Obsessed with the end

"Every act of creation is first an act of destruction."

-Pablo Picasso

It is a widely unknown fact that the current era is also called the Holocene extinction or Sixth Extinction, a term coined by scientists for present times; the times when we are headed towards extinction that they say, is mainly caused by human activities. Many species have indeed gone off the face of the earth due to human interventions on their natural habitats. Added to this, are the natural calamities. The International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources has documented about 875 extinctions of various species including plants, between the years 1500 and 2009; and it hasn't stopped.

From time immemorial, humanity has been obsessed with the end. The seers from various civilisations have predicted the end of the world. Holy Scriptures of different faiths too depicted the scenario where the destruction of planet is inevitable. Right from the Mayans up to the Nostradamus, and closer home Pothuluru Veerabrahmendra Swamy, an apocalypse has been predicted.

However, we can say that the predictions of both have failed in the modern times; Nostradamus said that the millennium will bring the world to an end as the skies will breathe fire and earth will spew lava, bringing an end to the world. May be the theory was talking about another millennium altogether.

The Mayans might have used a second calendar after they finished the first one, which might have been lost in time and people from modern civilisation have predicted it as the end of world. The story of the last day of the earth might have been in the second calendar of Mayans! Who knows? A lot many ‘May be’s here, but isn’t the whole concept of the end a probability.

Anyhow, from many ages the apocalypse has been on the minds of people and most of them think the world will soon come to an end. According to Hindu mythology the current era is the Kalayuga, the last phase of the earth and what may follow is obviously the end. In Bible Knoah comes to the rescue and saves animals when Gods said that it will rain for 48 days wiping out every creature from the earth. There are many such theories about the annihilation of the world.

We live in society, where entertainment media in various forms is dominant and a part of everyone's life, in one way or the other. The prevalent consciousness of the society has always been reflected in popular culture. The depiction of Armageddon has been written in many books by many popular authors and there is a surge of movies, which deal with and glamourise the world-ending event.

Movies have always enthralled the audience and it will continue to do so till the "world ends". And the many movies that peg on the theme of destruction of the earth, are action-packed and exciting - keeping the audience at the edge of their seats and also funny and dramatic - depending on the perception of the filmmaker. Over all we can say that there is an apocalypse film to cater all tastes.

In short, wrath of the nature has been a very intriguing subject for filmmakers. They brought their obsession on the subject to the silver screen, making it a nail biting event for the excited audience. The audience also has some kind of fetish for these movies, maybe, because they think this will be their guide for survival if the 'real apocalypse' happens. That is what happened during the release of the film ‘2012’ (the film opened in theatres in the year 2009) and until the year 2012, there was speculation, jibe and jest aimed at the probable upcoming end. People spoke of how they would want to spend the last day of earth and how they needed to experience the best of everything before the whole thing ends.

The slow and fast sub-plots and the rib-tickling version of the dooms day contribute to the popularity of the genre amongst the movie goers. The following movies are a peek in to the world destruction, as is viewed by the film makers. No one knows what's in store or if these movies are really survival guides for the D Day. Who knows when the world will end; but until we live, one can't miss these movies for anything.

2012 (2009)

Roland Emmerich shows an earth that’s more or less just falling apart simply because the Mayans said so, plunging California into the ocean and it is the film's showstopper sequence. John Cusack plays the broke sci-fi writer who’s just trying to keep his family together amongst all of the crashing buildings, fireballs and really bad weather while Woody Harrelson provides the comic relief as the loony who eats pickles and spews conspiracy theories. Performances by the actors are apt and the effects are breathtaking. The movie is a confluence of disaster and chase sequences. This film will definitely shake your world and its perception.

Seeking a Friend for the End of the World (2012)

Director Lorene Scafaria’s dealt with world's end in a funny way. An apocalypse comedy movie starring Steve Carell and Keira Knightley was never going to be a runaway hit. It’s certainly not without its flaws, with a tone that oscillates sharply between comedy and drama. Carell and Knightley’s combined charm and chemistry make this end-of-the-world road trip worth checking out.

The Rapture (1992)

Mimi Rogers plays Sharon, a Los Angeles hedonist who ends up falling in with a religious sect obsessed with the end of times. The group warns that the biblical Rapture is near and Sharon takes the news to heart, vowing to give her life to God and live a purer lifestyle. As the signs of the Rapture begin to appear, Sharon also begins to doubt her devotion to God and his 'cruel' ways. The movie has a heavy-handed approach and this certainly bogs the story down in parts. But, the film is worth watching for Rogers’ fantastic performance alone if not for the sheer bravery of story’s final 15 minutes.

This is The End (2013)

The Book of Revelation as seen through the eyes of a group of stoned prima donnas is the main storyline. This multi starrer movie has rib-tickling comedy and one will be in awe of the performance delivered by Seth Rogen and James Franco. It shows the biblical end from eyes of film stars and their plan to evade the apocalypse. The visual set pieces create a sense of scope and escalation. 'This is the End' is probably one of the few apocalypse-based films you want to re-watch the second time.

Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1978)

This movie is not about war, nuclear holocaust or even a hostile invasion that threatens the end of humanity; instead, it’s a strange, plant-based species that quietly and effectively replaces the inhabitants of San Francisco with identical pod people. Director Phillip Kaufman’s re-imagining of Jack Finney’s novel ‘Body Snatchers’, takes a decidedly darker, more cynical approach to the premise than the original 1956 film adaptation.

The Core (2003)

A bunch of disturbances in the earth’s electromagnetic field kills and random lightning storms wreck havoc; a geology professor concludes it’s because the planet’s core has stopped turning. The professor and team launch a top-secret mission to drill into the centre of the earth and blow it to restart its rotation. The movie has a good cast and it is actually a lot of fun to watch. This flick has all the elements of a preposterous sci-fi depicting the world’s end.

Navin Pivhal