Blog #2: Apocalypticisms
19October 10, 2012 by Pr. Waggoner
The “end of the world” is a great example of a religious theme that has become pervasive in popular culture. Watch this video about American apocalypticism (also see below). Then, read this site’s description of 5 apocalyptic scenarios.
Post a comment here in which you respond to the following questions:
- Why do you think Americans are so obsessed with apocalyptic visions of the future? What do you think the apocalyptic fantasy in American culture is ultimately about?
- Does our need to view the future apocalyptically help or harm our efforts to solve pressing problems? How does apocalypticism impact the way individuals and groups relate to one another?
Religion and Popular Culture 
I think each American is obsessed with apocalyptic visions for many different reasons. Some may not know how to live without the anxiety of not knowing what could happen. Some may be obsessed. Some may have specific religious beliefs. Whereas others may not believe in the apocalyptic visions at all. What I really think is that there is no right or wrong answer. There are many who are fixated on when the end of the world will end and preparing for survival even if that date is never to arrive.
What I personally feel is that the apocalyptic fantasy is untimely about having no control. Other consideration we should focus on is how media as well as religions portrays such fantasies and events. Movie, music, television shows, news stations, radio, etc. they all play a huge role in our fantasy. Enduring the apocalyptic fantasy drives those who believe to look for answer, solutions even though it may be putting them in pure chaos. There are three million preparing for the end. The problem that was touched upon, is that even if they prepare it will not be enough. They will not have enough to outlive or survive. I never took that into any consideration. The apocalypse society is on the rise, and I firmly believe will always be there associated with the anxiety leading to the end.
Think of how many doomsdays we have each lived through to date. Is there really something we should be prepared for? We have survived just about it all. Like our YouTube clip said who will it be first, Jesus or global warming? Will it be anything? We each have our own opinion. I can’t judge someone who believes in the apocalypse. Personally, I don’t. I am one who doesn’t like to worry or prepare till I truly need to. Preparing in my point of view keeps us from living both physically and mentally in the moment. Depending on how someone is preparing or the messages they try and relay on others can absolutely be harmful for some helpful for others. Again, I think is all dependent on the persons specific point of view as well as theory.
The way that I see how apocalypticism impacts both individuals and groups is how they relate to one another. Those who believe may stick together. Those who don’t believe may not understand the theory or reason to those who do. However, I also think that it can impact the individual and groups understanding each other’s minds as well as thought process.
Why do you think Americans are so obsessed with apocalyptic visions of the future? What do you think the apocalyptic fantasy in American culture is ultimately about?
Does our need to view the future apocalyptically help or harm our efforts to solve pressing problems? How does apocalypticism impact the way individuals and groups relate to one another?
I feel there are a significant amount of Americans who are obsessed with apocalyptic visions of the future because it is a frightening, devastating thought that is completely out of our control. We can only imagine the trauma, chaos and horror that society would experience if this awful event was to occur. The agonizing thought of not being able to get to our loved ones or facing the moment of panic and helplessness is incomprehensible. No one wants to say good-bye to their family members and know that it’s the end. Many families today prepare and practice for the “end of time”. They are called ‘peppers” and train with weapons, prepare food, procedures, and survival shelters. They definitely believe it is a matter of time before a disaster will happen and their family will be ready and will survive.
I myself worry and think about the world coming to an end from time to time, especially after I watch a film with a “natural disaster” of some kind. However, it certainly is not a focus in my life, as no one can stop it from happening. I would not want to survive without my entire family and friends anyways. I believe there are many individuals, who waste precious time obsessing over this possible event, and it may never happen in our lifetime, and ultimately society is neglecting important issues and problems dwelling on this concern. The unknown is what fears society in this situation. Although we all know that someday we are going to die, but we do not obsess about death every day because it is out of our control and we know it is a reality. Society should treat apocalyptic visions the same way. As the speaker said in the video, we should “embrace” it.
I think Americans are so obsessed with apocalyptic visions of the future because the simple thought of any scenario/version of them actually happening in our lifetime is terrifying. We have all seen movies or read books about the end of the world and I believe we all have thought about how we would or could survive if it actually happened to us. Hence, forming the apocalyptic fantasy of an obsession, the unknown and having no control. With today’s computer technology, mass quantity of guns and bombs and the threat of chemical warfare the event of violence and mass destruction are very possible and realistic.
While reading the 5 Pop culture Apocalypse Scenarios and How They Might Happen, I thought back on a few movies I recently watched that had me actually thinking about the end of the world and what it would be like. Two that come to mind are Contagion and The Book of Eli, both totally different scenarios of an apocalyptic end but both very real possibilities. Personally, I believe if there is an end it would be something on the lines of a Thermonuclear Apocalypse.
