The 'disgusting' Malaysia Airlines novel and other controversies

Families of passengers from the missing Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 have denounced a novel inspired by the mystery. Danica Weeks, the wife of missing New Zealander Paul Weeks, says she is "disgusted" by the release of the book, which came out three months after the plane disappeared. "I'd rather they'd put their efforts to helping them find the truth, to be honest," she told the Sydney Morning Herald. "We're going to be spending the rest of our lives doing that." The book is not the only controversial creation inspired by the plane's disappearance:

The book: MH370

The fictional novella, MH370, was released as an ebook earlier this month. The New Zealand author, based in Malaysia, used a pseudonym – Scott Maka – fearing fall-out from government bodies. The story provides a fictional account of the 24 hours leading up to the plane's disappearance, focusing on one female passenger. "It has no chapter breaks and no happy ending," says Waikato Times. The 45-year-old author, a former reporter, said he was inspired to write the book following a "hair-raising" Air Asia flight between Malaysia and Vietnam just a week after MH370 disappeared. However, he said he never intended for the relatives of the missing passengers to even find out about the book and wanted to apologise to the families.

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up

The film: The Vanishing Act

Indian director Rupesh Paul came under fire for his plans to make a film about the plane's disappearance. He admitted to rushing a trailer for the movie, called The Vanishing Act, so he could promote it at Cannes Film Festival last month. Another associate director claimed the only similarities between the film and real-life disaster was that "a plane is missing". But the trailer claims to be "decoding" the "MH370 mystery" and shows a Malaysia Airlines plane taking off from Kuala Lumpur before communications from the plane are severed. In one scene, two crew members are seen kissing – a storyline that has since been cut – and in another clip a gun can be seen. Paul, whose other films include Kamasutra 3D and Saint Dracula, hopes to release The Vanishing Act in September.

Art: MH370 paintings

In the weeks after the plane disappeared, many people created works of art in tribute to the missing aircraft, from sand sculptures and chalk drawings to graffiti and paintings. Some artworks are now being sold. Dianne Erdmanis, an artist in Australia, is selling her MH370 painting for $525. The painting is said to represent "not only feelings of hope and despair for Flight MH370, but location, and other elements playing a part in the search for loved ones lost". A building in the picture is described as being "alight with people trying to locate the plane" and a black box is apparently painted white "to represent hope".

MH370: the musical?

Rupert Goold, artistic director of London's Almeida Theatre, has spoken of his desire to bring the mystery of the missing plane to the stage. "I find it compelling," he told the Daily Telegraph. "Everyone I know seems to be talking about it. Metaphorically and theatrically, it captures something very potent about the anxieties of our age. It’s like a Rorschach test: people read their own thoughts and paranoia into it, whether that be about globalisation, technology, terrorism or insanity." Goold has revealed any more details about his plans, but he has previously turned Bret Easton Ellis's American Psycho into a musical and made a drama out of the financial crisis with Enron.