What's wrong with us? Why our fascination with the end of the world? Why is it that every year we hear about some new delusional group holed up somewhere waiting for the predicted end-of-everything-as-we-know-it? And why, for crying out loud, do such groups continue to emerge after several thousand failed predictions of the end?
Go ahead and laugh! But before you answer, please consider your personal fascination with the-end-of-all-things. If you are reading this, its likely that you enjoy apocalyptic literature, and maybe have apocalyptic beliefs of your own. For whatever reason, humans (that's you and me) are drawn to the idea of world-shattering events like moths to a fl ... sorry - bad metaphor. You don't believe me? Consider our history.
Clay tablets from nearly 5000 years ago speak about the imminent end of the world. The early Romans were fearful that the world would end soon. Nearly every major religion has an "end times" prophecy. Hardly a year has gone by over the past 1000 years without someone, somewhere, declaring an impending end of the world, and gathering followers to prepare for said doomsday. Some of these were very strange. Many came to tragic ends. Some proved quite amusing. My favorite is the Englishman Richard Brothers who in 1790 called himself "God's Almighty Nephew", declared that the end-of-all-things was nigh, and that he would lead the lost tribes of Israel and be named king of England. He ended up in an insane asylum instead. However, anyone willing to take the moniker "God's Almighty Nephew" gets a vote from me for creativity alone.
Anyway - we are fascinated by The End. Admit it. I am. That's why I love post-apocalyptic literature so much. But notice, please, the "post" aspect of post-apocalypse. My interest lies not in the apocalyptic part, but more in the "what comes after." How do people behave when it all falls apart? How do they soldier on when all hope is lost? How do they begin that long journey to reclaim what once was? That's what I love - the story of the iron will of humanity to survive and flourish against impossible odds. That is why I shed tears every time I watch the movie Rudy. Every. Time.
That's my interest in the genre. So - what's yours?
No comments:
Post a Comment