I think our need to view future apocalyptically may harm our efforts to solve the pressure problems because when a person is backed into a corner they can get the “fight or flight” mentality. If it came down to survival it would be to fight for your own independence, protection for yourself and family, possessions, and just basic survival instincts. Based on the worry and stress of the unknown I can see how there are so many people out prepping in the world for “what if”. Simple example is what currently happens when there is a snow storm coming or a hurricane, people stock pile food and water and various other supplies to survive without our every day basics such as heat, electricity, food, and shelter. Those actions and hording of supplies are based on just a few days to inconvenience, knowing that everything will be back to normal shortly. But what if there was no possibility of being safe in your own home, having food to eat, or water to drink and bath in? These thoughts put people into the survival mode.
The survival mode within individuals and groups could turn either way with force and defense against one another or they could band together to protect one another. I believe when it comes right down to it, it will all be based on the individual’s personal beliefs and morals within a given situation.
I believe Americans are so obsessed with apocalyptic visions of the future because Americans at times are afraid for the unknown. We are so prone to being prepared and updated with the news to do so for example when there is a snow storm we immediately go to the grocery store and stock up on food and drinks. So the constant illusion of apocalyptic future is mind boggling, factors like religion and media has a great influence on why individuals are so obsessed with apocalyptic future. Religion such as Christianity teach us that we need to live life according to God, because he is coming soon for the rapture and judgment day, no one will know the time or day when he will do so. Whereas the Media product various different movies, tv shows and self assumptions from the news, world issues and sci-fi end of the world conclusions.
I think that the apocalyptic fantasy in American Culture is ultimately about just imagining the unknown and everyone coming to their own assumptions of the end of the world from global warming to zombie invasion. There is endless ways on how the world can end, when it will end and how it will ultimately end determined by science. From the movie 2012, the series Walking Dead to The Happening. Its both scary and interesting on what we may face. The reality is we don’t know may happen, it can be one of the absurd top 5 apocalyptic endings or come like a thief in the night while were sleeping and we will never know. But no one lives forever and we do eventually come to an end hopefully we do before alien invasion.
Our need to view the future apocalyptically can both help and harm our efforts to solve pressing problems. Religiously it can help us to try and reform our ways and approach our problems wisely and positively and know eventually there is going to be an end so its better to fix what’s broken before its too late. Mentally and physically it may harm our efforts to solve pressing problems because we’ll be so infatuated in the apocalyptic fantasies that we’ll dwell on them rather than live in reality. As humans we try to be prepared for disasters but if its the rapture how will we prepare for it? Apocalypticism religiously impacts the way individuals and groups relate to one another versus those who are ethicists because Christians believe that those who live according to God, no sin and stay faithful to religion will please the Lord and not face the wrath of the rapture. So when they look at those who are doing the complete opposite and vise versa obviously see our future for the apocalypse. Ethicists relate to religious people differently because they rely on science and facts for the answers and endless possibilities of the apocalypse. The real question is, what will you be doing when God comes or Global warming.
I believe there are many reason people become obsessed with an apocalyptic vision. I think one of the top reasons is unity; some people like idea of being part of something bigger. So with a vision of Aliens let’s say that will attack in 2020 it give that person and group something to build towards and research and expand. They want to prepare and make everyone around them aware and become believers in their vision. And lets by chance that in 2020 it happens they would be right, they are all ready how insightful those people/group would feel. The world is full of the unknown but there is always a chance so some want to take the chance to be a part of it.
Another reason I feel that people look at the idea of the apocalypse as a good thing, here on earth right now is the world perfect, no. We have death, diseases that can be stopped and war. In some ways wouldn’t the idea on the end of the world as we now be a nice idea, because something better must come from it. So if a person my think it’s got to get better than this, it’s a perfect outlet for those feelings. And they can be ready it hope it happens. Doesn’t mean that they’ll like it if it really happens but they think they will.
I think that with anything when we view that future apocalyptically it can help and harm our efforts to solve pressing problems. Because if we think everything is coming to the end due to an asteroid maybe will take better steps to prepare and we know that things can fall out of the sky, so maybe being more aware would help people. But if we talk about zombies coming; are they living life in the now and helping with problems right now in the world like hungry children and people out of work. Think of the time and energy of the people that are worrying about zombies coming, they could such a help with solving real world problems.
From what I’ve seen it doesn’t seem to affect different groups negatively, it seems to give them a better platform to talk about each side. It’s like publicity, if there is someone against your vision for the end, and then you get to talk more about your vision because you are now trying to prove that you are right. Like adding fuel to the fire, but not in a bad way.
