Apocalyptic Appeal

[Snugglebunny]

This is a strange trend I've noticed, not just in video games, but in movies, books, TV shows, and almost every facet of pop culture, grossing obscene amounts of money: The second coming. The end of all time. In a word, the Apocalypse.

Granted, its not exactly *new* material (The Book of Revelations was written almost 2000 years ago), but it seems odd, how much attention and entertainment comes from, essentially, the death of mankind and civilization. And of course the countless varieties seem endless: extinction by zombies, disease, ancient prophecies, aliens, angels, demons, natural disasters...it goes on....

Mass death, suffering, destruction, and literally, the end of all existence? Personally, I don't understand the appeal. And certainly wouldn't pay 7.50 to go see a movie about it.

So, questions for you all:
1. Apocalypse? Opinions on it.
2. Preferred form of apocalypse? Zombies? Aliens?
3. What's the appeal?

(Misogynists will be silently disapproved of)

 

[TheNumber1Zero]

1 Seeing as it tends to be a very popular thread topic choice, I would say it's fairly liked, self included.

2 Zombies are a classic, but so is Nuclear. Aliens seems like a dull choice for some reason.

3 Getting our heads in check, the danger of roaming the wastes, the Fallout series.

 

[Dark Knifer]

Well, the apocalypse will end all life on earth, so it's natural humans would be curious about it. That's why they keep making movies about it. Most likely I will not be around for the apocalypse so I don't have much opinion on it.

 

[War Penguin]

I think the appeal is because of the fascination of it. I mean, do you know what the hell will happen? No? Well, neither do everyone else. Are you curious about what will happen? Yes? Well so is everyone else.

It's like death. We pay so much attention and are fascinated by it because we have no fucking clue what will happen.

Oh, and I like the zombie apocalypse. I'm old fashioned.

 

[DeadlyYellow]

1. In my infantile attempts at literature, I use it as a new beginning.
2. Human made, the most likely of all. We have enough explosive power to cleanse the world of any twitching breathing life-forms (for some reason.) Plus we continually seek advances to ensure we go extinct. AI? You betcha! Nanomachines? Of course! And let's not forgot smashing particles together in an attempt to reenact the Big Bang.

 

[snowman6251]

I think the appeal of surviving the apocalypse is the real draw. Its the idea of being so badass that you can outlast the rest of the human race.

Also I think movie bob talked about why we like zombies so much when he reviewed Zombieland. Its because we don't like other people.

 

[blindthrall]

This was actually the topic of the final paper for English class last semester. That professor rocked.

1.It's interesting because one way or another, it will happen. It's the one thing certain about the future; at some point, the species will no longer exist. Also, we've come pretty close a few times already.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_death

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cuban_missile_crisis

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Toba_catastrophe_theory

2.I prefer something that cannot be resisted or demonized, the simple slow grinding down of everything by entropy. Like if clouds covered the sun and never cleared, or if the soil was depleted of nutrients, or if we all became fertile. I enjoy seeing what people choose to fight against when they can't fight against their exterminator.

3.Thought experiment. Seeing what people would do with their backs against the wall. What actions would you take, if you knew not only yourself but all humanity would be dead within a decade or two? Would you do whatever you felt like, and damn morality? Would you pray in hopes to reach heaven? Would you stockpile supplies, and stubbornly try to survive as long as possible? Would you take as much down with you as you could? Or would you just sit back and watch the whole shithouse go up in flames?

If you can't tell, I really liked The Road.

 

[Paksenarrion]

There's a book I'm currently reading where humanity has silently and mysteriously died off, leaving their robots wondering what they're supposed to do with all the terra-forming projects they've been building.

1. It's an apportunity for a new start. A tabula rasa, if you prefer.
2. Mystified robot apocalypse
3. It's the destruction of all we know and disagree with, and the start of something new.

 

[Vuljatar]

It's always been popular, and always will be. Because it always manages to be "relevant". The end of the world as we know it is always right around the corner, be it enemy invaders, subversive elements, nuclear annihilation, mass technological failure, or some apocalyptic prophecy.

People are fearful creatures, we look for things to be afraid of. And what's scarier than the end of everything we know and love?

 

[blindthrall]

I think I figured out why Fallout is so great. It's all the great fantasies rolled into one. Knight on a quest? Yup. Gunslinger wandering the desert? Check. And it's got all the keen 1950s scifi tropes in there to boot. It's missing the astronaut(well, for a while, anyway), but the spaceman has fallen out of favor, because being a knight or a cowboy was easy compared to that. Plus, real astronauts never get to kill anyone. So the new male power fantasy archetype has become the post-apocalyptic survivor. Even though most of us probably has a better chance of becoming an astronaut than surviving the apocalypse.

