025 Gameplay Trailer (english subtitles)".
YouTube.
{{ cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list ( link) - ^ "Earth Defense Force 2025 Hits PS3 in February 2014, Pre-order Details Revealed". 28 October 2013.
- ^ "Earth Defense Force 2025 Beyond Despair Mission Pack Now Available".
- ^ Devore, Jordan (December 8, 2015). "Review: Earth Defense Force: The Shadow of New Despair (PS4)". Destructoid. Retrieved July 7, 2017.
- ^ Bonds, Ian (February 18, 2014). "Review: Earth Defense Force 2025 (X360)". Destructoid. Retrieved July 7, 2017.
- ^ Edge staff (February 2016). "Earth Defence Force 4.1: The Shadow of New Despair (PS4)". Edge. No. 289. p. 116.
- ^ Edge staff (February 18, 2014). "Earth Defence Force 2025 review (X360)". Edge. Archived from the original on March 5, 2014. Retrieved July 7, 2017.
- ^ Ellison, Cara (February 18, 2014). "Earth Defense Force 2025 review (PlayStation 3)". Eurogamer. Retrieved July 7, 2017.
- ^ a b c Gifford, Kevin (June 26, 2013). "Japan Review Check: Earth Defense Force 2025". Polygon. Retrieved July 6, 2017.
- ^ a b Romano, Sal (March 23, 2015). "Famitsu Review Scores: Issue 1373". Gematsu. Retrieved July 6, 2017.
- ^ a b Juba, Joe (February 18, 2014). "Earth Defense Force 2025: A Successful Infestation". Game Informer. Archived from the original on June 12, 2016. Retrieved July 7, 2017.
- ^ Tan, Nicholas (February 18, 2014). "Earth Defense Force 2025 Review (X360)". Game Revolution. Retrieved July 7, 2017.
- ^ Moore, Ben (February 18, 2014). "Earth Defense Force 2025 - Review (X360)". GameTrailers. Archived from the original on July 1, 2015. Retrieved July 7, 2017.
- ^ a b Donato, Joe (February 24, 2014). "EDF 2025 Review: The sweet science of insecticide". GameZone. Archived from the original on February 28, 2014. Retrieved July 7, 2017.
- ^ a b Albert, Brian (February 18, 2014). "Earth Defense Force 2025 Review". IGN. Retrieved July 7, 2017.
- ^ Cowan, Danny (February 19, 2014). "Earth Defense Force 2025 review: I like big bugs (PS3)". Engadget ( Joystiq). Retrieved July 7, 2017.
- ^ Gapper, Michael (February 18, 2014). "Earth Defence Force 2025 PS3 review - run-and-gunning can be alienating". PlayStation Official Magazine – UK. Archived from the original on February 28, 2014. Retrieved July 7, 2017.
- ^ "Earth Defence Force 4.1: The Shadow of New Despair". PlayStation Official Magazine – UK. February 2016. p. 89.
- ^ Rudden, Dave (February 18, 2014). "Earth Defense Force 2025 review". Official Xbox Magazine. Archived from the original on February 23, 2014. Retrieved July 7, 2017.
- ^ Savage, Phil (July 27, 2016). "Earth Defense Force 4.1: The Shadow of New Despair review". PC Gamer UK. Retrieved July 6, 2017.
- ^ Plante, Chris (February 18, 2014). "Earth Defense Force 2025 review: kill 'em all (X360)". Polygon. Retrieved July 7, 2017.
- ^ a b Sterling, Jim (February 19, 2014). "Earth Defense Force 2025 Review - Giant Insects". The Escapist. Archived from the original on September 21, 2015. Retrieved July 7, 2017.
- ^ a b Pressgrove, Jed (January 6, 2016). "Earth Defense Force 4.1: The Shadow of New Despair (PS4)". Slant Magazine. Retrieved July 7, 2017.
- ^ a b Clark, Justin (March 21, 2014). "Earth Defense Force 2025 (X360)". Slant Magazine. Retrieved July 7, 2017.
- ^ a b "Earth Defense Force 4.1: The Shadow of New Despair for PC Reviews". Metacritic. Retrieved July 6, 2017.
- ^ a b "Earth Defense Force 2025 for PlayStation 3 Reviews". Metacritic. Retrieved September 20, 2016.
- ^ a b "Earth Defense Force 4.1: The Shadow of New Despair for PlayStation 4 Reviews". Metacritic. Retrieved 2016-09-20.
- ^ a b "Earth Defense Force 2025 for Xbox 360 Reviews". Metacritic. Retrieved September 20, 2016.
- ^ Cunningham, James (February 26, 2014). "Review: Earth Defense Force 2025". Hardcore Gamer. Retrieved March 5, 2014.
- ^ Barder, Ollie (July 10, 2016). "'Earth Defense 4.1' Review: Unfettered Alien Carnage (PS4)". Forbes. Retrieved July 6, 2017.
- ^ Workman, Robert (February 19, 2014). "Earth Defense Force 2025 review: cheese whiz". Shacknews. Retrieved July 6, 2017.
- ^ Kershaw, Rob (March 14, 2014). "Earth Defense Force 2025 (PS3)". The Digital Fix. Archived from the original on June 11, 2016. Retrieved July 7, 2017.
External links
- Official website (in Japanese)
- Earth Defense Force 2025 at MobyGames
- Earth Defense Force 4.1: The Shadow of New Despair at MobyGames
| Games | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Related | |||
- 2013 video games
- Video games about alien invasions
- Cooperative video games
- D3 Publisher games
- Earth Defense Force
- Kaiju video games
- Multiplayer and single-player video games
- Nintendo Switch games
- PlayStation 3 games
- PlayStation 4 games
- Sandlot games
- Split-screen multiplayer games
- Third-person shooters
- Video game sequels
- Video games developed in Japan
- Video games scored by Masafumi Takada
- Video games set in 2025
- Video games using Havok
- Windows games
- Xbox 360 games
- PQube games
{United States
Main article: United States civil defense
In the United States, the Office of Civilian Defense was established in May 1941 to coordinate civilian defense efforts. It coordinated with the Department of the Army and established similar groups to the British ARP. One of these groups that still exists today is the Civil Air Patrol, which was originally created as a civilian auxiliary to the Army. The CAP was created on December 1, 1941, with the main civil defense mission of search and rescue. The CAP also sank two Axis submarines and provided aerial reconnaissance for Allied and neutral merchant ships. In 1946, the Civil Air Patrol was barred from combat by Public Law 79-476. The CAP then received its current mission: search and rescue for downed aircraft. When the Air Force was created, in 1947, the Civil Air Patrol became the auxiliary of the Air Force.
The Coast Guard Auxiliary performs a similar role in support of the U.S. Coast Guard. Like the Civil Air Patrol, the Coast Guard Auxiliary was established in the run up to World War II. Auxiliarists were sometimes armed during the war, and extensively participated in port security operations. After the war, the Auxiliary shifted its focus to promoting boating safety and assisting the Coast Guard in performing search and rescue and marine safety and environmental protection.
In the United States a federal civil defense program existed under Public Law 920 of the 81st Congress, as amended, from 1951 to 1994. That statutory scheme was made so-called all-hazards by Public Law 103–160 in 1993 and largely repealed by Public Law 103–337 in 1994. Parts now appear in Title VI of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act, Public Law 100-107 [1988 as amended]. The term EMERGENCY PREPAREDNESS was largely codified by that repeal and amendment. See 42 USC Sections 5101 and following.
Post–World War II Earth Defense Force 2017. A remastered version, titled Earth Defense Force 4.1: The Shadow of New Despair, was released for PlayStation 4 and Windows in 2016, which includes the original game as well as a new expansion. A Nintendo Switch version was released in Japan in December 2022. A reboot titled Earth Defense Force 5 was released on December 7, 2017.
Gameplay
The player takes control of an EDF soldier from one of four soldier classes. To fight these alien forces the player can access several weapons in the game, ranging from assault rifles and sniper rifles to rocket launchers, grenades, and laser weapons. Only two weapons may be selected for each mission with the exception of the Fencer, who can have four weapons, and the Air Raider, which can have three. The game has more than seven hundred weapons; roughly 175 weapons per soldier class. This the highest weapon count of any EDF. Some levels also contain vehicles which can be operated. The game takes place across levels featuring destructible environments, taking place in settings such as cities, beaches, hills, tunnels and more. There is no penalty for collateral damage that is inflicted on the environment by the player, for instance when buildings crumble after sustaining a few hits from a rocket launcher or grenade. Other EDF soldiers can be recruited or followed, and attack enemies on sight, as well as provide radio chatter. You can also customize the color of your soldier.
There are several difficulty levels. More effective weapons are dropped by the enemies in the game at the higher difficulty levels, encouraging players to repeat the missions. In addition to weapons, armor enhancements which function as permanent maximum health bonuses are dropped along with healing items.
Story
The Earth Defense Force, a unified multinational military sponsored by nearly every country, is founded after detecting an impending alien visit in case the aliens prove to be hostile. In the year 2017, that proved to be true and the EDF fought against the Ravagers, an alien race that attacked Earth with giant insect-like creatures, UFOs, robots and gigantic, 120-foot-tall lizard-like creatures. Eight years after defeating the last Ravager in Arizona (even though the final battle in the previous game was in Japan), they attack again with new creatures, evolved from their underground nest. Among them is the Retiarius, a spider-like creature which makes gigantic spiderwebs, and giant wasps. In the year 2025, the EDF must protect the Earth again from the alien invaders.
Downloadable content
D3 has released several addons for this game. They were originally announced as bonuses for pre-orders of the Japanese version, including exclusive content for purchasing the game at some web retailers. The content is also available for free on PlayStation Store and Xbox Marketplace as of 2015 in a special bundle named "Unstoppable Shooter Satisfaction Pack" (in Europe) or as four separate bundles, one for each class (in North America). There are a total of 8 weapon packs and 3 map packs (also bundled together in a "Season Pass") for a total of 45 additional missions.
Reception
More information Aggregator, Score ...
More information Publication, Score ...
Reception
The PC version received "generally favorable reviews", while the rest of the console versions received "mixed or average reviews", according to the review aggregation website Metacritic. In Japan, Famitsu gave it a score of one nine, two eights, and one nine for the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 versions; and all four eights for the PlayStation 4 version.
James Cunningham of Hardcore Gamer called the PS3 version "a fantastic example of everything that makes pure action gaming so much fun, packed with replay value and over the top set pieces, and a more than worthy sequel that tops its predecessor in every way."
