What's with this recent spate of apocalyptic movies?

conorhal

There are currently three in the cinema at the same time, The Road, The Book of Eli and Daybreakers.
In the past few months there has been 2012, Zombieland, Terminator Salvation, Surrogates and probably others that I just don’t know about , (not to mention other films that touch off themes of environmental cataclysm like Avatar) and in the coming month you will have remake of The Crazies and Legion.

Every other movie release at the moment seems obsessed with the collapse of civilization (though I’m willing to admit that it might just be me, and there’s always been a fairly consistent number of apocalyptic movies in the theatres). But now that I notice it, it makes me wonder if this apocalyptic trend actually indicates a some (perhaps cyclical) mass psychological or cultural shift in western society at the moment.

With war, terrorism, natural and man made disasters in the news daily, it’s understandable that the entertainment industry are likely to reflect what plays on people minds, but I’m curious if these movies are a cathartic release to cope with the fears of the day, or a cultural representation of western societies jaded last sigh as it slowly declines. The current crop are very much in contrast to the scientific and rationalistic optimism of the 50’s and 60’s where threats were confronted collectively and our hero scientist offered a progressive solution to the problem, instead we’re seeing a lot of lone individuals simply coping in a collapsing world, which was a common narrative trend in 70’s sci-fi too (Charlton Heston practically owned that sub-genre).
What are your thoughts, are we all spent pessimists, psychologically surrendering to extinction or just cathartically blowing off some steam?

my eyes hurt

maybe something to do with cashing in on the 2012 phenomenon but more than likely they are just good scripts or movies that studios feel audiences will go to see for the SFX etc.

MementoMori

I'd imagine some part of it would have to do with George Bush being president for 8 years and possibly a reaction to that.

It's not the first time that there has been evidence of group think at the box office. There tends to be trends in film-making and right now apocalypses are box-office boffo.

Who knows?

Apocalypses are kewl;)

longshanks

maybe its the latest fad, the apocalypse could be this years vampires

bonerm

Liam O wrote: »

my eyes hurt

maybe something to do with cashing in on the 2012 phenomenon but more than likely they are just good scripts or movies that studios feel audiences will go to see for the SFX etc.

Yep it's all about timing events up to 2012.

2009 - cinema release
2010 - bluray releases
2011 - special editions
2012 - terrestrial tv version

for MAXIMUM marketability!

mike65

In the 50s there were various disaster themed flicks which involved nuclear armagedeon like On the Beach or the spin off from same like Godzilla, the 60s was the quietest decade for calamity apart from the end of the world in Dr Strangelove and the "voluntary" destruction of New York in Fail Safe or the planet going up in flames in The Day the Earth Caught Fire and the odd mad machine "Colossus: The Forbin Project"

Actually the 60s was pretty eventful, I didn't even mention The Crack in the World which threatened to engulf the planet in lava.

As for now, its just more of the same with added post Millennium/pre 2012 tension.

Otis Driftwood

Its by no means a new phenomenon.

Studio makes a particular type of movie.

Said movie does well at the box office.

Rival studio decides to make a movie in a similar vein and that does well at the box office too.

Rinse & repeat.

Movies with lots of explosions and flashy CGI are sadly what the majority of the movie going public want to see so from a purely financial point of view it makes perfect sense.

From a quality of movie point of view,most of em are bullsh1t.

C'est le vie.

Ps,fix the fcuking font will ya.

Agricola

Yeah I think its purely a case of one film starting a tread. If the studios perceive a apetite for a certain genre in the mass market, then they will churn out one of their own. Think Gladiator in 2000, followed by Troy, then Kingdom of Heaven (and lots of other historical movies that werent much to write home about, King Arthur for example) Theres been a lull in these in the last couple of years but we have Ridley Scott's Robin Hood this summer of course.

The whole 2012 thing is a great money spinner for hollywood so it would make sense for apolcalyptic movies to be popular at the moment.

conorhal

Agricola wrote: »

Yeah I think its purely a case of one film starting a tread. If the studios perceive a apetite for a certain genre in the mass market, then they will churn out one of their own. Think Gladiator in 2000, followed by Troy, then Kingdom of Heaven (and lots of other historical movies that werent much to write home about, King Arthur for example) Theres been a lull in these in the last couple of years but we have Ridley Scott's Robin Hood this summer of course.

