Post-Apocalyptia
17 Nov 2009 Leave a Comment
in movies, video games
A website dedicated to the cataloging and review of apocalyptic films got me thinking about the how the genre has become so popular. Something that western audiences really seem to enjoy is post-apocalyptic movies. It’s not even just movies anymore either. Even video games are jumping on the pessimism bandwagon with Fallout 3 and Darksiders. I find it very fascinating how we spend our time and money on a form of escapism that shows us the bleakest thing possible, the fall of civilization. But then again, after my nerd rant on survival horror, I’m certainly the type to do such a thing.
I think that we enjoy these stories so much because they offer a unique focus. In a world without civilization, the focus is on characters. Even more so, everything is tense. Humanity is always on the brink of extinction and the fighting that occurs between factions puts everyone at greater risk. Other than that, it’s really difficult to tell why I enjoy these types of stories. I think they show how modern audiences ask for more morally challenging entertainment these days. I think that there is something which inherently draws us to these films. My favorite stories of all time, whether they be from books, movies, video games, music, or comic books are always very dark and mysterious. I’ve become very knowledgeable about works in any medium that fit this kind of mold. The last post-apocalyptic film released was “9“. It was pretty interesting, but fell a little short in narrative. At this point, I’m pretty excited about the upcoming releases of The Book of Eli and the feature film adaptation for Cormac McCarthy’s The Road. It is a fantastic book and the film has me very intrigued. I just hope they stay true to the story. If nothing else, at least we will get to see how Aragorn would handle himself after the fall of civilization.
http://www.apocalypticmovies.com/
