11 Reader Responses

1. ray Says:
   May 19th, 2005 at 7:05 pm

   Well, I don’t know if this is what you are looking for, but there are lots of veins of apocalytpic thinking in more academic venues: global warming, peak oil, weapons proliferation. But I guess each of these has its own media counterpart (mad max, waterworld, sum of all fears, etc.)

2. Occult Investigator Says:
   May 19th, 2005 at 7:36 pm

   actually i really like the idea of how movies portray in a story format these more complex or “academic” variants, as you are talking about.

   one of the other things i want to “explode” is the notion that peak oil, global warming, etc - are any different from more “mythological” variations of the armageddon story. the whole point of them is that we believe them to be TRUE and that they are clothed in contemporary language and symbolism

3. Peter of Lone Tree Says:
   May 19th, 2005 at 8:05 pm

   “Farnham’s Freehold” — novel by Richard Heinlein

4. Jon Rubin Says:
   May 19th, 2005 at 10:01 pm

   HBO’s recently-cancelled series Carnivale. YOU WILL LOVE IT: This is my carefully considered opinion after carefully reading your blog for several weeks. It bundles together so many things you’re interested in with a tightly-developed eschatology.

   If for some bizarre reason you haven’t read everything Robert Anton Wilson ever wrote, the Illuminatus! trilogy he co-authored is about immanentizing the eschaton.

   Recently in pop culture, Joss Whedon’s two main shows were all about the apocalypse. Buffy and Angel fought the end of the world on an episode-by-episode basis. Season 4 of Angel was a drawn-out, 22-episode arc about the Apocalypse, and Season 7 of Buffy did something similar.

   FX has a made-for-TV movie airing next month about the world ending, playing off of peak oil. I forget the title.

   Don’t forget about Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman’s wonderful novel, Good Omens.

   Rosemary’s Baby ends just as the story gets interesting, but I suppose that’s about the apocalypse.

   The Animatrix beautifully depicts the end of the world that preceded the Matrix trilogy.

   Lots of P.K. Dick’s books are post-apocalyptic, especially the early ones, but I think his best portrayal of Armageddon would be The Divine Invasion. Oh, yeah! He also has this one awesome short story, set in post-apocalyptic America, where every day a man telepathically projects himself into the past in an attempt to keep a nuclear war from starting. It’s called “Psi-Man.” You can find it on the internets if you look hard enough. He also wrote a short story called “The Defenders” about a post-nuclear-exchange Cold War earth, where both sides are forced to live undergroud, the irradiated surface maintained by robots. Finally a team from America goes up to see the surface, and discovers the robots have been lying: the fallout has passed and the land is green again. But the robots seal up the tunnel to keep those still below from discovering the truth, and the team on the surface starts a new life on a empty planet, befriended by a team of Russians stuck in the same situation. But I suppose you’re looking for more religious apocalypses…

   I think Showtime has a post-apocalyptic show called Jeremiah, obviously with some religious themes.

   FOX had an End Times show earlier this season called…well…it was called something. It was rather forgettable and FOX apparently thought so too since it was cancelled with alacrity. The concept was that the antichrist was a hot blonde teen, and the catch was she had to consciously accept and embrace her evil nature for the end of the world to actually start. So each week a charismatic demon would try to tempt her into using her unholy powers to kill people, etc. etc.

   Terminator 3 ends with Judgement Day.

   And since pop culture isn’t just fiction but also news, think what would have happened had Bush suffered damage from that grenade in Tbilisi, or if those Hasidic extremists in Jerusalem had managed to fire a shoulder-launched missile into the Dome of the Rock.

5. Bret Says:
   May 20th, 2005 at 8:48 am

   Yeah I was going to say all the terminators - - any crazy weather movie where the earth is jepoardized because of “man’s mistakes” - Even shit like Armageddon, Deep Impact (especially because of the raffle and the exodus) - - anyway

6. Ran Says:
   May 20th, 2005 at 2:11 pm

   It’s a long way from best, but Zardoz is a very interesting post-apocalypse movie. Same with A Boy and His Dog.

   Two top-quality sci-fi books are Earth Abides and Day of the Triffids. PKD’s best post-apocalypse novel is Dr. Bloodmoney - gives a great sense of what daily life could be like. I need to re-read Deus Irae.

7. ray Says:
   May 20th, 2005 at 8:24 pm

   Zardoz is one of my favorite movies!! But it’s less apocalyptic than philosophical (even though the setting is technically post-apocalyptic).

   However, Zardoz is well worth considering from a bunch of other angles: religion and class, the nature of God, the nature of immortality, etc.

8. Rev. Daniel Nephilim Says:
   May 21st, 2005 at 3:19 am

   The Fox series Jon Rubin described was called _Point Pleasant_.

   There is reportedly a TV miniseries remake of _Rosemary’s Baby_ in the works. It includes material from _Son of Rosemary_, Ira levin’s sequel book, which specifically concerns the Apocalypse.

   Don’t forget Ingmar Bergman’s classic film, _The Seventh Seal_.

9. Lucy Goosey Says:
   May 22nd, 2005 at 10:48 am

   One cannot discuss Armegeddon without discussing its origin. See the Bible.
   I’ve not seen many movies concerning the topic, but I have an understanding of atleast one man’s take on it, which is Revolution 9 on the Beatles White Album.

   The fact that you’re working on anything literary regarding the Apocalypse in order to get a book deal is “creepy”. You could very well be part of the problem. Thank you for reminding me why I don’t like to read blogs as often as I used to…

   I’ll now go back to my life.

10. Occult Investigator » Apocalyptic Idiots Says:
    May 22nd, 2005 at 12:52 pm

    […] out a request to readers to recommend the best books, movies and other media regarding the theme of the Apocalypse. I got a lot of great and thoughtful suggestions. T […]

11. Hester Says:
    May 22nd, 2005 at 3:03 pm

    I seem to remember a mini series by Stephen King, (what was it called?) used that song by Crowded House as a theme song:

    Don’t Dream It’s Over
    Crowded House

    There is freedom within, there is freedom without
    Try to catch the deluge in a paper cup
    There’s a battle ahead, many battles are lost
    But you’ll never see the end of the road
    While you’re travelling with me

    Hey now, hey now
    Don’t dream it’s over
    Hey now, hey now
    When the world comes in
    They come, they come
    To build a wall between us
    We know they won’t win

    Now I’m towing my car, there’s a hole in the roof
    My possessions are causing me suspicion but there’s no proof
    In the paper today tales of war and of waste
    But you turn right over to the T.V. page

    Hey now, hey now
    Don’t dream it’s over
    Hey now, hey now
    When the world comes in
    They come, they come
    To build a wall between us
    We know they won’t win

    Now I’m walking again to the beat of a drum
    And I’m counting the steps to the door of your heart
    Only the shadows ahead barely clearing the roof
    Get to know the feeling of liberation and relief

    Hey now, hey now
    Don’t dream it’s over
    Hey now, hey now
    When the world comes in
    They come, they come
    To build a wall between us
    Don’t ever let them win

    Also, it’s not exactly pop culture, more like high culture,(means, it’s boring and slow but it’s beautiful for us old folks) but “The Sacrifice” by Andrei Tarkovsky.

    Tarkovsky rules. Andrei Rublev, there’s one for all you gnostic freaks. Incredible.