The whole 2012 thing is a great money spinner for hollywood so it would make sense for apolcalyptic movies to be popular at the moment.

True, but I'm wondering what is it about films like 2012 or The road that has made the apocalyptic genre a such a success with audiences. Hollywood may slavishly copy success, but what's creating the a popular zietgeist for our own annihilation that encourages Hollywood to churn them out, and what demand do they meet? There are no shortage of other genres that can deliver pure spectacle.

mike65

We like the end of the world. Always have, its one of mankinds most persistent story trends.

L31mr0d

mike65 wrote: »

We like the end of the world. Always have, its one of mankinds most persistent story trends.

Aye, but the format usually ends with a light at the end of the tunnel, a proverbial phoenix rising from the ashes to start anew. A truly great dystopian film would end in as miserable a state as it began with no wistful hope to speak of.

][cEMAN**

Mad max. Awesome.

extrinzic

Given the strong links between the corporate media and governments, particularly western governments, it is but a small leap to assume the underling messages delivered by big corporate media are means to produce and support a certain world view. Supposing that our economic model requires short term self interest to maximise profitability; in the context of such a paradigm it makes sense to frighten the public with images of a precarious world on the brink of catastrophe. Such images would reinforce the belief that forces in the world are beyond human control and comprehension, and while this not entirely untrue, it is exaggerated to the extreme by corporate film. Consequently, people absorb a subconscious or semi-subconscious conviction that it is better to make the most of the good times, and live for a day, than plan for tomorrow and build a better world for our children. Ironically, it is this very conviction, and the subsequent behaviour of individuals who carry this idea, that make up to a large extent, the western societies.

It is citizens of western democracies (who are implicitly responsible by virtue of the democratic system) who are largely responsible for most of the dire predictions, such as nuclear proliferation, or environmental destruction, and these issues are exacerbated by the short-term gain philosophy of western lifestyles. So, in effect, we reinforce our belief in a dangerous world that must be dominated through force, and accept a political status quo that claims to protect us, but only intensifies the threat, if only ever from moment to moment. Heaven forbid we would ever see the status quo as the foundation of such issues.

All the same, special effects are cool, but CGI is very dull once you have seen it a few times. What is creepy is the CGI you don’t see, the stuff that passes for real life.

conorhal

extrinzic wrote: »

Given the strong links between the corporate media and governments, particularly western governments, it is but a small leap to assume the underling messages delivered by big corporate media are means to produce and support a certain world view. Supposing that our economic model requires short term self interest to maximise profitability; in the context of such a paradigm it makes sense to frighten the public with images of a precarious world on the brink of catastrophe. Such images would reinforce the belief that forces in the world are beyond human control and comprehension, and while this not entirely untrue, it is exaggerated to the extreme by corporate film. Consequently, people absorb a subconscious or semi-subconscious conviction that it is better to make the most of the good times, and live for a day

It's an interesting theory but a flawed one. There is practically no major religion without not just a creation myth, but also one that includes a vision of 'the end'. We've been obsessing about apocalypse since the day dot, and long before the economic models we currently operate with.

Short term thinking in fact seems something innate to our species, we are programmed for it, not by a consumer society but rather since way back when you faced the choice between eating a rat now or holding out on the hope that you might catch a deer later. Your brain is shouting "make some rat stew fool!" because a capacity to imagine how a good a deer will taste next week holds no evolutionary advantage. It's a scientific term called hyperbolic discounting, and it's why we're willing invest in dumb ass things like pyramid schemes.

I can't remember who's quote it is (a poet called Gyllenhal I think) that said 'There are as many ways for the world to end as there are people in it'. In other words we all face our own personal armageddon at the end of our lives and sometimes externalize this because we cannot picture a world without us (narcissistic I know!). AS a result, almost every generation thinks that it will see the end of days in it's time and there's never a shortage of apocalyptic cults to cater to that. On a broader scale we get global warming, global cooling, global pandemics, global astrological events worried about like asteroid hits etc. (I'm not arguing that any one or all of these are figments of peoples unjustified panic, just that we seem always on the look out for something to end us once and for all).

