Pop-Apocalypticism Goes Global
By: Charz
Tags: 2012, Apocalypticism, Architecture of Apocalypticism, Armageddon, Christianity, Concordia, Cormac McCarthy, Cultural Apocalypticism, Doomsday, Global Apocalypticism, Islam, Judaism, Lorenzo DiTommaso, Mayan calendar, Messiah, Neo-Survivalism, Neon Genesis Evangelion, Oxford University, Pessimism, Pop Apocalypticism, Progress, Survivalism, SyFy, The Matrix, The Politics of Cultural Zetsubou, The Road
Category: 2011 Japan Earthquake, Codex, Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei
Lorenzo DiTommaso ~ They say academics live in a fantasy world.
Professor Lorenzo DiTommaso studies apocalypticism past and present at Concordia’s Department of Religion. He’s written and lectured extensively on the subject, and his latest work, The Architecture of Apocalypticism, is set to be published by Oxford University Press.
ONCE THE SyFy MOVIE IS OVER (sic)
According to DiTommaso, apocalypticism is a unique collection of four beliefs…once the SyFy channel movie about tidal waves or rogue planets is over…
OH NO A GLOBAL EPIDEMIC OF APO-VIRUS ! OUR COMMIE ATHEIST PLANET EARTH IS DOOMED ! (lol)
Although this belief is most commonly found in the Abrahamic traditions of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam, DiTommaso, an atheist, says that apocalypticism has gone global over the past century, spreading like a really pessimistic virus. What really disturbs him is that he detects a trend, over the last 40 years, where more and more people have come to understand the world in apocalyptic terms. DiTommaso is deeply concerned by the resurgence of apocalyptic discourse over the past four decades.
DANGEROUS APO-FICTION MUST BE CENSORED !
Currently, says DiTommaso, we’re in an upswing of apocalypticism, both in traditional forms and in new hybrid varieties. “Beyond the biblical aspect, it’s gained a secular aspect as well … in music, in videos, in role-playing games, in graphic novels, in fiction,” he says, citing The Matrix, the anime Neon Genesis Evangelion, and books such as Cormac McCarthy’s The Road as examples. Movies are another medium that feature apocalypticism. “The Matrix has all the key elements of the worldview, rebooted on a science-fiction platform,” says DiTommaso, referring to the 1999 blockbuster starring Keanu Reeves. “The main character Neo is the prophesized messiah, who overthrows the system, destroys the oppressors and redeems humanity.“
THE EVIL DANGER OF TRANSCENDENCE ! (Be content with what you have)
“Judaism, Christianity and Islam all forecast an apocalypse,” he says. “The end of the world, typically with a judgment day and an Armageddon, reflects the desire to escape this existence, punish one’s enemies and be vindicated in light of a higher power or transcendent reality.” “It assumes that the solution lies outside our capabilities — either God or the forces of history or some sort of messiah — will come down and save things and make it better for us,” he said.
REMEMBER KID, YOU ARE A GENIUS, YOUR OPPONENT IS AN IDIOT
And therein lies the danger, he warns. “At its core, apocalypticism is a simplistic response to complex problems — either good or evil, nothing in between. And it’s an adolescent response, since it places responsibility for solving these problems elsewhere.”
DiTommaso, an atheist, says apocalypticism is not a realistic way to deal with the world’s political, environmental and social problems. “Apocalypticism is unhealthy,” says DiTommaso, “It’s a toxic way of dealing with these problems.” A key issue is apocalypticism’s sharply defined dualities. “(That’s) not a productive way of looking at the world … You can imagine a view of a good and evil leading to views that say, ‘You’re either with us or against us.’“
- Relax: Apocalypse probably not happening in 2012. So says the doomsday expert, WinnipegFreePress, Feb 2, 2011
- Apocalypse then and now: Centuries of doomsday scenarios, Eurekalert, Feb 1, 2011
- The rise of apocalypticism, The Gazette, Feb 19, 2011
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