The concept of the apocalypse, or end of the world for those who prefer to free the idea from ties to any religious ties, is a pop-culture phenomenon we’ve seen make a big return in the last several years. Interest has been regained largely as a result of the Mayan apocalypse theory based around the Mayan calendar ending on December 21st, 2012. The end of everything is a powerful image and one that nearly everybody has some vested interested in, including those who believe the theory is a bunch of hooey.
A large amount of hype has surrounded this (proposed) momentous day, and the media in large has taken advantage of it. A number of films involving apocalyptic theme such as 2012, The Road, The Book of Eli have garnered strong box-office numbers. While there has been a long history of films investigating these scenarios since the beginning of cinema, there has been a marked increase as of recent. The zombie general is one notable example: the genre has been revitalized and we have seen several films such as Shaun of the Dead, Grindhouse, I am Legend and Zombieland gain pop culture claim along with a slew of others. A few memorable video game franchises have also been created in Left4Dead and Call of Duty’s Nazi Zombies game mode. Even in literature, the greatest of the arts, zombies have reared their heads. The Zombie Survival Guide, World War Z: An Oral History of the Zombie War and Pride and Prejudice and Zombies Zombies have all been very successful as a result of this culturaal trend.
Regardless of whether this prophecy comes to fruition, the Mayan Prophecy has had a huge impact on the culture of the world. Just as the Y2K scare in which many believed something catastrophic would happen at the stroke of the year 2000, ended up being nothing, more than likely the same thing will happen here. Every few years a new theory gains popular support and as a result the media takes hold, perpetuating the improbable for its own profit. Since the dawn of cinema we have had a recurrence of the apocalyptic theme, and within the next several years a new generation of these films will come out to the welcoming masses.
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