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When I was a child I was fearless when it came to the woes facing the world. My fears dealt more with issues at school or being embarrassed because I did something stupid. Nuclear destruction or devastation from natural forces barely crossed my mind other than a certain fascination with those things. Disasters such as these were movie themes or fantasies in my head. Nothing to be concerned about or of which to be afraid.
Even though in school we regularly had disaster duck and cover drills, the concept was far from any reality in my mind. Even during the tension of the Cuban Missile Crisis, hiding under my desk periodically in preparation for the bombs to come or hearing the ominous sounds of the air raid sirens that were tested precisely at noon one Friday each month did not instill trembling within me. On the contrary the drills and exercises were fuel for fantasy rather than a reminder of the reality of any threat to my existence.
During the fifties and sixties I developed a curiosity and edgy enjoyment regarding things that should reasonably instill fear and dread in most of us. A part of me longed to see giant mutated insects, prehistoric beasts, or monstrous entities roaming my neighborhood and destroying the city in which we lived. An atomic bomb detonated in some nearby city seemed like an interesting possibility.
When I was in junior high school I read John Hersey's Hiroshima--a true account of the first use of the atom bomb on a city. The book impacted me, yet still did not frighten me in any way. If anything, reading the book made me even more curious about the horrors of a major disaster. My interest wouldn't necessarily translate into any strong desire to experience actual horror, but I did have a deep seated interest in the subject.
Since childhood I've had an interest in the topic of world annihilation and that continues to this day. Judging from the popularity of apocalyptic and dystopian genres I'm not the only one. The B sci-fi movies of the 1950's have become in more recent times big budget extravaganzas as well as intriguing low cost indie films. More than one television show has addressed the topic in varying ways from the serious to the comedic. Apocalypse, death, and destruction seem to translate into big money.
Do you think many people in our time have a societal death wish of sorts? Do you enjoy films in the genres that center around fear and oblivion? Do you have any favorite apocalyptic or catastrophically themed films?
I definitely don't care for the apolcalyptic stuff. 'Day After Tomorrow' scared the living crap out of me and I was a sophomore in college when it aired.
ReplyDeleteJoJo, I liked that movie so much that years later I bought a copy on DVD. I thought they captured the reality of a nuclear catastrophic event well.
DeleteLee
To JoJo and Lee: I saw the movie - Day After Tomorrow as I was leaving Atlanta flying to Vancouver via Chicago with Ivan, the Hurricane on our tailwind in 2004. It was one of those uh-oh moments. I caught a flight that came back after I had missed it. . .everyone looked at me as if I was to blame for the flight problem as I boarded when it came back.
DeleteI remember when my son was little I used to read him what interested me- histories, war stories. He one day told me that "WWI was neat." I promptly got out one of my books and showed him pictures of the dead. "Remember, the stories are exciting," I said, "But a price had to be paid. They weren't pretend deaths."
ReplyDeleteCW, war has always been an alluring subject matter for stories and speculation. It would be nice not to have war, but I don't see this happening any time soon--at least not as long as mankind is in charge of things.
DeleteLee
I like reading how people cope in disastrous situations (The Stand (King) is a favorite, but I've read others, too, like The Postman (by David Brin). Survival skills can be important, and although we like reading about such, experiencing it is not something I'd want to do. In today's world, we can see how delicate the structure is - based on electronics and cloud storage. Even electricity if withdrawn can cripple us. I worry about how some generations will cope when they have had different experiences, growing up in a world where info is at our fingertips. There is so much reliance now on the internet, will the old ways be remembered if our digital info is zapped? If all our libraries are digitalized, will we still have access to print material? A good reason to live for today. . .
ReplyDeleteDG, we will mostly be essentially helpless in the wake of worldwide catastrophe. With so much inherent disillusionment in our world sometimes I think many people somehow desire to start from square one to create a better world the second time around.
DeleteLee
We are most fortunate people. Most of our terrors have been more of a threat than a reality. My Uncle B F was in the army and witnessed many of the atomic blasts in Utah and died of cancer at 53. Even at a distance these terrors can affect us. Like Dickens said in the Tale of Two Cities, "It was the best of times, it was the worst of times."
ReplyDeleteAnn, I have always felt essentially secure throughout my lifetime living in the U.S. Hopefully things will remain as such.
DeleteLee
I don't think society has a death wish (anymore than we want to be in an accident even though we feel compelled to slow our cars and view the drama), but agree that there's a morbid fascination with dystopian and post-apocalyptic fiction. The first book of this genre I ever read was "On the Beach" by Nevil Shute.
ReplyDeletePatricia, I never read the book, but it's one of my favorite films. I saw it with my parents when I was a kid and it really stuck with me. It's one of the films like I've discussed above.
DeleteLee
I'd like to explore why people are so drawn to the apocalypse in fiction. Is it facing our fears of one of the worst things we can think of? The desire to have more space and freedom, and to hearken back to a simpler time?
ReplyDeleteOn the subject of school drills, my kids have to do active shooter drills at school. I think they view them the same way you viewed the atomic drills.
Shannon, when you're a kid I think any kind of fantasy drill situation is an interesting break from the classroom. I wonder if anyone has done any studies on the attraction of apocalyptic literature. It's nothing new really--just think of the prophetic books of the Bible that have intrigued many readers for centuries.
DeleteLee
Hi Arlee! I remember the duck and cover drills when I was elementary school back in the 70's. Lining up in the hallways and crouched against the walls with our arms covering our heads. Whoosh, brings back such memories. I also remembering being terrified after watching that one television movie...I think it was called The Day After. Scared me silly. I think because it was such a possibility at the time.
ReplyDeleteElsie, I think The Day After is among the best depictions of a nuclear attack and the aftermath. Pretty sobering stuff.
DeleteLee