Forbes gave the PS4 version a score of eight out of ten and called it "a raucous and fun shooter with a different as well as more open ended approach compared to the more scripted movie wannabe type games out there. The dialogue is both silly and endearing and the combat is very satisfying." Shacknews gave the Xbox 360 version a score of six out of ten, saying, "Shortcomings aside, Earth Defense Force 2025 is an action experience that will put a big, stupid grin on your face. Like Starship Troopers, EDF is a campy adventure that doesn't attempt to redefine the paradigm, but offers a reliably good time." However, The Digital Fix gave the PS3 version five out of ten, saying that it "has a fiercely loyal following, and fans are likely to be happy embracing this latest title, bugs and all. For everyone else though, EDF 2025 is the gaming equivalent of Sharktopus: a bargain basement, low-budget cheesefest of the highest order, mildly amusing for a short time, filled with awful lines, and completely forgettable." The Escapist gave the Xbox 360 version two stars out of five, saying that it "tries too hard at not trying hard enough, like one of those awful SyFy mutant movies. It knows it's terrible, and thinks it can get away with it by doubling down on its own awfulness. Clearly, this has worked for some, as the series has a fanbase. I don't get it, though. This is not so bad it's good. It's just plain bad, and there aren't enough giant insects in the world to convince me otherwise."
Slant Magazine gave the Xbox 360 version two-and-a-half stars out of five, saying that "Even though it tries so very hard to jam-pack a pick-up-and-play shooter with missions, weapons, and multiplayer options aplenty, it's a game that has limits to its staying power, leaving the player hungry for something more substantial." However, the same magazine gave the PS4 version three stars out of five, saying that it "doesn't ever completely shy away from using filler material after successfully building so much momentum."
Notes
Known in Japan as Chikyū Bōeigun 4 (Japanese: 地球防衛軍4, lit. Earth Defense Forces 4)
Japanese: 地球防衛軍4.1 THE SHADOW OF NEW DESPAIRザ・シャドウ・オブ・ニュー・ディスペアー, Hepburn: Chikyū Bōeigun
See also: Leon Gouré
Civil Defense literature, such as Fallout Protection, was common during the Cold War era.
In most of the states of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, such as the United States, the United Kingdom and West Germany, as well as the Soviet Bloc, and especially in the neutral countries, such as Switzerland and in Sweden during the 1950s and 1960s, many civil defense practices took place to prepare for the aftermath of a nuclear war, which seemed quite likely at that time.
In the United Kingdom, the Civil Defence Service was disbanded in 1945, followed by the ARP in 1946. With the onset of the growing tensions between East and West, the service was revived in 1949 as the Civil Defence Corps. As a civilian volunteer organization, it was tasked to take control in the aftermath of a major national emergency, principally envisaged as being a Cold War nuclear attack. Although under the authority of the Home Office, with a centralized administrative establishment, the corps was administered locally by Corps Authorities. In general every county was a Corps Authority, as were most county boroughs in England and Wales and large burghs in Scotland.
Each division was divided into several sections, including the Headquarters, Intelligence and Operations, Scientific and Reconnaissance, Warden & Rescue, Ambulance and First Aid and Welfare.
In 1954 Coventry City Council caused international controversy when it announced plans to disband its Civil Defence committee because the councillors had decided that hydrogen bombs meant that there could be no recovery from a nuclear attack. The British government opposed such a move and held a provocative Civil Defence exercise on the streets of Coventry which Labour council members protested against. The government also decided to implement its own committee at the city's cost until the council reinstituted its committee.
In the United States, the sheer power of nuclear weapons and the perceived likelihood of such an attack precipitated a greater response than had yet been required of civil defense. Civil defense, previously considered an important and commonsense step, became divisive and controversial in the charged atmosphere of the Cold War. In 1950, the National Security Resources Board created a 162-page document outlining a model civil defense structure for the U.S. Called the "Blue Book" by civil defense professionals in reference to its solid blue cover, it was the template for legislation and organization for the next 40 years.
Civil Defense literature, such as Survival Under Atomic Attack, was common during the Cold War Era.
Perhaps the most memorable aspect of the Cold War civil defense effort was the educational effort made or promoted by the government. In Duck and Cover, Bert the Turtle advocated that children "duck and cover" when they "see the flash." Booklets such as Survival Under Atomic Attack, Fallout Protection and Nuclear War Survival Skills were also commonplace. The transcribed radio program Stars for Defense combined hit music with civil defense advice. Government institutes created public service announcements including children's songs and distributed them to radio stations to educate the public in case of nuclear attack.
The United States and Soviet Union/Russia nuclear stockpiles, in total number of nuclear bombs/warheads in existence throughout the Cold War and post-Cold War era. However, total deployed US & "Russian" strategic weapons (ready for use) were far less than this, reaching a maximum of about 10,000 apiece in the 1980s.
The US President Kennedy (1961–63) launched an ambitious effort to install fallout shelters throughout the United States. These shelters would not protect against the blast and heat effects of nuclear weapons, but would provide some protection against the radiation effects that would last for weeks and even affect areas distant from a nuclear explosion. In order for most of these preparations to be effective, there had to be some degree of warning. In 1951, CONELRAD (Control of Electromagnetic Radiation) was established. Under the system, a few primary stations would be alerted of an emergency and would broadcast an alert. All broadcast stations throughout the country would be constantly listening to an upstream station and repeat the message, thus passing it from station to station.
In a once classified US war game analysis, looking at varying levels of war escalation, warning and pre-emptive attacks in the late 1950s early 1960s, it was estimated that approximately 27 million US citizens would have been saved with civil defense education. At the time, however, the cost of a full-scale civil defense program was regarded as less effective in cost-benefit analysis than a ballistic missile defense (Nike Zeus) system, and as the Soviet adversary was increasing their nuclear stockpile, the efficacy of both would follow a diminishing returns trend.
Contrary to the largely noncommittal approach taken in NATO, with its stops and starts in civil defense depending on the whims of each newly elected government, the military strategy in the comparatively more ideologically consistent USSR held that, amongst other things, a winnable nuclear war was possible. To this effect the Soviets planned to minimize, as far as possible, the effects of nuclear weapon strikes on its territory, and therefore spent considerably more thought on civil defense preparations than in U.S., with defense plans that have been assessed to be far more effective than those in the U.S.
Soviet Civil Defense Troops played the main role in the massive disaster relief operation following the 1986 Chernobyl nuclear accident. Defense Troop reservists were officially mobilized (as in a case of war) from throughout the USSR to join the Chernobyl task force and formed on the basis of the Kyiv Civil Defense Brigade. The task force performed some high-risk tasks including, with the failure of their robotic machinery, the manual removal Omaha Public Power District, or OPPD, is a public electric utility in the state of Nebraska. It is a publicly owned electric utility in the United States, serving more than 855,000 people in Omaha and 13 surrounding counties in southeast Nebraska. OPPD was formed in 1946 as a political subdivision of the State of Nebraska, taking over the operations of Nebraska Power Company. A publicly elected eight-member Board of Directors sets rates and policies.The Florida Keys are a coral cay archipelago off the southern coast of Florida, forming the southernmost part of the continental United States. They begin at the southeastern coast of the Florida peninsula, about 15 miles (24 km) south of Miami and extend in a gentle arc south-southwest and then westward to Key West, the westernmost of the inhabited islands, and on to the uninhabited Dry Tortugas. The islands lie along the Florida Straits, dividing the Atlantic Ocean to the east from the Gulf of Mexico to the northwest, and defining one edge of Florida Bay. The southern part of Key West is 93 miles (150 km) from Cuba. The Keys are located between about 24.3 and 25.5 degrees North latitude.Nuclear warhead stockpiles of the United States and the Soviet Union/Russia, 1945-2014. These The Florida Keys are a coral cay archipelago off the southern coast of Florida, forming the southernmost part of the continental United States. They begin at the southeastern coast of the Florida peninsula, about 15 miles (24 km) south of Miami and extend in a gentle arc south-southwest and then westward to Key West, the westernmost of the inhabited islands, and on to the uninhabited Dry Tortugas. The islands lie along the Florida Straits, dividing the Atlantic Ocean to the east from the Gulf of Mexico to the northwest, and defining one edge of Florida Bay. The southern part of Key West is 93 miles (150 km) from Cuba. The Keys are located between about 24.3 and 25.5 degrees North latitude.Nuclear warhead stockpiles of the United States and the Soviet Union/Russia, 1945-2014. These numbers are total stockpiles, including warheads that are not actively deployed (that is, including those on reserve status, but not those that are scheduled for dismantlement). The numbers of active/operational warheads could be much smaller: in 2014, about 1,980 for the United States are deployed. Inadequate historical data prohibits long-term distinction between the two, hence lumping all numbers together.
The high for the USA is 32,040 in 1967; the high for the USSR is 45,000 in 1986; the point at which the USSR surpassed the USA in warheads is 1978. Note that raw stockpile totals do not necessarily tell you much about nuclear capabilities; delivery mechanisms and types of weapons can make a big difference (many of the weapons added to the stockpile during the "surge" periods were tactical, not strategic, for example)
The goal of this graph is to give a quick, at-a-glance impression of relative stockpile levels between the two countries; those looking for specifics should consult the raw data (compiled on the discussion page of this image).The former United States Civil Defense logo, last used on the FEMA seal before the creation of the Department of Homeland Security. The abolished Civil Defence Symbol survives in the Universal Prepper Patch UPP symbology of today.Picture of the Civil Defense logo located on the side of the rotator mechanism on a 1003 unit.Uploader unknownExecutive Office of the President, NSRB, Civil Defense Office, 1950. Government Printing Office, Washington.
Issued from the Cleveland Office of CIVIL DEFENSE, Room 121, City Hall.Cover of Fallout Protection: What To Know And Do About Nuclear Attack — an official United States federal government booklet released in December 1961 by the United States Department of Defense and the Office of Civil Defense.WW I poster - "It is far better to face the bullets than to be killed at home by a bomb. Join the army at once & help to stop an air raid. God save the King".Annex I to Protocol Additional I to the Geneva Conventions of 1949: Regulations concerning identification, as amended on 30 November 1993 are total
stockpiles, including warheads that are not actively deployed (that is, including those on reserve status, but not those that are scheduled for dismantlement). The numbers of active/operational warheads could be much smaller: in 2014, about 1,980 for the United States are deployed. Inadequate historical data prohibits long-term distinction between the two, hence lumping all numbers together.
The high for the USA is 32,040 in 1967; the high for the USSR is 45,000 in 1986; the point at which the USSR surpassed the USA in warheads is 1978. Note that raw stockpile totals do not necessarily tell you much about nuclear capabilities; delivery mechanisms and types of weapons can make a big difference (many of the weapons added to the stockpile during the "surge" periods were tactical, not strategic, for example)
The goal of this graph is to give a quick, at-a-glance impression of relative stockpile levels between the two countries; those looking for specifics should consult the raw data (compiled on the discussion page of this image).The former United States Civil Defense logo, last used on the FEMA seal before the creation of the Department of Homeland Security. The abolished Civil Defence Symbol survives in the Universal Prepper Patch UPP symbology of today.Picture of the Civil Defense logo located on the side of the rotator mechanism on a 1003 unit.Uploader unknownExecutive Office of the President, NSRB, Civil Defense Office, 1950. Government Printing Office, Washington.
