It’s The End Of The World As We Know It, And I Feel Bored
Even more than usual, there is a spate of apocalyptic films coming out this month. 2012, The Collapse (An indie documentary predicting the end of the world as we continue to exploit the Earth), and The Road are all being released to theaters this month. 2012, which was released just this past Friday, brought in $60+ million and scathing reviews. It has enough explosions and CGI to engross the most ardent of ADHDers, but what is the social commentary that it is providing.
Films about the end of the world or the extinction of the human race should be rife with social commentary whether it be a warning, or predicted scenarios, or something to exemplify the human condition. The novel of The Road is great, though with its stark setting and lack of characters, I am skeptical that it will transfer successfully (artistically) into a film unless it is altered a lot. I am always ready to watch a movie with Viggo Mortensen because of the interesting and eclectic roles he takes on. So I will give it the chance it deserves.
The Collapse is probably going to be the most frightening. Michael Ruppert explores the inevitable apocalypse when failing economies, environment, and energies coincide. It is a real fear. It moves out of the overtly fictitious and explores the definite possibility of our demise as a species. So why are we so obsessed with the end of the world? Is this something that we are really embracing or is it comforting to have over-the-top scenarios played out on a giant screen knowing that the premise could never really happen (think of The Day After Tomorrow).
We are just as interested in scenarios of pestilence, disease, war, terrorism, science run amok, and zombie invasions to name only a few of the notions we entertain when choosing our next movie to watch.
My question to you, my few, but loyal viewers is: Why are we so obsessed with the end of all things? Please comment; all opinions are valid as long as they are sincere.
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November 18th, 2009 at 15:02
I really feel that being obsessed with the end of the world is nothing more than human habit (it happens repeatedly throughout history with varying causes). It makes exciting drama that feeds on the current fears of society. I think these apocalyptic films are popular to watch because it is inspirational to see the survivors and what they did to survive and what hardships they must endure. Depending on the cause of the apocalypse the film is also meant to wake up and shake up the audience. This is what could happen if we don’t act now! Don’t be part of the problem! This all could have been avoided if only we had —–!
If widespread apocalyptic defeatism really existed, no one would be trying to cure disease, or invest in alternate fuels, or watch their cholesterol, or bother helping anyone at all. What would be the point? On the other hand, since we don’t know for certain just how fast Zombies will be, I have been steadily increasing my cardio workouts after seeing Zombieland.
November 18th, 2009 at 19:05
I want to see “Alexandra’s Project” now!
November 19th, 2009 at 09:27
I think we are obsessed with SURVIVING the end of things. We want to be in that handful that makes it! We want to be Frannie or Stu in The Stand or The Postman in David Brin’s novel. We want all the bad guys who screwed up the world to suffer and die (after all, we are tiny cogs…and have not done anything particularly bad, so deserve to live, don’t we?)
Probably the most frightening apocalypse movie I’ve seen was a nuclear war film. It was set in a suburb. Ordinary people going about their days. Bombs go off. Those that weren’t killed outright, got radiation sickness. EVERYONE dies. (Can’t remember the name of the movie, but it was a true Horror film.)
November 19th, 2009 at 19:32
I think people always want to know ‘what’s next’. And in our society it translates to, “what’s next now.”
It’s why we have people trying to ‘break the bible code’ when it explicitly says in plain words in the bible that only God knows what will happen and don’t try to find out.
What I think it interesting is how bad news is more believed than good news. In the 30’s they had the radio broadcast of War of the Worlds that many people believed was true, and today NASA has to have an Ask the Astrophyicist blog just to answer questions about the Mayan prophecy of 2012.
Perhaps what the human race is, is a bunch of Drama Llamas always ready to be worried about something big, instead of fixing the things we can.
Lately it seems to me that movies like to play with CGI more than getting involved with a in-depth characters.
November 20th, 2009 at 11:01
i think it is because we love to see how the people survive, and i also think it is for the same reason why we love horror movies because we love to be entertained with what we are afraid of, and i think most people are terrified of the tought of the end of the world