Why do you think Americans are so obsessed with apocalyptic visions of the future? What do you think the apocalyptic fantasy in American culture is ultimately about?
I feel Americans are so obsessed apocalyptic visions of the future because Americans tend to think on the violent side of things. With the dawn of the nuclear age it was us Americans who dropped the bombs. Knowing the destructive powers that man can create scares us. I also feel that it is not only violence that runs through the veins of many Americans but also the fight for survival. It is human nature to fear death and to do anything in our power to prevent it. With a combination of fear, violence, and the will to live it is no wonder that our country is stricken with the obsession of worst case scenarios and the thought of the final hour.
Does our need to view the future apocalypticism help or harm our efforts to solve pressing problems? How does apocalypticism impact the way individuals and groups relate to one another?
With the fear of impending doom some could argue that it would help us make better decisions for the world. Hearing about greenhouse gases, pollution, and war killing our planet would make us choose cleaner and safer paths in life. Unfortunately I disagree and feel that with people fearing the apocalypse would have the opposite effect. I feel that people would sooner cut off their own arm than help someone else in need with the world could be threatened with destruction. Humans are just another species on this earth and when frightened and forced to choose between fight or flight most people will chose flight. To preserve one’s own life may sound selfish but it is human nature.
Why do you think Americans are so obsessed with apocalyptic visions of the future?
What do you think the apocalyptic fantasy in American culture is ultimately about?
Does our need to view the future apocalyptically help or harm our efforts to solve pressing problems?
How does apocalypticism impact the way individuals and groups relate to one another?
I think Americans are so obsessed with apocalyptic visions of the future because we fear the unexpected and unknown. With all the films about the “end of the world” and how everyone in that particular image in the hour of mass destruction are so helpless and the fact that there is nothing we can do to save ourselves is scary. Our minds are trapped in the thought and images we witnessed in films, for instance the images in the movie “2012” were unthinkable. The thought of ever having to experience such chaos is bothersome and traumatizing. Not to mention the thought of not being able to assist your children as they scream your name for help is the worse feeling imaginable. So I believe we are obsessed with it because we fear a day we are helpless, a day we will die and day that has no date or warning.
I think the apocalyptic fantasy in American culture is ultimately about not knowing the how, what, when of the occurrences to come but preparing for the worse and praying for the most gentle attack so to speak.
I believe the need to view future apocalyptically harms our efforts to solve pressing problems because its basically stating no matter what we do or how much we prepare ourselves nothing can prevent what is to come.
Apocalypticism impacts the way individuals and groups relate to one another by our thought process automatically defaulting to a defense mechanism or ways to prepare for the dreadful day. Pertaining to the video above some of us think we are invincible and insist on going to war and believe they will conquer the said day to come and destroy. But I agree with the author of the video when he stated how we should all come to terms and just embrace it.
Why do you think Americans are so obsessed with apocalyptic visions of the future?
Americans are obsessed with apocalyptic visions of the future because they are afraid to face reality. We all sit and watch movies that deal with death and talk about realities but in reality we are scared to face it. I think people’s religion and their morals play a big a major part in believing in apocalyptic visions. As Americans we fear the thoughts of the future. Some Americans believe that the future will be taken over my robots and the future withholds technology taken over.
Apocalypticisim does have an affect on our output of life because we always live in fear. We take everyday like it will be our last. Things like global warming, God’s judgement day, movies like 2012, war of the worlds. etc make Americans feel like one day the end will probably end soon. It’s hard for most to understand the facts that we live everyday in fear that it may be our last but yet we have to face every challenge of it.
If all we believe in is Apocalypticism , how can we enjoy the everyday excitements to life. It harms us all in a bad way because we have to all face our fears on day. Death may be the biggest fear that Americans have to deal with. I mean technically someone dies everyday whether we know the person or not. Living on earth is like a ticking time bomb.
•Why do you think Americans are so obsessed with apocalyptic visions of the future? What do you think the apocalyptic fantasy in American culture is ultimately about?
•Does our need to view the future apocalyptically help or harm our efforts to solve pressing problems? How does apocalypticism impact the way individuals and groups relate to one another?
When it comes to those kinds of questions, there are lot of reasons a person believes in the apocalyptic vision. A lot of it, would be the bible in regards to the rapture, which is a biblical term when God comes back to Earth for his children. Another would be what a person sees on television and movies. Those kinds of influences would have a person not really wanting to pursue anything in this world, since the world is going to come to an end anyways, as well as the crime in the world. Some people read the bible heavily, and just analyze the world as it would be according to God’s word and just figure that why even bother.