Issued from the Cleveland Office of CIVIL DEFENSE, Room 121, City Hall.Cover of Fallout Protection: What To Know And Do About Nuclear Attack — an official United States federal government booklet released in December 1961 by the United States Department of Defense and the Office of Civil Defense.WW I poster - "It is far better to face the bullets than to be killed at home by a bomb. Join the army at once & help to stop an air raid. God save the King".Annex I to Protocol Additional I to the Geneva Conventions of 1949: Regulations concerning identification, as amended on 30 November 1993 Civil defense
Protection of citizens from natural disaster and military attack
For the Russian band, see Grazhdanskaya Oborona.
Civil defense or civil protection is an effort to protect the citizens of a state (generally non-combatants) from human-made and natural disasters. It uses the principles of emergency management: prevention, mitigation, preparation, response, or emergency evacuation and recovery. Programs of this sort were initially discussed at least as early as the 1920s and were implemented in some countries during the 1930s as the threat of war and aerial bombardment grew. Civil-defense structures became widespread after authorities recognised the threats posed by nuclear weapons. all united state of America by county overseas water position auction ocean flooded all world remove  Index of /archive/storm_wallets/epacific/ep1988-prelim/john [ICO] Name Last modified Size Description [PARENTDIR] Parent Directory - [IMG] prelim01.gif 1997-03-11 12:39 139K [IMG] prelim02.gif 1997-03-11 12:39 42K [IMG] prelim03.gif 1997-03-11 12:39 74K [IMG] prelim04.gif 1997-03-11 12:39 53K [IMG] prelim05.gif 1997-03-11 12:39 60K The international distinctive sign of civil defense, defined by the rules of international humanitarian law and to be used as a protective sign
Since the end of the Cold War, the focus of civil defense has largely shifted from responding to military attack to dealing with emergencies and disasters in general. The new concept is characterised by a number of terms, each of which has its own specific shade of meaning, such as crisis management, emergency management, emergency preparedness, contingency planning, civil contingency, civil aid and civil protection.
Some countries treat civil defense as a key part of defense in general. For example, total defence refers to the commitment of a wide range of national resources to defense, including the protection of all aspects of civilian life.
History
Origins
United Kingdom
British First World War poster, bringing attention to the threat posed by aerial bombardment from German Zeppelins
The advent of civil defense was stimulated by the experience of the bombing of civilian areas during the First World War. The bombing of the United Kingdom began on 19 January 1915 when German zeppelins dropped bombs on the Great Yarmouth area, killing six people. German bombing operations of the First World War were surprisingly effective, especially after the Gotha bombers surpassed the zeppelins. The most devastating raids inflicted 121 casualties for each ton of bombs dropped; this figure was then used as a basis for predictions.
After the war, attention was turned toward civil defense in the event of war, and the Air Raid Precautions Committee (ARP) was established in 1924 to investigate ways for ensuring the protection of civilians from the danger of air-raids.
The Committee produced figures estimating that in London there would be 9,000 casualties in the first two days and then a continuing rate of 17,500 casualties a week. These rates were thought conservative. It was believed that there would be "total chaos and panic" and hysterical neurosis as the people of London would try to flee the city. To control the population harsh measures were proposed: bringing London under almost military control, and physically cordoning off the city with 120,000 troops to force people back to work. A different government department proposed setting up camps for refugees for a few days before sending them back to London.
A special government department, the Civil Defence Service, was established by the Home Office in 1935. Its remit included the pre-existing ARP as well as wardens, firemen (initially the Auxiliary Fire Service (AFS) and latterly the National Fire Service (NFS)), fire watchers, rescue, first aid post, stretcher party and industry. Over 1.9 million people served within the CD; nearly 2,400 died from enemy action.
Air Raid Warden testing his equipment in Brisbane in October 1942
The organization of civil defense was the responsibility of the local authority. Volunteers were ascribed to different units depending on experience or training. Each local civil defense service was divided into several sections. Wardens were responsible for local reconnaissance and reporting, and leadership, organization, guidance and control of the general public. Wardens would also advise survivors of the locations of rest and food centers, and other welfare facilities.
Rescue Parties were required to assess and then access bombed-out buildings and retrieve injured or dead people. In addition they would turn off gas, electricity and water supplies, and repair or pull down unsteady buildings. Medical services, including First Aid Parties, provided on the spot medical assistance.
The expected stream of information that would be generated during an attack was handled by 'Report and Control' teams. A local headquarters would have an ARP controller who would direct rescue, first aid and decontamination teams to the scenes of reported bombing. If local services were deemed insufficient to deal with the incident then the controller could request assistance from surrounding boroughs.
Fire Guards were responsible for a designated area/building and required to monitor the fall of incendiary bombs and pass on news of any fires that had broken out to the NFS. They could deal with an individual magnesium alloy ("Elektron") incendiary bomb by dousing it with buckets of sand or water or by smothering. Additionally, 'Gas Decontamination Teams' kitted out with gas-tight and waterproof protective clothing were to deal with any gas attacks. They were trained to decontaminate buildings, roads, rail and other material that had been contaminated by liquid or jelly gases.
Anderson shelters were widely distributed in the United Kingdom by civil defense authorities, in preparation for aerial bombardment.
Little progress was made over the issue of air-raid shelters, because of the apparently irreconcilable conflict between the need to send the public underground for shelter and the need to keep them above ground for protection against gas attacks. In February 1936 the Home Secretary appointed a technical Committee on Structural Precautions against Air Attack. During the Munich crisis, local authorities dug trenches to provide shelter. After the crisis, the British Government decided to make these a permanent feature, with a standard design of precast concrete trench lining. They also decided to issue the Anderson shelter free to poorer households and to provide steel props to create shelters in suitable basements.
During the Second World War, the ARP was responsible for the issuing of gas masks, pre-fabricated air-raid shelters (such as Anderson shelters, as well as Morrison shelters), the upkeep of local public shelters, and the maintenance of the blackout. The ARP also helped rescue people after air raids and other attacks, and some women became ARP Ambulance Attendants whose job was to help administer first aid to casualties, search for survivors, and in many grim instances, help recover bodies, sometimes those of their own colleagues.
Jewish Civil Defense group in Jerusalem in 1942. The group served as ARP Fire Wardens, equipped with water hoses and buckets, some wearing FW (Fire Watcher) Brodie helmets. Men are in uniform while women wear plain clothes. Composer Josef Tal stands next to the woman with a black sweater.
As the war progressed, the military effectiveness of Germany's aerial bombardment was very limited. Thanks to the Luftwaffe's shifting aims, the strength of British air defenses, the use of early warning radar and the life-saving actions of local civil defense units, the aerial "Blitz" during the Battle of Britain failed to break the morale of the British people, destroy the Royal Air Force or significantly hinder British industrial production. Despite a significant investment in civil and military defense, British civilian losses during the Blitz were higher than in most strategic bombing campaigns throughout the war. For example, there were 14,000-20,000 UK civilian fatalities during the Battle of Britain, a relatively high number considering that the Luftwaffe dropped only an estimated 30,000 tons of ordinance during the battle. Granted, this resulting 0.47-0.67 civilian fatalities per ton of bombs dropped was lower than the earlier 121 casualties per ton prediction. However, in comparison, Allied strategic bombing of Germany during the war proved slightly less lethal than what was observed in the UK,[dubious – discuss] with an estimated 400,000-600,000 German civilian fatalities for approximately 1.35 million tons of bombs dropped on Germany, an estimated resulting rate therefore of 0.30-0.44 civilian fatalities per ton of bombs dropped.
United States
Main article: United States civil defense
In the United States, the Office of Civilian Defense was established in May 1941 to coordinate civilian defense efforts. It coordinated with the Department of the Army and established similar groups to the British ARP. One of these groups that still exists today is the Civil Air Patrol, which was originally created as a civilian auxiliary to the Army. The CAP was created on December 1, 1941, with the main civil defense mission of search and rescue. The CAP also sank two Axis submarines and provided aerial reconnaissance for Allied and neutral merchant ships. In 1946, the Civil Air Patrol was barred from combat by Public Law 79-476. The CAP then received its current mission: search and rescue for downed aircraft. When the Air Force was created, in 1947, the Civil Air Patrol became the auxiliary of the Air Force.
The Coast Guard Auxiliary performs a similar role in support of the U.S. Coast Guard. Like the Civil Air Patrol, the Coast Guard Auxiliary was established in the run up to World War II. Auxiliarists were sometimes armed during the war, and extensively participated in port security operations. After the war, the Auxiliary shifted its focus to promoting boating safety and assisting the Coast Guard in performing search and rescue and marine safety and environmental protection.
In the United States a federal civil defense program existed under Public Law 920 of the 81st Congress, as amended, from 1951 to 1994. That statutory scheme was made so-called all-hazards by Public Law 103–160 in 1993 and largely repealed by Public Law 103–337 in 1994. Parts now appear in Title VI of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act, Public Law 100-107 [1988 as amended]. The term EMERGENCY PREPAREDNESS was largely codified by that repeal and amendment. See 42 USC Sections 5101 and following.
Post–World War II
See also: Leon Gouré
Civil Defense literature, such as Fallout Protection, was common during the Cold War era.
In most of the states of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, such as the United States, the United Kingdom and West Germany, as well as the Soviet Bloc, and especially in the neutral countries, such as Switzerland and in Sweden during the 1950s and 1960s, many civil defense practices took place to prepare for the aftermath of a nuclear war, which seemed quite likely at that time.
In the United Kingdom, the Civil Defence Service was disbanded in 1945, followed by the ARP in 1946. With the onset of the growing tensions between East and West, the service was revived in 1949 as the Civil Defence Corps. As a civilian volunteer organization, it was tasked to take control in the aftermath of a major national emergency, principally envisaged as being a Cold War nuclear attack. Although under the authority of the Home Office, with a centralized administrative establishment, the corps was administered locally by Corps Authorities. In general every county was a Corps Authority, as were most county boroughs in England and Wales and large burghs in Scotland.
Each division was divided into several sections, including the Headquarters, Intelligence and Operations, Scientific and Reconnaissance, Warden & Rescue, Ambulance and First Aid and Welfare.
In 1954 Coventry City Council caused international controversy when it announced plans to disband its Civil Defence committee because the councillors had decided that hydrogen bombs meant that there could be no recovery from a nuclear attack. The British government opposed such a move and held a provocative Civil Defence exercise on the streets of Coventry which Labour council members protested against. The government also decided to implement its own committee at the city's cost until the council reinstituted its committee.
In the United States, the sheer power of nuclear weapons and the perceived likelihood of such an attack precipitated a greater response than had yet been required of civil defense. Civil defense, previously considered an important and commonsense step, became divisive and controversial in the charged atmosphere of the Cold War. In 1950, the National Security Resources Board created a 162-page document outlining a model civil defense structure for the U.S. Called the "Blue Book" by civil defense professionals in reference to its solid blue cover, it was the template for legislation and organization for the next 40 years.