 

[Tadd]

1. Apparently it's inevitable. Maybe if we look at it from a (crazy) theoretical perspective: perhaps the government is warning us, indirectly, through the media. So, in the actual event of an apocolypse, a larger number of people will be well-equipped and with plans for survival. (note: In the actual event of a zombie apocolypse, all survivors will be hardcore gamers).
Or, maybe the government is indirectly helping to maintain a fear; one that will make people consume; buy food, water, items for preperation, guns, ammo, etc; thus ever-so-slightly increasing a country's consumption rate.

2. Preferred form of apocalypse? Although zombies are cool, if I have to look at it from a logical point of view it would have to be aliens. That way, the entire human race will need to unite to fight off against one threat; in-turn eliminating racism and prejudice amongst man-kind (providing we win of course... just use water!!!)

3. What's the appeal? It's the huge "reset button" on humanity. That appeals to many for obvious reasons. I read a psychologist once blather on about how fantasising about the apocolypse (usually a zombie one) is completely natural and is commonly dreamed about. He does go on to say however, that such fantasies are due to dissatisfactions with our own lives or boredom with routines or perhaps a want to reach out and be somebody special/unique in a world filled with people struggling to be original. blah blah blah

 

[e2density]

1. Apocalypse? Opinions on it.
2. Preferred form of apocalypse? Zombies? Aliens?
3. What's the appeal?

1. My opinion is the fact that it is simply awesome, until it happens. The idea of living in a Fallout-esque world seems so great...until it actually happens.

2. Zombies. Totally. Zombies can be outsmarted far easier than aliens, if we are talking about your average TV-show zombie vs. Your average advanced-tech alien.

3. The appeal is living in a wasteland I guess, a place where you can find a shack, barricade it, and move strategically throughout the world. The idea of "Survival".

 

[Red_Serpent]

I think the reason we love apocalyptic themes so much is because deep inside we as humans our instinct is all about survival. Add to that the 'new start' approach that many people consider to go back to "simpler times" and where one is truly free of sorts.

I personally like the concept regardless of the 'why'. Although the 'global natural disaster' setting of apocalyptic movies these days has some nice flavour to it. I have plans to run a tabletop rpg set in a modern(10mins into the future) "non-epic" zombie apocalypse setting. My players all love the idea so much we had several zombie-movie nights, some never saw a zombie-movie before in their lives.

An apocalypse isn't the end of all things, its a new start of things, a second chance if you will.

 

[FalloutJack]

{1} Actual opinion of the Apocalypse? None of us will live to see it. The forces which cause an actual one are slow but inevitable, but they are very VERY slow. Unless the human race does something really unnatural to itself (like releasing the power of the Earth's core or something), we can expect nothing for many thousands of years, in my opinion. Maybe billions if the Earth behaves and it's the sun that goes out. The trouble is that there is something to be said of nuclear energy. It utilizes the half-life minerals which give off reactions that keep this planet hot. Plentiful, yes, but also dangerous and still finite over a loooong extended course of time.

{2} My preferred Apocalypse? Easy. Mad Scientist Takeover Scheme #113. That's the one where I flood the world with giant killer death-machines created by my brilliant super-science that leaves the world in awe and terror of my rule. And yet, the funny part is that I may end up doing some good if I ever got bored.

{3} The appeal, in my opinion, is in the scientific romance of what-might-be, the core of science fiction. Nuclear holocaust stories are the writer's warning against mutual annihilation. Robo-pocalypse is an argument against total reliance on mechanisms. Hell, The Futurological Congress addresses a number of things, none the least being the dangerous of controlling people with lies, falsehoods, and chemical-inducements. I like 'em for the entertainment value and the creative messages.

 

[Yokai]

The actual occurrence of an apocalyptic scenario is highly unlikely, and sadly, will be far less interesting than what we see in fiction. Most likely either a supervolcano or a meteor, or the sun burning out in five billion years, in which case if there are any of us left on Earth, there will be no surviving it. I do enjoy apocalypse stories, for reasons I will describe below.

My favorite kinds are probably nuclear and zombies, because they make for more exciting stories. They both leave noticeable hazards behind after the downfall of society (radiation, ghouls, possibly mutants, or in Fallout's case, all three) which makes the struggle to survive a little more lively, not just hour after hour of "find clean water. find food. Huddle up in a destroyed building and try to sleep. walk in the desert and nearly die of heatstroke etc. etc." There's nothing wrong with stories like those, but they just aren't quite as...badass.