I am a firm believer in God’s word, but I also believe that when it’s your time to go, then that’s when it will be, but some people just think differently. Movies like “Independence Day and The Book of Eli” would have a big part to do with thoughts that portrays in people’s mind. Just those 2 movies alone are totally different, but relate to the same apocalyptic concept. The Book of Eli is carrying out God’s Word, and just for someone to walk by faith and not by sight without a thought about the unknown is very powerful that would inflict anyone’s psyche. Then for Independence Day to have you rationalizing about some other form of human life outside of Planet Earth, that may or may not have the intelligence to capture humans. For Aliens to want to take control of another planet.
But there are more uplifting movies that people will think differently from as well. Ghost, The Matrix Trilogy and Sixth Sense are just a few. In my personal opinion, When it’s your time go from this world then it will be just that. People may walk in the world with fear, but that will only get you so far because you’re dreading to face reality that you have a purpose for being in the world. Whether that be verbally, physically, psychologically, or mentally. Known, and unknown people in the world rely on your natural talent. The morals and values that a person instills from birth growing into full development, would play a very big part on the relation to one another.
Braxton Darden
Blog Post 2
It is possible that people are obsessed with the apocalypse for two reasons. One reason is that it is something that has been around for centuries. It seems that throughout history, every civilization had a beginning and prepared for the end of their civilization with religious rituals and practices. Therefore, it’s engrained in us. Also, with the introduction of industrialism, mass media, capitalism and post modernism, people were able mass produce and popularize very specific ideas of the apocalypse which in turn increased the public’s anxiety about the end of the world. The public “religiously” prepares for it by stock piling non-perishables or making poor decisions about life style and choices in hopes that they will experience life to its fullest before the “end” comes. Both have proved ineffective in preparing for an apocalypse whenever it becomes a reality and however it manifests itself. Ultimately, I think this apocalyptic fantasy is about the need for perceived control over one’s future. Having an idea of how and when it will happen increase our control over it. Or at least we think it does.
Although there are some good ideas floating around about how to prolong our existence (going green is one of them I believe), as a whole, I think it makes our problem-solving efforts around the issues that may cause our apocalypse ineffective because we are always in panic mode. We are also in a society that thinks that the more “things” you have the better off you’ll be in any situation, which is where stock piling comes in. This makes it difficult to brainstorm because ideas are intangible initially which doesn’t satisfy our need for “things” and instant gratification. Also, no one thinks effectively in a constant state of anxiety and fear, which is the state that fantasizing about the apocalypse all the time puts us in.
I think media and product marketing have built this fear into American society. I believe that as mortal beings it is normal to have some level of future concerns, but we here in America have taken it extremely far. Through our media we have taken this small fear and curiosity and turned it into something that can generate income for the parties involved. As American consumers we feed into this “engineered fear” and take extra measures to overtake this fear by extra preparation. I believe that moderation must come in all things for this reason I feel that this recent growth in focus on the apocalyptic future has crossed the threshold of beneficial for some. As a whole we are still relatively stable, but some people spend all their time and money focused on a negative outcome, wasting their lives in the process. It’s one thing to be prepared it is another to be obsessed, unfortunately more and more people are crossing this line.
I think Americans are so obsessed with apocalyptic vision is because people want to draw their own conclusion on how the world is going to end. They don’t want to go through life not know what’s going to happen and also knowing that they haven’t done anything to prepare. As humans we like to be in control of the future and the fear of the unknown is not taken well by people. If you think about Christianity we are preparing by getting right before the eyes of God and before the rapture happen.
The need to view the future apocalyptically, in my opinion, will depend on what the person beliefs are. For example if you’re a Christian then there is no worry on how the world is going to end because you would be living a new life with hopefully your family and friends. We know and believe how our life will end. But maybe for a person that does not have any particular “religion” would want to know everything there is to know about the apocalypse and would want to prepare no matter what it may cost. There are people out there that spend thousands and thousands of dollars preparing a bonkers with food and ammunitions. I think media plays a big role in this and putting fear in peoples mind on how the world is supposed to end. Movies like world war z or Independence Day. It always involves humans fight against humans to be able to survive.
Apocalypticism can impact the way individual and groups simply by the way everyone would want to survive. I also think that fear of the unknown is whats going to have people and groups relate to one another. I don’t think people should dwell on the situation too much and just enjoy their lives.
Stephanie
I feel that Americans are obsessed with an apocalyptic vision for many reasons. I feel that the bible has something to do with it. In the bible in 2 Peter 3:10, it talks about the destruction of the earth. Also what we are exposed to through the media. There are so many different theories that exist about the world coming to an end.