Civil Defense literature, such as Survival Under Atomic Attack, was common during the Cold War Era.
Perhaps the most memorable aspect of the Cold War civil defense effort was the educational effort made or promoted by the government. In Duck and Cover, Bert the Turtle advocated that children "duck and cover" when they "see the flash." Booklets such as Survival Under Atomic Attack, Fallout Protection and Nuclear War Survival Skills were also commonplace. The transcribed radio program Stars for Defense combined hit music with civil defense advice. Government institutes created public service announcements including children's songs and distributed them to radio stations to educate the public in case of nuclear attack.
The United States and Soviet Union/Russia nuclear stockpiles, in total number of nuclear bombs/warheads in existence throughout the Cold War and post-Cold War era. However, total deployed US & "Russian" strategic weapons (ready for use) were far less than this, reaching a maximum of about 10,000 apiece in the 1980s.
The US President Kennedy (1961–63) launched an ambitious effort to install fallout shelters throughout the United States. These shelters would not protect against the blast and heat effects of nuclear weapons, but would provide some protection against the radiation effects that would last for weeks and even affect areas distant from a nuclear explosion. In order for most of these preparations to be effective, there had to be some degree of warning. In 1951, CONELRAD (Control of Electromagnetic Radiation) was established. Under the system, a few primary stations would be alerted of an emergency and would broadcast an alert. All broadcast stations throughout the country would be constantly listening to an upstream station and repeat the message, thus passing it from station to station.
In a once classified US war game analysis, looking at varying levels of war escalation, warning and pre-emptive attacks in the late 1950s early 1960s, it was estimated that approximately 27 million US citizens would have been saved with civil defense education. At the time, however, the cost of a full-scale civil defense program was regarded as less effective in cost-benefit analysis than a ballistic missile defense (Nike Zeus) system, and as the Soviet adversary was increasing their nuclear stockpile, the efficacy of both would follow a diminishing returns trend.
Contrary to the largely noncommittal approach taken in NATO, with its stops and starts in civil defense depending on the whims of each newly elected government, the military strategy in the comparatively more ideologically consistent USSR held that, amongst other things, a winnable nuclear war was possible. To this effect the Soviets planned to minimize, as far as possible, the effects of nuclear weapon strikes on its territory, and therefore spent considerably more thought on civil defense preparations than in U.S., with defense plans that have been assessed to be far more effective than those in the U.S.
Soviet Civil Defense Troops played the main role in the massive disaster relief operation following the 1986 Chernobyl nuclear accident. Defense Troop reservists were officially mobilized (as in a case of war) from throughout the USSR to join the Chernobyl task force and formed on the basis of the Kyiv Civil Defense Brigade. The task force performed some high-risk tasks including, with the failure of their robotic machinery, the manual removal of highly-radioactive debris. Many of their personnel were later decorated with medals for their work at containing the release of radiation into the environment, with a number[quantify] of the 56 deaths from the accident being Civil defense troops.
The reinforced door of a fallout shelter of the civil protection in Switzerland. As of 2006, there were about 300,000 shelters in private and public buildings for a total of 8.6 million places, a level of coverage corresponding to 114% of the Swiss population.
In Western countries, strong civil defense policies were never properly implemented, because it was fundamentally at odds with the doctrine of "mutual assured destruction" (MAD) by making provisions for survivors.[dubious – discuss] It was also considered that a full-fledged total defense would have not been worth the very large expense. For whatever reason, the public saw efforts at civil defense as fundamentally ineffective against the powerful destructive forces of nuclear weapons, and therefore a waste of time and money, although detailed scientific research programs did underlie the much-mocked government civil defense pamphlets of the 1950s and 1960s.
The Civil Defence Corps was stood down in Great Britain in 1968 due to the financial crisis of the mid-1960s. Its neighbors, however, remained committed to Civil Defence, namely the Isle of Man Civil Defence Corps and Civil Defence Ireland (Republic of Ireland).
In the United States, the various civil defense agencies were replaced with the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) in 1979. In 2002 this became part of the Department of Homeland Security. The focus was shifted from nuclear war to an "all-hazards" approach of Comprehensive Emergency Management. Natural disasters and the emergence of new threats such as terrorism have caused attention to be focused away from traditional civil defense and into new forms of civil protection such as emergency management and homeland security.
Today
Many countries maintain a national Civil Defence Corps, usually having a wide brief for assisting in large scale civil emergencies such as flood, earthquake, invasion, or civil disorder.
After the September 11 attacks in 2001, in the United States the concept of civil defense has been revisited under the umbrella term of homeland security and all-hazards emergency management.
In Europe, the triangle CD logo continues to be widely used. Created in 1939 by Charles Coiner of the N. W. Ayer Advertising Agency, it was used throughout World War II and the Cold War era. In the U.S., 2006 saw the retirement of the old triangle logo, to be replaced with a stylised EM (for emergency management). A reference to the old CD logo (without the red CD letters) can be seen above the eagle's head in the FEMA seal.[citation needed] The name and logo continue to be used by Hawaii State Civil Defense and Guam Homeland Security/Office of Civil Defense. In Great Britain, a charity providing a Civil Defense response was launched during 2015 to fill the gap since the disbandment of the Government run Civil Defense service.
The term "civil protection" is currently widely used within the European Union to refer to government-approved systems and resources tasked with protecting the non-combat population, primarily in the event of natural and technological disasters. For example, the EU's humanitarian aid policy director on the Ebola Crisis, Florika Fink-Hooijer, said that civil protection requires "not just more resources, but first and foremost better governance of the resources that are available including better synergies between humanitarian aid and civil protection". In recent years there has been emphasis on preparedness for technological disasters resulting from terrorist attack. Within EU countries the term "crisis-management" emphasizes the political and security dimension rather than measures to satisfy the immediate needs of the population.
In Australia, civil defense is the responsibility of the volunteer-based State Emergency Service. In most former Soviet countries civil defense is the responsibility of governmental ministries, such as Russia's Ministry of Emergency Situations.
Importance
Relatively small investments in preparation can speed up recovery by months or years and thereby prevent millions of deaths by hunger, cold and disease. According to human capital theory in economics, a country's population is more valuable than all of the land, factories and other assets that it possesses. People rebuild a country after its destruction, and it is therefore important for the economic security of a country that it protect its people. According to psychology, it is important for people to feel as though they are in control of their own destiny, and preparing for uncertainty via civil defense may help to achieve this.
In the United States, the federal civil defense program was authorized by statute and ran from 1951 to 1994. Originally authorized by Public Law 920 of the 81st Congress, it was repealed by Public Law 93–337 in 1994. Small portions of that statutory scheme were incorporated into the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act (Public Law 100–707) which partly superseded in part, partly amended, and partly supplemented the Disaster Relief Act of 1974 (Public Law 93-288). In the portions of the civil defense statute incorporated into the Stafford Act, the primary modification was to use the term "Emergency Preparedness" wherever the term "Civil Defence" had previously appeared in the statutory language.
An important concept initiated by President Jimmy Carter was the so-called "Crisis Relocation Program" administered as part of the federal civil defense program. That effort largely lapsed under President Ronald Reagan, who discontinued the Carter initiative because of opposition from areas potentially hosting the relocated population.
Threat assessment
Threats to civilians and civilian life include NBC (Nuclear, Biological, and Chemical warfare) and others, like the more modern term CBRN (Chemical Biological Radiological and Nuclear). Threat assessment involves studying each threat so that preventative measures can be built into civilian life.
Conventional
Refers to conventional explosives. A blast shelter designed to protect only from radiation and fallout would be much more vulnerable to conventional explosives. See also fallout shelter.
Nuclear
Shelter intended to protect against nuclear blast effects would include thick concrete and other sturdy elements which are resistant to conventional explosives. The biggest threats from a nuclear attack are effects from the blast, fires and radiation. One of the most prepared countries for a nuclear attack is Switzerland. Almost every building in Switzerland has an abri (shelter) against the initial nuclear bomb and explosion followed by the fall-out. Because of this, many people use it as a safe to protect valuables, photos, financial information and so on. Switzerland also has air-raid and nuclear-raid sirens in every village.
Dirty Bomb
A "radiologically enhanced weapon", or "dirty bomb", uses an explosive to spread radioactive material. This is a theoretical risk, and such weapons have not been used by terrorists. Depending on the quantity of the radioactive material, the dangers may be mainly psychological. Toxic effects can be managed by standard hazmat techniques.
Biological
The threat here is primarily from disease-causing microorganisms such as bacteria and viruses.
Chemical
Various chemical agents are a threat, such as nerve gas (VX, Sarin, and so on.).
Stages
Mitigation
Civil defense logo on an Air raid siren control box in Kansas, USCivil Defense logo on a Thunderbolt 1003 siren
Mitigation is the process of actively preventing war or the release of nuclear weapons. It includes policy analysis, diplomacy, political measures, nuclear disarmament and more military responses such as a National Missile Defense and air defense artillery. In the case of counter-terrorism, mitigation would include diplomacy, intelligence gathering and direct action against terrorist groups. Mitigation may also be reflected in long-term planning such as the design of the interstate highway system and the placement of military bases further away from populated areas.
Preparation
Preparation consists of building blast shelters and pre-positioning information, supplies, and emergency infrastructure. For example, most larger cities in the U.S. now have underground emergency operations centers that can perform civil defense coordination. FEMA also has many underground facilities for the same purpose located near major railheads such as the ones in Denton, Texas and Mount Weather, Virginia.
Other measures would include continual government inventories of grain silos, the Strategic National Stockpile, the uncapping of the Strategic Petroleum Reserve, the dispersal of lorry-transportable bridges, water purification, mobile refineries, mobile de-contamination facilities, mobile general and special purpose disaster mortuary facilities such as Disaster Mortuary Operational Response Team (DMORT) and DMORT-WMD, and other aids such as temporary housing to speed civil recovery.
On an individual scale, one means of preparation for exposure to nuclear fallout is to obtain potassium iodide (KI) tablets as a safety measure to protect the human thyroid gland from the uptake of dangerous radioactive iodine. Another measure is to cover the nose, mouth and eyes with a piece of cloth and sunglasses to protect against alpha particles, which are only an internal hazard.
To support and supplement efforts at national, regional and local level with regard to disaster prevention, the preparedness of those responsible for civil protection and the intervention in the event of disaster
To establish a framework for effective and rapid cooperation between different civil protection services when mutual assistance is needed (police, fire service, healthcare service, public utility provider, voluntary agencies)
To set up and implement training programs for intervention and coordination teams as well as assessment experts including joint courses and exchange systems
To enhance the coherence of actions undertaken at international level in the field of civil protection, especially in the context of cooperation
Preparing also includes sharing information:
To contribute to informing the public, in view of increasing citizens' level of self-protection
To collect and disseminate validated emergency information
To pool information on national civil protection capabilities, military and medical resources
To ensure efficient information sharing between the different authorities
Response
Response consists first of warning civilians so they can enter fallout shelters and protect assets.
