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Movie: Disaster At Hillsborough

Movie: Disaster at Hillsborough

Summary

The movie "Disaster at Hillsborough" showed the complexity of a stampede.
From the build-up of people outside the gate, to the disaster that ended in the
death of 95 people.
The film started out outside the stadium where 95 people died at a
soccer game. The stadium was not equipped for the masses of people to show up
all at the same place at the same time. According to the officer interviewed
there was no plan in case of an emergency and no problems anticipated. The
atmosphere outside the gates was pleasant and people were looking forward to a
good game. The stampede started when the people in the rear realized that the
game was to start before they were going to get in. The stampede could possibly
been averted if the kickoff were delayed but the man "in charge" refused to
delay. Just as at the "Who" concert the people in the rear of the line were in
an acquisitive panic to get into the stadium. This pressure was recognized by
the police in the front of the line and due to poor communication nothing could
be done to stop it. A large gate "gate C" was finally opened to let off the
pressure in front. This is when the true disaster occurred. People funneled
straight onto the already full pens and created the stampede which killed the 95
people. People in the rear were in an acquisitive panic and the people in the
front who were getting crushed were in a fearful panic. The emergency gates
would open but the police, not realizing the situation, kept people in and
closed the gates.

Critique
This example could not be anymore perfect to show a stampede and panic.
All four components were met. (1) Partial entrapment; the reality is complete
entrapment. As at the Who concert the only avenue of escape was blocked by the
police. (2) Perceived threat; this comes from both ends of the panic. The
people at the rear were threatened by the fact that they would miss the kickoff
of the game or even not be able to get into...