film essay
EVaNnA
TheEnd_ApocalypticThemesinFilm.docxThe End: Apocalyptic Themes in Film
Suggested Essay Topics
The following questions are intended as suggestions for avenues to pursue for the final paper; you are strongly encouraged to broaden the topics in order to accommodate your own interests in film and/or apocalyptic themes. The only limitation is that your assignment should deal with at least one course film; you are also free to discuss other films from outside the course.
The assignment should be 2000-2500 words in length, double-spaced.
1. “Progress and disaster are two sides of the same coin.”
--Hannah Arendt
Apocalyptic films often emphasize the perils of technology and the role that the increasing rapidity of human life will play in the downfall of humanity or extinction of life on the planet. This emphasis encapsulates Modernity’s ambivalence toward progress as both liberator and annihilator. Discuss the treatment of technology and/or progress in at least two films.
2. “I said, “Kiss me, you’re beautiful. These are truly the last days.’”
--Godspeed You! Black Emperor, “Dead Flag Blues”
Apocalyptic cinema relies on the tension between the excitement generated by spectacle and the despair or anxiety produced by catastrophe and mortality. In psychoanalytic terms, we can perhaps see this in relation to the so-called Eros/Thanatos dichotomy—as the conflict between the drive for pleasure and the death wish. Discuss the possible reasons and consequences of this tension in at least two films.
3. A common figure in apocalyptic films is the so-called “prophet”—the character(s) or organization(s) who attempt to warn the society that the end is nigh. In some instances, such characters are central to the film’s narrative; in some cases, they seem to hover around the periphery of the film; sometimes, they serve as a kind of antagonist. Discuss the role of the prophet figure in at least two films.
4. In virtually all apocalyptic films—especially in Hollywood apocalyptic films—the “proper” end never actually arrives. Instead, we come close to extinction, but see it prevented by human or natural/supernatural intervention. As a result, the audience is given the best of both worlds: we get both the destruction of most of the planet and the “happy ending” so many find satisfying. Consider the implications of this deferral of the end. Is it intended as a sort of warning? As an evasion of the issues? Discuss in relation to at least two films.
Films screening in class
Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb, Stanley Kubrick (UK 1964), b+w, 95 min.
I Am Legend, Francis Lawrence (USA 2007), colour, 100 min.
These Final Hours, Zak Hilditch (Australia 2014), colour, 87 min.
Deep Impact, Mimi Leder (USA 1998), colour, 120 min.
Last Night, Don McKellar (Canada/France 1998), colour, 95 min.
The Road, John Hillcoat (USA 2009), colour, 111 min.
Take Shelter, Jeff Nichols (USA 2011), colour, 120 min.
