Just got back from seeing latest Hollywood blockbuster The Day the Earth Stood Still, which fortunately, I managed to convince myself was in the name of research. True to a review I read, it featured Keanu Reeves yet again being paid millions to impersonate a floorboard. The theme of this particular film was centred around Aliens coming to Earth to destroy human civilisation because in their eyes humanity is a danger to other extraterrestrial civilisations, and featured scenes of mass destruction on an epic scale. It was another of what seems to be an endless barrage of hyped up CGI enriched armageddon/O-no-it's-the-end-of-the-world dramas where life on earth almost ends or civilisation collapses due to asteriods, zombies, aliens, viruses, mutants, robots, bad ecological management or all of the above - in no particular order. Its seems that in the movie and computer game industries, the preferred and prevailing setting for content is the world's end. If it's not the apocalypse itself, it's before the apocalypse, after the apocalypse, during the apocalypse, the cause of the apocalypse, life after the apocalypse etc.
Not sure what I mean? Let me refresh your memory:
MOVIES:
- Life after nuclear war (The Day After, 1984)
- Man wakes up and discovers he's the last person alive in all humanity (The Quiet Earth, 1985)
- Violence after nuclear war and collapse of modern civilisation (Mad Max, 1980)
- All plant life dies, people turn into neurotic cannibals living in apartment blocks (Delicatessen, 1991)
- Future overrun by deadly disease, all is not well. (12 Monkeys, 1995)
- Post global warming earth, with slightly elevated sea levels compared to current predictions (Waterworld, 1995)
- Giant black living sphere of pure hyper-intelligent evil and death comes from the deepest regions outside time and space to engulf the Earth, but is stopped by a deadly laser of true love. (The 5th Element, 1997).
- Soft apocalypse: Civilisation dominated by genetic fascists (Gattaca, 1997)
- Earth attacked by aliens, but we win, (of course) (Independence Day, 1998)
- Earth threatened by giant asteroid, (Armageddon, 1998)
- Earth threatened by giant meteor (Deep Impact, 1998)
- Earth taken over by Robots who anihilate all vestiges of the human race and use some for batteries (The Matrix, 1999)
- Earth attacked by aliens, we win again (War of the Worlds, 2005)
- Earth taken over by Zombies - civilisation collapses (Day of the Dead, 1985 & 2008)
- Earth taken over by more Zombies - civilisation collapses (Resident Evil, 2002)
- Earth taken over by Zombies and civilisation collapses - deep and meaningful version with good direction (28 Days Later, 2002)
- Earth taken over by Zombies - good director version part II. Different director, though. (28 Weeks Later, )
- Earth freezes over and other relevant climate issues (The Day After Tomorrow, 2004)
- Women unable to become pregnant and society collapses (Children of Men, 2006)
- Scotland taken over by deadly virus and walled off, but eventually virus spreads beyond the wall (Doomsday, 2008)
- Virus transforms almost all humanity into Vampire like creatures - civilisation collapses (I Am Legend, 2007)
- Earth taken over by a Hyper-Intelligent All powerful Computer with Arnold Shwarzeneggar in it (Terminator III)
- Earth taken over by robots who really want to kills us (Terminator Salvation, 2009)
- Earth attacked by aliens, then they just leave (The Day the Earth Stood Still, 2008)
- Sun almost dies and Earth almost freezes (Sunshine, 2008)
- Americans sublimely wiped out by gases released from plants (The Happening, 2008)
- Humans leave Earth as giant trash heap (WALL-E, 2008)
- The end of the world is about to happen (Knowing, 2009)
- Oh, no, not again (2012, 2009)
COMPUTER GAMES (some):
- Wasteland, 1998
- Resident Evil 2, 1998
- Soldiers of Anarchy, 2002
- Half Life 2, 2004
- Gears of War I and II, 2006-2008
- Fallout I-III 1998-2008
- Rage, 2007
- Waterstorm (2008)
- Advance Wars: Days of Ruin (2008)
- Disaster: Day of Crisis (2008)
OK that's a funny list but it is by no means comprehensive, [For a more comprehensive list of movies, try http://www.quietearth.us/postapoc.htm] and I am trying to make a serious point about this. Nothing like this scale of realistic imagery and and scope of destruction has been portrayed ever before in history, so consistently, with armies of CGI artist doing their best to make it look as convincing as possible. This almost overwhelming stream of apocalyptic content is inconcievable 100 years ago.
Maybe all this mass mayhem is just some good old fashioned healthy fear? It makes sense that with this new and developing global consciousness of ours, come sensible fears. Definitely some modern media is actually educational and provides a realistic portryal of potential scenarios. But how much fear do we need? We have an entire generation of kids rabidly consuming this stuff, like there's no tomorrow (no pun intended). An entire generation growing constantly envisioning the end of the world in stunning CGI. I wouldn't mind if there was some substantial counterweight in terms of visions of the future providing a context for all this, but there really isn't. I mean actual visions of a sustainable future. Having read the above list, try and think of some wholesome positive portrayals of the future of humanity in modern cinema or computer games? Anything spring to mind? Nothing? NOT ONE!?