I think much of the appeal of apocalyptic stories come from the idea of tribal, feudal, medieval culture with modern technology--and interesting juxtaposition visible in all kinds of apocalyptic stories. Another reason might be the fact that modern fiction loves the idea of the protagonist facing incredibly difficult challenges. What could be more challenging than surviving in a world where humanity has been decimated and every day is a struggle to meet the basics of life?

Apocalyptic books I would recommend:
Wasteland, Antony Johnston. Graphic novel with an imaginative yet familiar post-apocalyptic setting, awesome characters, and much profanity. Fun!
World War Z, Max Brooks. Portrayed as a nonfiction series of interviews about how humanity survived a zombie apocalypse. It gives a very realistic perspective on a common trope, and it's vaguely satirical as well.
Seriously people, read them if you can find them. Good use of your time.

 

[Pegghead]

I think Yahtzee said it perfectly, the fall of mankind appeals to those with no social skill (i.e most of the modern day entertainment crowd) so even though you're gonna have to hold out against slavering monsters your entire life at leat the big bullies will never pick on you.

Personally I like a nice zombie apocalypse. Oh and in terms of reccomending apocalyptic fiction I reccomend one of our (Australias) few good movies The Road Warrior (Mad Max 2). I also recommend the books Z for Zachariah and brother in the land.

 

[Ciran]

Well, I am sort of a fan of post apocalyptic settings, but I don't really like movies about it. They tend to be a bit monotonous and I would rather be interacting in such a world so I don't make the same dumb-ass choices the characters in movies seem to, or at least if I do make the same choice I'm better prepared for it.
As for the appeal, I think it's because it harkens back to an age where things were not all figured out. In this day and age, there is very little of the world we haven't explored, or at least the parts of the world inhabitable by humans, but back then there were parts of the world that no one had set foot in, so brave men in armor or whatnot went valiantly off to find what monsters were there to be slain.
In an apocalyptic setting, most of the tools of navigation have been destroyed for one reason or another, communication is gone, except in the most basic of senses, and suddenly again are those areas that seem dangerous and mysterious and require exploration and if you're playing in more of a mystical setting, there are various evil monsters that you must slay. Not to mention the fact that you get to rebuild civilization, which means doing things the way you think they should, rather than how they've been done so far. Plus being one of the few humans left alive means finding a potential mate is that much easier, and being that you would have to potentially fight for survival as well as hunt or scavenge for food means that everyone will either get fit and relatively good looking or die. Personally I think it would be much more like the comic series The Walking Dead, where there were some little nice parts surrounded by much larger parts that were horribly depressing and usually involved one or more people you had grown to love dieing and rising as zombies. Of course you can substitute walking dead with vicious angels, bloodthirsty demons, or whatever is in the setting in question.
As for myself, I don't really have a preference, though natural disaster/nuclear holocaust (without awesome mutations) are probably my least favorite settings. Zombies are cool, but have been done so much it's hard to do anything interesting with them. Biblical apocalypse has been rising in popularity, so unfortunately I think it's going to go the same way. Aliens have surprisingly not been done as much as I thought they would. Sure it's a popular setting, but one that isn't nearly as long as zombie ones are, with the aliens being defeated or fought back rather quickly, leaving the humans alone to rebuild, so a constant alien apocalypse might be a nice change of pace. One where the aliens are stuck just as much as we are on a dieing planet low on resources.

 

[Rednog]

1) I enjoy the fact that people actually try to prepare for whatever their perceived apocalypse will be. I personally have no real fear of the apocalypse, considering only a handful of people survive in every apocalypse situation out of billions of people I am going with my odds of dying on the initial cause. If I miraculously survive I'd probably die within a few days from internet/entertainment withdrawal rather than anything else.
2) A total apocalypse everything at once: Aliens, Natural Disasters, Robots, Nukes, Asteroids, Dinosaurs, Diseases...I figure why the hell not have them all at once, go out with a huge bang/ party.
3) I think the appeal, at least in the media, is that it is a situation that is completely out of true human comprehension and you can really explore a huge variety of human emotions and aspects in a single setting. That and there are just so many things to think about on how an apocalypse would affect even the most basic of things.

 

[keillord]

I think the appeal is that everyone knows the world is going to end. It is just a matter of when and who. I feel that humans will do it because of stupidity and they just make zombies and stuff so that they can at least say it wasn't the humans fault.