Apocalyptic Fiction

[JamesSavik]

And what rough beast, its hour come round at last,

Slouches towards Bethlehem to be born? -Yeats from the Second Coming

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What is it about Apocalyptic fiction that turns people on? From Cormac McCarthy's The Road to Richard Matheson's I am Legend, tales of the downfall of civilization and the near extinction of mankind are very popular. In fact there are several small publishing houses that focus exclusively on Apocalyptic Fiction. Even Hollywood has stepped in to capitalize on its popularity and has made movie adaptations out of numerous books and short stories.

 

What is it about the end of all things that seems to captivate readers? The potential for drama exists in the extremes. Put people in extreme conditions, put them in jeopardy and things are bound to happen. What could be more extreme than a civilization ending asteroid strike, a horrific pandemic, nuclear war, technology gone wrong or the dead rising from the grave to bitch-slap the living?

 

When you look at the landscape of fiction, readers and writers are thinking about the end. Some of the biggest books and movies of the last few decades have been about some catastrophe that has fundamentally changed the world.

 

It begs a lot of questions and I'm to curious to fail to ask them.

 

After generations of living under the specter of nuclear war (and its ugly cousins chemical and biological war) do people expect it?

 

As civilization has become more complex and knowledge and expertise more specialized, if it falls can it ever get back up?

 

Every culture has a myth or a legend about the end of the world. Does this genre tap into that mythology?

 

Traditional horror focuses on monsters and myth. Is Apocalyptic fiction scarier because it could come true?

[Graeme]

After generations of living under the specter of nuclear war (and its ugly cousins chemical and biological war) do people expect it?

I don't believe so. I don't think anyone in my generation or younger expects a nuclear war, at least not one that will destroy the world. I can see nuclear weapons being used, but I don't see it escalating into a worldwide catastrophe.

 

As civilization has become more complex and knowledge and expertise more specialized, if it falls can it ever get back up?

This is a more interesting question and I think the answer is no. If it falls, it will take time to relearn the basics before it can achieve the technology base required for modern society. Once they achieve that, they may very well to choose a different technological approach and society will be different as a consequence.

 

Every culture has a myth or a legend about the end of the world. Does this genre tap into that mythology?

I think it's more that this genre taps into the fears of the modern world, rather than any myths or legends. It's the classic 'what if' scenario, and really doesn't take much input from other areas.

 

Traditional horror focuses on monsters and myth. Is Apocalyptic fiction scarier because it could come true?

I don't watch or read traditional horror. I don't find apocalyptic fiction scary because there is, to me, a disconnect to my current life. It's a 'what if' scenario that may be realistic (eg. Larry Niven and Jerry Pournelle's 'Hammerfall'), but that doesn't mean I find it scary.

[Nephylim]

Personally I don't like apocalyptic literature or movies. Not because they scare me but because I find them boring. As you said... put people in peril and there's drama but the drama is always the same. Zombie/disaster/apocalyptic movies are pretty formaliac and there is nothing new.

 

Besides some of us are looking forward to the collapse of society as we know it

[Drewbie]

It seems for a long time people love to predict the end of time.

[Phantom]

It's the human condition to find conclusion in something, whether its end of times, or the end of a work shift. Since there's so much mystery about it, a lot of people, civilizations, etc build stories around it to make it easier to understand.

 

Personally I'd take the scientific route and watch everything end in the big freeze

 

 

Eric