Staffing a response is always full of problems in a civil defense emergency. After an attack, conventional full-time emergency services are dramatically overloaded, with conventional fire fighting response times often exceeding several days. Some capability is maintained by local and state agencies, and an emergency reserve is provided by specialized military units, especially civil affairs, Military Police, Judge Advocates and combat engineers.
However, the traditional response to massed attack on civilian population centers is to maintain a mass-trained force of volunteer emergency workers. Studies in World War II showed that lightly trained (40 hours or less) civilians in organised teams can perform up to 95% of emergency activities when trained, liaised and supported by local government. In this plan, the populace rescues itself from most situations, and provides information to a central office to prioritize professional emergency services.
In the 1990s, this concept was revived by the Los Angeles Fire Department to cope with civil emergencies such as earthquakes. The program was widely adopted, providing standard terms for organization. In the U.S., this is now official federal policy, and it is implemented by community emergency response teams, under the Department of Homeland Security, which certifies training programs by local governments, and registers "certified disaster service workers" who complete such training.
Recovery
Recovery consists of rebuilding damaged infrastructure, buildings and production. The recovery phase is the longest and ultimately most expensive phase. Once the immediate "crisis" has passed, cooperation fades away and recovery efforts are often politicized or seen as economic opportunities.
Preparation for recovery can be very helpful. If mitigating resources are dispersed before the attack, cascades of social failures can be prevented. One hedge against bridge damage in riverine cities is to subsidize a "tourist ferry" that performs scenic cruises on the river. When a bridge is down, the ferry takes up the load.
Civil defense organizations
The old United States civil defense logo. The triangle emphasized the 3-step Civil Defense philosophy used before the foundation of FEMA and Comprehensive Emergency Management.
Civil Defense is also the name of a number of organizations around the world dedicated to protecting civilians from military attacks, as well as to providing rescue services after natural and human-made disasters alike.
Worldwide protection is managed by the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA).
In a few countries such as Jordan and Singapore (see Singapore Civil Defence Force), civil defense is essentially the same organization [clarification needed] as the fire brigade. In most countries, however, civil defense is a government-managed, volunteer-staffed organization, separate from the fire brigade and the ambulance service.
As the threat of Cold War eased, a number of such civil defense organizations have been disbanded or mothballed (as in the case of the Royal Observer Corps in the United Kingdom and the United States civil defense), while others have changed their focuses into providing rescue services after natural disasters (as for the State Emergency Service in Australia). However, the ideals of Civil Defense [clarification needed] have been brought back in the United States under FEMA's Citizen Corps and Community Emergency Response Team (CERT).
In the United Kingdom Civil Defence work is carried out by Emergency Responders under the Civil Contingencies Act 2004, with assistance from voluntary groups such as Joint Civil Aid Corps, RAYNET, Search and Rescue Teams and 4x4 Response. In Ireland, the Civil Defence is still very much an active organization and is occasionally called upon for its Auxiliary Fire Service and ambulance/rescue services when emergencies such as flash flooding occur and require additional manpower. The organization has units of trained firemen and medical responders based in key areas around the country.
By country
Main article: Civil defense by country
See also
The American Civil Defense Association
French Civil Protection
Blast shelter
Civil-defense Geiger counters
Civil defense siren
Collective protection
Continuity of government
Critical infrastructure protection
Effects of nuclear explosions on human health
Emergency management
Fallout shelter
International Civil Defence Organization
Mass fatality incident
State Council of Civil Defense
List of civil defense ranks
General:
Nuclear warfare
Nuclear holocaust
Nuclear terrorism
Industrial antiterrorism
Infrastructure security
Survivalism
Weapon of mass destruction
Notes and references
External links
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Moonrise Kingdom
2012 American film
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Quick Facts Moonrise Kingdom, Directed by ...
Moonrise Kingdom is a 2012 American coming-of-age comedy-drama film directed by Wes Anderson, written by Anderson and Roman Coppola, and starring Bruce Willis, Edward Norton, Bill Murray, Frances McDormand, Tilda Swinton, Jason Schwartzman, Bob Balaban, and introducing Jared Gilman and Kara Hayward. Largely set on the fictional island of New Penzance somewhere off the coast of New England, it tells the story of an orphan boy (Gilman) who escapes from a scouting camp to unite with his pen pal and love interest, a girl with aggressive tendencies (Hayward). Feeling alienated from their guardians and shunned by their peers, the lovers abscond to an isolated beach. Meanwhile, the island's police captain (Willis) organizes a search party of scouts and family members to locate the runaways.
In crafting their screenplay, Anderson and Coppola drew from personal experiences and memories of childhood fantasies as well as films including Melody (1971) and The 400 Blows (1959). Auditions for child actors took eight months, and filming took place in Rhode Island over three months in 2011.
Moonrise Kingdom premiered at the 2012 Cannes Film Festival and received critical acclaim, with its themes of young love, child sexuality, juvenile mental health, and the Genesis flood narrative being praised. Critics cited the film's color palette and use of visual symmetry as well as the use of original composition by Alexandre Desplat to supplement existing music by Benjamin Britten. It was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay and the Golden Globe for Best Musical or Comedy. In 2016, the BBC included the film in its list of greatest films of the twenty-first century.
Plot
On the New England island of New Penzance, 12-year-old orphan Sam Shakusky attends Camp Ivanhoe, a Khaki Scout summer camp led by Scout Master Randy Ward. Suzy Bishop, also 12, lives on the island with her parents Walt and Laura, both lawyers, and her three younger brothers in a house called Summer's End.
Sam and Suzy, both introverted, intelligent, and mature for their age, meet in the summer of 1964 during a church performance of Noye's Fludde and become pen pals. The relationship becomes romantic over the course of their correspondence, and they make a secret pact to reunite and run away together. In September 1965, they execute their plan. Sam escapes from Camp Ivanhoe while Suzy runs away from Summer's End. The pair rendezvous, hike, camp, and fish in the wilderness with the goal of reaching a specific location.
Meanwhile, the Khaki Scouts have become aware of Sam's absence, finding a letter he left behind stating he has resigned. Scout Master Ward tells the Khaki Scouts to use their skills to set up a search party and find Sam. Island Police Captain Duffy Sharp and Ward contact Sam's guardians the Billingsleys, learning they are actually his foster parents and Sam is an orphan with a history of behavioral issues at home.
Eventually, a group of Khaki Scouts confronts Sam and Suzy and tries to capture them. During the resulting altercation, Suzy injures the Scouts' de facto leader Redford with a pair of scissors, and a stray arrow fired by one of the Scouts kills Camp Ivanhoe's dog Snoopy. The Scouts flee, and Sam and Suzy hike to Mile 3.25 Tidal Inlet which they name "Moonrise Kingdom." They set up camp and as the romantic tension between them grows, they dance on the beach and share each other's first kiss.
Suzy's parents, Ward, the Scouts, and Sharp finally find Sam and Suzy in their tent the next morning. Suzy's parents take her home. Ward gives Sam a letter from the Billingsleys stating that they no longer wish to house Sam. He stays with Sharp while they await the arrival of a Social Services worker, who will likely place Sam in an orphanage and possibly treat him with electroshock therapy.
While in their treehouse, the Camp Ivanhoe Scouts have a change of heart and decide to help Suzy and Sam. They help Suzy and Sam sneak out and then together paddle to neighboring St. Jack Wood Island to seek out the help of Ben, an older cousin of the scout Skotak. Ben works at Fort Lebanon, a larger Khaki Scout summer camp on St. Jack Wood Island run by Ward's superior, Commander Pierce. Ben decides to try to take Sam and Suzy to a crabbing boat anchored off the island so that Sam can work as a crewman and avoid Social Services. He performs a wedding ceremony, which he claims is not "legally" binding, before they leave. Sam, Suzy, and Ben set off for the crabbing boat in a sailboat, but quickly return so that Sam can retrieve Suzy's binoculars. As Sam returns to the camp chapel to look for the binoculars, he is confronted by Redford, who alerts the camp to Sam and Suzy's presence. Suzy's parents, Captain Sharp, Social Services, and the Scouts of Fort Lebanon, under the command of Ward, pursue them.
A violent hurricane and flash flood strike, and Sharp apprehends Sam and Suzy on the steeple of the church in which they first met. Lightning destroys the steeple, but Sharp saves them. During the storm, he decides to become Sam's legal guardian. The hurricane erases Mile 3.25 Tidal Inlet from the map. At Summer's End, Sam is upstairs painting a landscape of Moonrise Kingdom. Suzy and her brothers are called to dinner, while Sam slips out of the window to join Sharp in his patrol car, telling Suzy he will see her the following day.
Cast
Bruce Willis as Captain Sharp
Edward Norton as Scout Master Ward
Bill Murray as Mr. Bishop
Frances McDormand as Mrs. Bishop
Tilda Swinton as Social Services
Jason Schwartzman as Cousin Ben
Bob Balaban as Narrator
Jared Gilman as Sam
Kara Hayward as Suzy
Lucas Hedges as Redford
Charlie Kilgore as Lazy-Eye
Andreas Sheikh as Panagle
Chandler Frantz as Gadge
Robert Hadlock as Deluca
L.J. Foley as Izod
Gabriel Rush as Skotak
Seamus Davey-Fitzpatrick as Roosevelt
Tommy Nelson as Nickelby
Larry Pine as Howard Billingsley
Marianna Bassham as Becky
Neal Huff as Jed
Eric Chase Anderson as Secretary McIntire
Jake Ryan as Lionel
Tanner Flood as Murray
Ryatt Ralff as Rudy
Liz Callahan as Mrs. Billingsley
Ada-Nicole Sanger as Sparrow
Harvey Keitel as Commander Pierce
Cooper Murray as Indian Chief Khaki Scout
Steve Smith as the voice of the Weather Man
Production
Development
Director Wes Anderson had long been interested in depicting a romance between children. He described the starting idea for the story as a memory of fantasized young love:
I remember this feeling, from when I was that age and from when I was in fifth grade, but nothing really happened. I just experienced the period of dreaming about what might happen, when I was at that age. I feel like the movie could really be something that was envisioned by one of these characters.
When he was 12, Anderson lived in Texas with two brothers. His parents were separating, and influenced his later depictions of crumbling marriages. He was briefly a Scout, and had acted Noye's Fludde, an opera for children about Noah's Ark. A childhood incident inspired the scene where Suzy reveals her parents' book Coping with the Very Troubled Child. He found a similarly titled book belonging to his father and remarked, "I immediately knew who that troubled child was."
