Obession with End of Times Cinema

   
                                                             Obsession with the End of Times

    In society, each film is watched by individuals with their own specific purpose.  Some people may use movies for a sense of escape or to be thoroughly entertained.  Whatever the reason, films have a purpose and this purpose is often studied in order to create better understanding for certain decisions.  In this blog, I am in search of discovering the obsession of the general population in the genre of apocalypse. 

    Since the attacks of 9/11, it seems as if the popularity of doomsday movies and a peek into the events that can lead to the end of civilization as we know it. Leggatt (2015) describes the idea behind the genre, "Apocalyptic films invariably depict massive-scale destruction and the end of life as we know it" (p.325).  For example, a movie like 2012 came out which depicted when the world would end and a scenario of how the massive destruction would go down.  While seen as a work of fiction, some people were left to believe the possibility that it was predictive programming to get people used to tragedy instead of being completely shocked.  So why the obsession?  There are two ideas that I stumbled upon which can lead to better understanding: being unsatisfied with current societal dynamics and a sense of failure which led to a decrease of optimism.

    Throughout the world, there are large number of people who suffer due to either a lack of economic success, opportunity, and chance at free will.  In the United States of America, there is hardly a lack of free will due to our democratic society.  However, there are a large number of people dissatisfied with the economic structure and lack of opportunity to succeed.  In this sense, people would deem it fit and have a desire for the world to end.  Instead of struggling in an imperfect world, people would rather see civilization as we know come to an end and have an opportunity for society to start anew.  While some people have this vision, others may see these doomsday as a reconciliation for many past mistakes we made as a society. 

    As a society of humans who were created to be imperfect creatures, often mistakes that have been committed have piled up.  As a result, people have often become numb to the fact that there could possibly an existence of more good than bad.  In the grand scheme of things, at the end of times, we seemingly will be judged by God.  These images of destruction often show what the result of humanity was after not learning from our mistakes and starting on the road to redemption. Leggett (2015) dives deeper into this idea, "Redemption is the point of these films: the world must be saved so that in films to follow it can be blown up all over again...In Albert and Allen Hughes's The Book of Eli (2010), we are merely told that 'The war tore a hole in the sky" (p.328).  At this point, there is a wonder of the true meaning behind that message and often leads to curiosity of whether or not humans have a lasting impact on the future of society.

    The apocalyptic genre is one that has grown interest amongst the general population within the last decade.  People often can view these movies as a way to escape for reality and envision a better future with increased opportunity to succeed.  Others like to see their imagination of how the world would end come to life on screen.  Each moviegoer has a purpose and whether they like it or not, these fictional films are meant to entertain but also warn people of the consequences that can occur if not careful with their decision-making.  The world is destined to end at some point, whether by the grace of God, human error, or natural scientific erosion.  However, the obsession seems to have heightened due to the message being broadcasted by our media to entertain with the possibility of instilling fear in the general population.  Whatever the case, enjoy these films but also realize they are works of fiction.