Naturally as art reflects life, this strange psychological quirk of the human species is reflected in our popular entertainment and that's nothing new. It's been said that there are only 7 stories in the world but I reckon that it's 8, and I'll tack on apocalyptic catharsis as one of them. Now while there are only 8 stories, it's the variation on the themes that interest me. As L31mr0d pointed out:
"..but the format usually ends with a light at the end of the tunnel, a proverbial phoenix rising from the ashes to start anew. A truly great dystopian film would end in as miserable a state as it began with no wistful hope to speak of."
That I think is a new breed of ending at odds with say, 50's and 60's apocalyptic dramas, and personally, a reflection of the fragmentation and dispair of our particular times because they are characterised by such rapid change and instability. The last time this trend emerged was in the apocalyptic dramas of the 1970's after the death of hippie optimism gave birth to a decade or more pronounced pesimism much like our own. That's my 49 cents woth anyhow!

][cEMAN**

I thought there were only 2 - Man comes to town, man leaves town

Richard Dower

I think some are taking the topic way too seriously, academics among you....i'm sure there is a sub forum for your (albeit interesting) musings.

Dempsey

Liam O wrote: »

my eyes hurt

maybe something to do with cashing in on the 2012 phenomenon but more than likely they are just good scripts or movies that studios feel audiences will go to see for the SFX etc.

Whats suppose to happen in 2012?

Stercus Accidit

Book of eli was sh1te.

Just thought I'd put that out there.


Post apocalypse seems to be in at the moment, swords and sandals was there a while back, then spies, cop films, the movie business deals in genres and tends to do them in clumps to get the most out of the popularity of a given genre at a given time, then we get sick of them and want the next thing.

Post apocalypse films allow a believable flight of fantasy into a dangerous world where we can be more than we are normally, as always works in cinema, it just doesn't require magic or vampires so is seen as slightly more down to earth.

Nichololas

Richard Dower wrote: »

I think some are taking the topic way too seriously, academics among you....i'm sure there is a sub forum for your (albeit interesting) musings.

Yeah, god forbid we should have an actual interesting thread in Films. :rolleyes:

Dempsey

Dempsey wrote: »

Whats suppose to happen in 2012?

just you wait and see

No seriously, a multitude of total bullcrap Y2Kesque conspiracy theories have been predicted. Google it.

MikeC101

Enlil_Nick wrote: »

Yeah, god forbid we should have an actual interesting thread in Films. :rolleyes:

I likes 'splosions! BOOOOM!

*drools*

everdead.ie

Dempsey wrote: »

Whats suppose to happen in 2012?

The Mayan Calander Ends which just so happens to coincide/they predicted a HUGE solar flare which will evaporate the atmosphere boil the earth and destroy all life as we know it. Except they turned out to be out by a year and now there expecting it to be in 2013 and be substantially weaker then first thought. Still for a calendar made 100's of years ago they where pretty damn accurate.

Dempsey

everdead.ie wrote: »

The Mayan Calander Ends which just so happens to coincide/they predicted a HUGE solar flare which will evaporate the atmosphere boil the earth and destroy all life as we know it. Except they turned out to be out by a year and now there expecting it to be in 2013 and be substantially weaker then first thought. Still for a calendar made 100's of years ago they where pretty damn accurate.

So what you are telling me is that Ireland could have a decent summer soon, NICE! :pac:

conorhal

Dempsey wrote: »

So what you are telling me is that Ireland could have a decent summer soon, NICE! :pac:

:pac:

I've never quite understood why anybody takes the Myan predictions seriously, they could predict the end of the world, but the missed the catastrophic collapse of their own society? That's like a psychic predicting the lotto numbers, and then getting run over on the way to the shops to buy a ticket.....

conorhal

' wrote:

[cEMAN**;64225669']I thought there were only 2 - Man comes to town, man leaves town

Yeah, but then mumble-core came along and we also got, man aspires to leave town but never quite makes it and then muses upon the failures of his life. I still reckon astroid destroys town should be in there too...

BaelNaMblath

People get convinced the world is gonna end every couple of years, based on some oddball theory. Now its 2012, so hollywood's been profiteering off this idea. But the same thing happened back before Y2K.