After working on the screenplay for a year, Anderson said he had completed 15 pages and appealed to his The Darjeeling Limited collaborator Roman Coppola for help; they finished in one month. Coppola drew on memories of his mother Eleanor in giving Mrs. Bishop a bullhorn to communicate inside the house. Anderson described the 1965 setting as randomly chosen, but added it fit the subject of the Scouts and the feel of a "Norman Rockwell-type of Americana". While preparing the script Anderson also viewed films about young love for inspiration, including Black Jack, Small Change, A Little Romance and Melody. François Truffaut's 1959 French film The 400 Blows about juvenile delinquency was also an influence.
After his 2009 film Fantastic Mr. Fox underperformed, Anderson said he had to pitch Moonrise Kingdom with a smaller budget than he would have otherwise requested. The budget was US$16 million, and his producers Steven Rales and Scott Rudin agreed to back the project.
Casting
The crew scheduled a substantial amount of time for casting the Sam and Suzy characters. Anderson expressed apprehension about the process saying, "there's no movie, if we don't find the perfect kids". The auditions took eight months at different schools. Anderson chose Jared Gilman finding him "immediately funny" thanks to his glasses and long hair, and for his voice and personality at the audition. Kara Hayward was cast because she read from the screenplay and spoke naturally as if it was real life. Hayward had seen Anderson's 2001 The Royal Tenenbaums and interpreted Suzy as having a secretive nature, similar to that of Margot played by Gwyneth Paltrow. All the child actors were novices. Anderson believed they had never even auditioned before. He put the successful candidates through months-long rehearsals. He assigned Hayward book reading, and had Gilman practice scouting skills. Although Anderson could not envision one young auditioner, Lucas Hedges, as Sam, he felt the boy was talented enough to be given an important role and cast him as Redford.
Bill Murray and Jason Schwartzman were regular actors in Anderson's filmography. Schwartzman said he accepted the role of Cousin Ben without asking for a larger part, because in his experience Anderson always planned thoroughly what was best for his films, including casting characters. Unlike Murray and Schwartzman, Bruce Willis, Edward Norton, Frances McDormand and Tilda Swinton had not worked with Anderson. Journalist Jacob Weisberg characterized them as "the ensemble cast". While Anderson said that he wrote the part of Captain Sharp imagining the deceased James Stewart playing him, he thought Willis could be the "iconic policeman" once the screenplay was completed. Willis said he had seen all of Anderson's films and was interested in collaborating with the director. Anderson also hoped Norton would play Scout Master Ward, commenting, "he was somebody who I thought of as a scoutmaster ... He looks like he has been painted by Norman Rockwell." In June 2011, it was reported Harvey Keitel joined the cast after most of the other principal actors.
Pre-production
Maps were among the props designed for the production.
In the film, 12-year-old Suzy packs six fictitious storybooks she stole from the public library. Six artists were commissioned to create the jacket covers for the books, and Wes Anderson wrote passages for each of them. Suzy is shown reading aloud from three of the books during the film. Anderson had considered incorporating animation for the reading scenes but chose to show her reading with the other actors listening spellbound. In April 2012, Anderson decided to animate all six books and use them in a promotional video where the film's narrator Bob Balaban introduces each segment.
Anderson described designing the maps for the fictitious New Penzance Island and St. Jack Wood Island saying: "It's weird because you'd think that you could make a fake island and map it, and it would be a simple enough matter, but to make it feel like a real thing, it just always takes a lot of attention." In addition to the books and maps, Anderson said the crew spent a substantial amount of time creating the watercolor paintings, needle-points and other original props. He wanted to ensure that even if a prop is only briefly seen in the film "you kind of feel whether or not they've got the layers of the real thing in them".
The costumes for Suzy and Sam are based on photographs from the 1960s and Boy Scouts.
Anderson used Google Earth for initial location scouting, searching for places where they could find Suzy's house and "naked wildlife", considering Canada, Michigan and New England. The filmmakers running the Google search also looked at Cumberland Island in Georgia, and the Thousand Islands. Camp Yawgoog, an actual Scout camp in Rhode Island, served as the inspiration for the Khaki Scout sets, and many items were borrowed from the camp for props.
Kasia Walicka-Maimone was the costume designer. Anderson presented her with concepts of how the characters should look. She drew on photographs from the 1960s and the uniforms of Boy Scouts when designing Suzy and Sam's costumes. (Their characters inspired many Halloween costumes in 2012.) While the filmmakers planned to model the animal costumes on those in real Noye's Fludde productions, they decided instead to fashion them as if they were made for U.S. schools, consulting photographs from Anderson's former school.
Filming
Conanicut Island Light was the model for Suzy's house.
Principal photography took place in Rhode Island from April to June 2011. The film was shot at various locations around Narragansett Bay, Rhode Island, including: Conanicut Island, Prudence Island, Fort Wetherill, Yawgoog Scout Reservation, Trinity Church, and Newport's Ballard Park. A house in the Thousand Islands region in New York was used as the model for the interior of Suzy's house on the film's set. The set for the Bishop home was constructed and filmed inside a former Linens 'n Things store in Middletown, Rhode Island. Conanicut Island Light, a decommissioned Rhode Island lighthouse, was used for the exterior. Cinematographer Robert Yeoman shot the film on Super 16mm with a 1.85:1 aspect ratio, as opposed to Anderson's usual 35mm anamorphic format, using Aaton Xterà and A-Minima cameras. Anderson said the Aaton cameras were ideal for photographing child actors, as they were roughly the same height as the camera set up.
According to Anderson, the kissing scene between Sam and Suzy was not rehearsed so it could be "spontaneous"; it was the first kiss, on or off screen, for both actors. Hayward was given the cat seen in the film as a pet after the production was concluded.
Themes
Noye's Fludde is referenced in the film.
Professor Peter C. Kunze wrote that the story depicts "preteen romance", exploring child sexuality in the vein of The Blue Lagoon. Several critics interpreted the ear-piercing scene as symbolizing the characters losing their virginity. Author Carol Siegel judged the portrayal to be a positive take on "youthful sexual initiation", from a mainly male perspective, but like many other U.S. films she said it missed a female perspective. Academic Timothy Shary placed the story in the cinematic tradition of exploring "young romance" and the resulting strife, with Titanic (1997) and Boys Don't Cry (1999).
The film scholar Kim Wilkins rejected the notion that Moonrise Kingdom is a romance film. She argued the severity of Sam and Suzy's behavior, and their "profound existential anxiety", indicate the characters were created as products of a more widespread concern for juvenile mental health. Wilkins wrote that the story dealt with "existential" questions, with the two young protagonists rejected by society and allying to escape to "a limited existence beyond its boundaries". According to a Chicago Tribune analysis, Moonrise Kingdom represented Anderson's most focused study on a theme running through his work, "the feelings of misunderstood, unconventional children".
J.M. Tyree of Film Quarterly argued the story illustrated both an affinity with and "arch skepticism" of the "comedy of love", where in Shakespearean comedy lovers, after courtship and marriage, would "return to a reconstituted civilized order". Sam and Suzy escape civilization but are always taken "back into twisted knots of communal ties". Critic Geoffrey O'Brien wrote that, while camps are common settings for stories about "innocence" lost, the truer theme was "the awakening of the first radiance of mature intelligence in a world liable to be indifferent or hostile to it".
The narrative features collapsing families, represented by the Bishops' failing marriage. Professor Emma Mason suggested their large house serves as a "mausoleum-like shelter". Sam is also disowned by his foster family for behaviors like arson while sleepwalking. While he told Suzy "I feel like I'm in a family now", academic Donna Kornhaber argued Sam, as an orphan, has a realistic perspective on the difficulties of building a family. As an adoptive father Sharp may not be ready, Tyree wrote, "but [his] lack of self-centeredness sets him apart from other would-be fathers or mentors in Anderson's world".
Professor Laura Shakelford observed how Suzy as the raven in Noye's Fludde is followed by a historic rainstorm echoing Noah's flood. Scholar Anton Karl Kozlovic suggested that while the film includes no quotes from the Book of Genesis and no shots of a copy of the Book, Noah's story is used for symbolism. The children dress as animals before floods cause them to seek shelter in the church, Kozlovic observed. Following the Genesis narrative, after the New Penzance flood, there is "abundant regeneration" with great harvests of high-quality produce. Shakelford read the story as a commentary on the characters grappling with the relationship between "the material world" in "postmodern cultures" and that of animals.
Style
Roger Ebert wrote the color scheme emphasized khaki and green.
Academic James MacDowell evaluated the film's style as displaying "the director's trademark flat, symmetrical, tableau framings of carefully arranged characters within colorful, fastidiously decorated sets" with "patent unnaturalism and self-consciousness". Considering the emphasis on symmetry (as opposed to other photographic composition strategies such as the rule of thirds) and color, authors Stephanie Williams and Christen Vidanovic wrote, "Almost every frame in this movie could be a beautiful photograph." Critic Robbie Collin added that besides the symmetry, many shots are "busy with detail, and if something visually dull has to happen, Anderson embellishes it: when Sam and Suzy retreat to have a quiet heart-to-heart, he places their silent conversation on the left hand side of the frame and an enthusiastic young trampolinist on the right". Roger Ebert identified the color scheme as emphasizing green in the grass, khaki in the Scouts camp and uniforms, and some red, creating "the feeling of magical realism".
Scholar Nicolas Llano Linares wrote that Anderson's films are "distinctively andersonian to the limit", "filled with ornate elements that create particular worlds that define the tone of the story, the visual and material dimensions of his sets". Linares particularly commented on the use of the animated maps, which make Anderson's universe more credible, and also have metaphorical significance. Macdowell pointed to the characters' books and the production of Noye's Fludde as examples of the "indulgent, excessive, yet attractive neatness" that children in Anderson's films enjoy. He also interpreted the animated maps as showing a naïve style.
In the scene where the Khaki Scouts meet with Cousin Ben, writer Michael Frierson observed how the tracking shot is combined with "clipped, military dialogue". The tents in the background in the tracking shot are in symmetry. Frierson also judged the moving camera as "smooth, stabilized". Joshua Gooch observed the dissolve between Sam's artwork and the Moonrise Kingdom beach tied together art with desire.
The dialogue is similarly "stylized" and "mannered" as in other Anderson films, which O'Brien viewed as fitting for "alienated twelve-year-olds who, on top of everything else, must invent a way to communicate with each other". This dialogue is spoken with "self-aware deadpan" performances.
Soundtrack
Main articles: Moonrise Kingdom (soundtrack) and Moonrise Kingdom (score)
Alexandre Desplat composed the original score, with percussion compositions by frequent Anderson collaborator Mark Mothersbaugh. The film's final credits feature a deconstructed rendition of Desplat's original soundtrack in the style of English composer Benjamin Britten's Young Person's Guide, accompanied by a child's voice to introduce each instrumental section.
The soundtrack also features music by Britten, a composer notable for his many works for children's voices. At Cannes, during the post-screening press conference, Anderson said: "The Britten music had a huge effect on the whole movie, I think. The movie's sort of set to it. The play of Noye's Fludde that is performed in it—my older brother and I were actually in a production of that when I was ten or eleven, and that music is something I've always remembered, and made a very strong impression on me. It is the color of the movie in a way.
With many Britten tracks taken from recordings conducted or supervised by the composer himself, the music includes The Young Person's Guide to the Orchestra (Introduction/Theme; Fugue), conducted by Leonard Bernstein; Friday Afternoons ("Cuckoo"; "Old Abram Brown"); Simple Symphony ("Playful Pizzicato"); Noye's Fludde (various excerpts, including the processions of animals into and out of the ark, and "The spacious firmament on high"); and A Midsummer Night's Dream ("On the ground, sleep sound"). Also featured are extracts from Saint-Saëns's Le Carnaval des animaux, Franz Schubert's "An die Musik", Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart's opera Così fan tutte and tracks by Hank Williams. The soundtrack album reached number 187 on Billboard's Top Current Albums chart.
Release
Director and stars at the 2012 Cannes Film Festival
Focus Features acquired world rights to the independently produced film. Moonrise Kingdom premiered on May 16, 2012, as the opening film at the 2012 Cannes Film Festival, Anderson's first film to be screened there. Studio Canal released the film in French theaters on the same day. The U.S. limited release followed on May 25, in New York City and Los Angeles. A short film, Cousin Ben Troop Screening with Jason Schwartzman, also directed by Anderson, was released on Funny or Die to promote the film. By its fifth week, the release was expanded to 395 theaters.
In Region 1 Moonrise Kingdom was released on DVD and Blu-ray by Universal Studios Home Entertainment on October 16, 2012, with featurettes like "A Look Inside Moonrise Kingdom". The Criterion Collection released both a DVD and Blu-ray with a 2K restoration on September 22, 2015.
Reception
Box office
In its opening weekend, Moonrise Kingdom earned $523,006 in four theaters, setting a record for the greatest gross per theater average for a live action film of $167,371. After five weeks, it made $11.6 million. By September, it grossed $43.7 million, doubling that of Anderson's Fantastic Mr. Fox.
Finishing its theatrical run on November 1, 2012, Moonrise Kingdom had grossed $45,512,466 domestically and $22,750,700 in international markets for a worldwide total of $68,263,166. It was Anderson's highest-grossing film in North America.
Critical response
Review aggregation website Rotten Tomatoes gives the film an approval rating of 94% based on reviews from 262 critics, with an average score of 8.24/10. The consensus states, "Warm, whimsical, and poignant, the immaculately framed and beautifully acted Moonrise Kingdom presents writer/director Wes Anderson at his idiosyncratic best." Review aggregation website Metacritic gives the film a weighted average score of 84 out of 100, based on 43 reviews, indicating "universal acclaim". Moonrise Kingdom was also listed on many critics' top 10 lists of the year. In 2016, it was voted 95th in an international critics' poll, the BBC's 100 Greatest Films of the 21st Century.
Roger Ebert rated the film three-and-a-half stars, praising the creation of an island world that "might as well be ruled by Prospero". A devoted fan of Anderson, Richard Brody hailed Moonrise Kingdom as "a leap ahead, artistically and personally" for the director, for its "expressly transcendent theme" and its spiritual references to Noah's Ark. Peter Bradshaw of The Guardian gave the film four stars out of five, calling it "another sprightly confection of oddities, attractively eccentric, witty and strangely clothed". The New York Times's Manohla Dargis reviewed Anderson and Coppola's screenplay as a "beautifully coordinated admixture of droll humor, deadpan and slapstick". Peter Travers positively reviewed the actors' performances, calling Norton engaging, Balaban "delightful" and Willis agreeable. Travers also credited cinematographer Yeoman for "a poet's eye" and composer Alexandre Desplat for his contributions. As novice actors, Jared Gilman and Kara Hayward also received praise. The Daily Telegraph's review stated it was "exhilarating" to see different elements combined, such as the music of Britten and Hank Williams. It called the end result "an extraordinarily affected piece of filmmaking". The Hollywood Reporter's review by Todd McCarthy described the film as an "eccentric, pubescent love story", "impeccably made". For Empire, Nev Pierce declared it "a delightful film of innocence lost and regained". Christopher Orr of The Atlantic wrote that Moonrise Kingdom was "Anderson's best live-action feature" and that it "captures the texture of childhood summers, the sense of having a limited amount of time in which to do unlimited things". Kristen M. Jones of Film Comment wrote that the film "has a spontaneity and yearning that lend an easy comic rhythm", but it also has a "rapt quality, as if we are viewing the events through Suzy's binoculars or reading the story under the covers by a flashlight".
Dissenting, Leonard Maltin wrote the "self-consciously clever to a fault" approach to depicting the children gave him "an emotional distance" to them. Rex Reed dismissed it as "juvenile gibberish" displaying "lunatic fragments of surrealism". Postmedia News' Katherine Monk gave a mixed review, calling it "kind-hearted and heavily contrived".
In later years, IndieWire placed Scout Master Ward in Anderson's top 10 most memorable characters in 2015, at ninth place, calling him "completely charming"; the same list also identified Suzy as "one of Anderson's best-drawn female characters". Chuck Bowen of Slant Magazine judged Moonrise Kingdom and The Grand Budapest Hotel as exemplifying Anderson's new leaner style (compared to what Bowen called "bloated speechifying" of past films) and credited editor Andrew Weisblum for "precise, unsentimental editing". In 2018, Variety named Moonrise Kingdom as Anderson's seventh best of nine films, saying Sam and Suzy did not feel real.
Accolades
Main article: List of accolades received by Moonrise Kingdom
Wes Anderson and Roman Coppola were jointly nominated for the Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay.
At Cannes, the film was in competition for the Palme d'Or, although the only award it won there was the unofficial "Palme de Whiskers" in recognition of the cat, "Tabitha". In anticipation of the 85th Academy Awards, journalist Lindsey Bahr called Moonrise Kingdom a "wild card" in the awards campaign given it received no nominations at the Screen Actors Guild or Directors Guild, but had won the Gotham Independent Film Award for Best Feature. Early in the campaign, it was a contender for a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Picture. Anderson and Coppola were ultimately nominated for the Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay.
The film was also nominated for the Golden Globe for Best Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy. It received five nominations at the 28th Independent Spirit Awards, including for Best Feature, and two nominations at the 17th Satellite Awards, including Best Film.
Controversy
The Huffington Post journalist Mina Zaher criticized the depiction of the sexual awakening between Sam and Suzy, expressing discomfort with the scene where Sam touches Suzy's breasts, calling it "a step further or perhaps too far". Zaher questioned if the children's sexuality could have been portrayed in a more appropriate way. Reviewing the scene where the characters dance wearing only their underwear, the Catholic News Service stated "The interlude doesn't quite cross over into the full-blown exploitation of children, but it teeters on that edge". Professor Carol Siegel summed up the portrayal as "delicate and to a large extent inoffensive".
In one scene, the dog Snoopy is killed by an arrow in a scene compared to Lord of the Flies by William Golding. This inspired a New Yorker editorial by Ian Crouch, "Does Wes Anderson Hate Dogs?". Crouch said that in the theater where he saw the film, "the shot showing the dog impaled and inert elicited a shocked, yelping exhale from many people in the audience", and he observed outrage on Twitter. The Washington Post critic Sonia Rao held up Snoopy's death as a prime example of "[A] particular kind of darkness [that] lurks" in Anderson's filmography, where "[p]ets are so often the victims of the writer-director's quirky storytelling", but argued Anderson's 2018 Isle of Dogs served to remedy this.
References
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{Infobox video game
| title = Earth Defense Force 2025
| image = Earth Defense Forces 4 japanese PS3 cover.jpg
| caption = Japanese PlayStation 3 box art
| developer =
Sandlot
| publisher =
- NA: Marvelous USA (PS4)
- EU: PQube (PS4)
| director =
- Toshio Noguchi
- Takehiro Homma
| designer = Takehiro Honma | programmer = Toshio Noguchi | artist = Masatsugu Igarashi
| composer =
- Masafumi Takada
- Jun Fukuda
| series =
Earth Defense Force
| platforms =
PlayStation 3
Xbox 360
PlayStation 4
Microsoft Windows
Nintendo Switch
| released =
-
PlayStation 3, Xbox 360PlayStation 4Microsoft WindowsNintendo Switch
- WW: July 18, 2016
- JP: December 22, 2022
| genre = Third-person shooter | modes = Single-player, multiplayer }} Earth Defense Force 2025 [a] is a third-person shooter developed by Sandlot and published by D3 Publisher, for the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360. It is the follow-up to Earth Defense Force 2017. [3] [4] A remastered version, titled Earth Defense Force 4.1: The Shadow of New Despair, [b] was released for PlayStation 4 and Windows in 2016, which includes the original game as well as a new expansion. A Nintendo Switch version was released in Japan in December 2022. [5] A reboot titled Earth Defense Force 5 was released on December 7, 2017.
Gameplay
The player takes control of an EDF soldier from one of four soldier classes. To fight these alien forces the player can access several weapons in the game, ranging from assault rifles and sniper rifles to rocket launchers, grenades, and laser weapons. Only two weapons may be selected for each mission with the exception of the Fencer, who can have four weapons, and the Air Raider, which can have three. The game has more than seven hundred weapons; roughly 175 weapons per soldier class. This the highest weapon count of any EDF. Some levels also contain vehicles which can be operated. [6] [7] The game takes place across levels featuring destructible environments, taking place in settings such as cities, beaches, hills, tunnels and more. There is no penalty for collateral damage that is inflicted on the environment by the player, for instance when buildings crumble after sustaining a few hits from a rocket launcher or grenade. Other EDF soldiers can be recruited or followed, and attack enemies on sight, as well as provide radio chatter. You can also customize the color of your soldier.
There are several difficulty levels. More effective weapons are dropped by the enemies in the game at the higher difficulty levels, encouraging players to repeat the missions. In addition to weapons, armor enhancements which function as permanent maximum health bonuses are dropped along with healing items.
Story
The Earth Defense Force, a unified multinational military sponsored by nearly every country, is founded after detecting an impending alien visit in case the aliens prove to be hostile. In the year 2017, that proved to be true and the EDF fought against the Ravagers, an alien race that attacked Earth with giant insect-like creatures, UFOs, robots and gigantic, 120-foot-tall lizard-like creatures. Eight years after defeating the last Ravager in Arizona (even though the final battle in the previous game was in Japan), they attack again with new creatures, evolved from their underground nest. Among them is the Retiarius, a spider-like creature which makes gigantic spiderwebs, and giant wasps. In the year 2025, the EDF must protect the Earth again from the alien invaders. [8]
Downloadable content
D3 has released several addons for this game. They were originally announced as bonuses for pre-orders of the Japanese version, including exclusive content for purchasing the game at some web retailers. The content is also available for free on PlayStation Store and Xbox Marketplace as of 2015 in a special bundle named "Unstoppable Shooter Satisfaction Pack" (in Europe) or as four separate bundles, one for each class (in North America). [9] There are a total of 8 weapon packs and 3 map packs (also bundled together in a "Season Pass") for a total of 45 additional missions. [10]
Reception
| Aggregator | Score | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| PC | PS3 | PS4 | Xbox 360 | |
| Metacritic | 79/100 [32] | 69/100 [33] | 64/100 [34] | 68/100 [35] |
| Publication | Score | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| PC | PS3 | PS4 | Xbox 360 | |
| Destructoid | N/A | N/A | 8/10 [11] | 8.5/10 [12] |
| Edge | N/A | N/A | 6/10 [13] | 5/10 [14] |
| Eurogamer | N/A | 5/10 [15] | N/A | N/A |
| Famitsu | N/A | 34/40 [16] | 32/40 [17] | 34/40 [16] |
| Game Informer | N/A | 8/10 [18] | N/A | 8/10 [18] |
| GameRevolution | N/A | N/A | N/A |
[19] |
| GameTrailers | N/A | N/A | N/A | 8/10 [20] |
| GameZone | N/A | 8.5/10 [21] | N/A | 8.5/10 [21] |
| IGN | N/A | 6.5/10 [22] | N/A | 6.5/10 [22] |
| Joystiq | N/A |
[23] | N/A | N/A |
| PlayStation Official Magazine – UK | N/A | 6/10 [24] | 6/10 [25] | N/A |
| Official Xbox Magazine (US) | N/A | N/A | N/A | 7.5/10 [26] |
| PC Gamer (UK) | 80% [27] | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| Polygon | N/A | N/A | N/A | 7.5/10 [28] |
| The Escapist | N/A | N/A | N/A |
[29] |
| Slant Magazine | N/A | N/A |
[30] |
[31] |
The PC version received "generally favorable reviews", while the rest of the console versions received "mixed or average reviews", according to the review aggregation website Metacritic. [32] [33] [34] [35] In Japan, Famitsu gave it a score of one nine, two eights, and one nine for the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 versions; [16] and all four eights for the PlayStation 4 version. [17]
James Cunningham of Hardcore Gamer called the PS3 version "a fantastic example of everything that makes pure action gaming so much fun, packed with replay value and over the top set pieces, and a more than worthy sequel that tops its predecessor in every way." [36]
Forbes gave the PS4 version a score of eight out of ten and called it "a raucous and fun shooter with a different as well as more open ended approach compared to the more scripted movie wannabe type games out there. The dialogue is both silly and endearing and the combat is very satisfying." [37] Shacknews gave the Xbox 360 version a score of six out of ten, saying, "Shortcomings aside, Earth Defense Force 2025 is an action experience that will put a big, stupid grin on your face. Like Starship Troopers, EDF is a campy adventure that doesn't attempt to redefine the paradigm, but offers a reliably good time." [38] However, The Digital Fix gave the PS3 version five out of ten, saying that it "has a fiercely loyal following, and fans are likely to be happy embracing this latest title, bugs and all. For everyone else though, EDF 2025 is the gaming equivalent of Sharktopus: a bargain basement, low-budget cheesefest of the highest order, mildly amusing for a short time, filled with awful lines, and completely forgettable." [39] The Escapist gave the Xbox 360 version two stars out of five, saying that it "tries too hard at not trying hard enough, like one of those awful SyFy mutant movies. It knows it's terrible, and thinks it can get away with it by doubling down on its own awfulness. Clearly, this has worked for some, as the series has a fanbase. I don't get it, though. This is not so bad it's good. It's just plain bad, and there aren't enough giant insects in the world to convince me otherwise." [29]
Slant Magazine gave the Xbox 360 version two-and-a-half stars out of five, saying that "Even though it tries so very hard to jam-pack a pick-up-and-play shooter with missions, weapons, and multiplayer options aplenty, it's a game that has limits to its staying power, leaving the player hungry for something more substantial." [31] However, the same magazine gave the PS4 version three stars out of five, saying that it "doesn't ever completely shy away from using filler material after successfully building so much momentum." [30]
Notes
References
- ^ Zimmerman, Conrad (January 21, 2014). "Earth Defense Force 2025 lands February 18". Destructoid.
- ^ Spencer (March 19, 2013). "Earth Defense Force 2025 Jetpacks To Japan In July". Siliconera.
- ^ Martin, Liam (December 14, 2012). "'Earth Defence Force 2025' announced for Xbox 360, PS3, releasing 2013". Digital Spy. Retrieved July 6, 2017.
- ^ Romano, Sal (December 13, 2012). "Earth Defense Force 4 localization announced". Gematsu.
- ^ "Earth Defense Force 4.1: The Shadow of New Despair for Switch launches December 22 in Japan". Gematsu. 2022-09-17. Retrieved 2022-09-18.
- ^ "『地球防衛軍4』複数人で乗る大型武装兵器が明らかに！" ['Earth Defense Force 4' Large-scale armed weapons riding with multiple people is obvious!] (in Japanese). Famitsu. December 27, 2012.
- ^ "『地球防衛軍4』進化した最強のバトルマシン新型BM03ベガルタ登場" ['Earth Defense Force 4' The strongest battle machine has evolved: New model BM 03 Vegalta has appeared] (in Japanese). Famitsu. December 6, 2012.
-
^
D3Publisher (January 31, 2013).
"Earth Defense Force 2025 Gameplay Trailer (english subtitles)".
YouTube.
{{ cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list ( link) - ^ "Earth Defense Force 2025 Hits PS3 in February 2014, Pre-order Details Revealed". 28 October 2013.
- ^ "Earth Defense Force 2025 Beyond Despair Mission Pack Now Available".
- ^ Devore, Jordan (December 8, 2015). "Review: Earth Defense Force: The Shadow of New Despair (PS4)". Destructoid. Retrieved July 7, 2017.
- ^ Bonds, Ian (February 18, 2014). "Review: Earth Defense Force 2025 (X360)". Destructoid. Retrieved July 7, 2017.
- ^ Edge staff (February 2016). "Earth Defence Force 4.1: The Shadow of New Despair (PS4)". Edge. No. 289. p. 116.
- ^ Edge staff (February 18, 2014). "Earth Defence Force 2025 review (X360)". Edge. Archived from the original on March 5, 2014. Retrieved July 7, 2017.
- ^ Ellison, Cara (February 18, 2014). "Earth Defense Force 2025 review (PlayStation 3)". Eurogamer. Retrieved July 7, 2017.
- ^ a b c Gifford, Kevin (June 26, 2013). "Japan Review Check: Earth Defense Force 2025". Polygon. Retrieved July 6, 2017.
- ^ a b Romano, Sal (March 23, 2015). "Famitsu Review Scores: Issue 1373". Gematsu. Retrieved July 6, 2017.
- ^ a b Juba, Joe (February 18, 2014). "Earth Defense Force 2025: A Successful Infestation". Game Informer. Archived from the original on June 12, 2016. Retrieved July 7, 2017.
- ^ Tan, Nicholas (February 18, 2014). "Earth Defense Force 2025 Review (X360)". Game Revolution. Retrieved July 7, 2017.
- ^ Moore, Ben (February 18, 2014). "Earth Defense Force 2025 - Review (X360)". GameTrailers. Archived from the original on July 1, 2015. Retrieved July 7, 2017.
- ^ a b Donato, Joe (February 24, 2014). "EDF 2025 Review: The sweet science of insecticide". GameZone. Archived from the original on February 28, 2014. Retrieved July 7, 2017.
- ^ a b Albert, Brian (February 18, 2014). "Earth Defense Force 2025 Review". IGN. Retrieved July 7, 2017.
- ^ Cowan, Danny (February 19, 2014). "Earth Defense Force 2025 review: I like big bugs (PS3)". Engadget ( Joystiq). Retrieved July 7, 2017.
- ^ Gapper, Michael (February 18, 2014). "Earth Defence Force 2025 PS3 review - run-and-gunning can be alienating". PlayStation Official Magazine – UK. Archived from the original on February 28, 2014. Retrieved July 7, 2017.
- ^ "Earth Defence Force 4.1: The Shadow of New Despair". PlayStation Official Magazine – UK. February 2016. p. 89.
- ^ Rudden, Dave (February 18, 2014). "Earth Defense Force 2025 review". Official Xbox Magazine. Archived from the original on February 23, 2014. Retrieved July 7, 2017.
- ^ Savage, Phil (July 27, 2016). "Earth Defense Force 4.1: The Shadow of New Despair review". PC Gamer UK. Retrieved July 6, 2017.
- ^ Plante, Chris (February 18, 2014). "Earth Defense Force 2025 review: kill 'em all (X360)". Polygon. Retrieved July 7, 2017.
- ^ a b Sterling, Jim (February 19, 2014). "Earth Defense Force 2025 Review - Giant Insects". The Escapist. Archived from the original on September 21, 2015. Retrieved July 7, 2017.
- ^ a b Pressgrove, Jed (January 6, 2016). "Earth Defense Force 4.1: The Shadow of New Despair (PS4)". Slant Magazine. Retrieved July 7, 2017.
- ^ a b Clark, Justin (March 21, 2014). "Earth Defense Force 2025 (X360)". Slant Magazine. Retrieved July 7, 2017.
- ^ a b "Earth Defense Force 4.1: The Shadow of New Despair for PC Reviews". Metacritic. Retrieved July 6, 2017.
- ^ a b "Earth Defense Force 2025 for PlayStation 3 Reviews". Metacritic. Retrieved September 20, 2016.
- ^ a b "Earth Defense Force 4.1: The Shadow of New Despair for PlayStation 4 Reviews". Metacritic. Retrieved 2016-09-20.
- ^ a b "Earth Defense Force 2025 for Xbox 360 Reviews". Metacritic. Retrieved September 20, 2016.
- ^ Cunningham, James (February 26, 2014). "Review: Earth Defense Force 2025". Hardcore Gamer. Retrieved March 5, 2014.
- ^ Barder, Ollie (July 10, 2016). "'Earth Defense 4.1' Review: Unfettered Alien Carnage (PS4)". Forbes. Retrieved July 6, 2017.
- ^ Workman, Robert (February 19, 2014). "Earth Defense Force 2025 review: cheese whiz". Shacknews. Retrieved July 6, 2017.
- ^ Kershaw, Rob (March 14, 2014). "Earth Defense Force 2025 (PS3)". The Digital Fix. Archived from the original on June 11, 2016. Retrieved July 7, 2017.
External links
- Official website (in Japanese)
- Earth Defense Force 2025 at MobyGames
- Earth Defense Force 4.1: The Shadow of New Despair at MobyGames
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