I feel the apocalyptic fantasy has to do with survival of the fittest. Some Americans feel that only the strong and smart will survive the destruction of the earth. That preparing now is key to beating the apocalypse. Others feel that they have watched enough movies and know how to survive.
I feel that our views about the apocalypse harm us from solving pressing problems. Global warming has the potential to end the earth. Instead of us changing our habits and limiting our carbon footprint we refuse to change. Our food crops are grown with tons of pesticides. I feel if we thought about the apocalypse differently we would make the changes necessary to ensure life on earth.
One way apocalypticism impact individuals is on belief. Some people do not believe that an apocalypse will ever take place. There is so much evidence that shows that this is possible. Some people simply refuse to acknowledge that an apocalypse can happen, even with supporting evidence. The apocalypse has led to religious and non-religious arguments.
As I watched this video, I started to see exactly what the problem is in regards to this subject. People are always focused on things they have absolutely no control over, instead of focusing on what they do and that’s living life.
The gentlemen stated that “Every American believes in the apocalypse”, and that “they only question whether Jesus or global warming will be the cause”. I don’t like when people make generalize statements for a group of people they have no clue exactly how they feel. I can’t say that I believe in this apocalypse he’s referring to. As a Christian, I believe in a higher power and I believe that at some point, that higher power may make the decision that human beings are no longer needed for whatever the bigger plan is. I do believe that there’s going to be a rapture and that we have to be ready to be chosen for the rapture, but I don’t sit around worrying about this on a regular basis and make it a part of my daily thoughts.
I also don’t think that Americans are obsessed with the apocalyptic visions of the future either. I think that some imagines run wild and since the media has done and continue to do such a good job at inciting fear and bringing up all these outlandish viewpoints that some very naïve Americans may get caught up in the ridiculousness of this topic.
I think the people who get caught up into this stuff are very silly individuals and have way too much time on their hands. As Christians we know it’s a sin to worry, so therefore if I can’t change any aspect of an issue there’s no point in worry about it. I believe folks that are wrapped up in this apocalyptic fantasy are the same ones that stock pile their homes and live in bunkers like fools believing they will survive. This is not true, if there’s going to be something to wipe humans off the face of the word, and then you better believe there’s nothing you can do about it.
I honestly can’t even begin to answer the question of whether or not future apocalyptic events helps or harms our efforts to solve problems or how apocalypticism impacts the way individuals and groups relate to one another, because I never concern myself with it nor do I know other people who concern themselves with stuff like this.
Even after reading the five Pop culture apocalypse scenarios, I’m at a total loss for words. I understand in the case of Asteroid and Thermonuclear events, but the other three, I’m not sure what to say to the ridiculousness of the ideas. Some of this is so far-fetched and loony to even be serious enough to stop laughing. I’m a non-believer of crazy.
I believe Americans are obsessed with apocalyptic visions of the future because of the great fear of the unknown. We can analyze the past and witness the present, but the future is a mystery. When we let our imaginations soar, worst case scenarios tend to plague our thoughts, especially with the abundance of bleak news in the world. Global warming/cooling? Nuclear holocaust? Sharknado? The fear of the unknown pervades our thoughts and apocalyptical fantasies allow us to play them out in our head, maybe alleviating our anxiety in the process.
An apocalyptic vision of the future can be harmful to our efforts to solve pressing problems. If warnings allude to a time far into the future, we may not make much effort to change the status quo, since we can pass the buck to future generations. On the other hand, if our demise is imminent we’ll probably take the “you only live once” attitude to the extreme. Why worry if time is short and you are almost completely guaranteed to perish? However, if the apocalyptic situation is preventable and effects will be seen in the near future, people may make a serious effort to change things and do whatever they can to stop it. We see how apocalypticism impacts human relations on a daily basis; most famously, the debate on global warming. Some completely believe it, some completely reject it, and some are completely indifferent. If it is true, how long will it take to become problematic or apocalyptical? Most Americans won’t really care if an island nation, like Vanuatu, ends up under sea level, but if they have to pay $10 for a head of lettuce or depend on black market tomatoes, well, that’s when they’ll start caring. All in all, mass fear can be scarier than the actual apocalyptic event, because humans are unpredictable when crises arise. Our schadenfreude is fine when it comes to apocalyptic movies and music, but we should try to be optimistic about the future. Just because we can’t foretell the future does not mean we should fear it by default.
Blog #2
To begin, according the dictionary the word Apocalyticisms is any doctrine concerning the end of the temporal world; especially one based on the supposed prophetic passages in the Revelation of St. John the Divine. The millennial doctrine of the 2nd advent and personal reign of Jesus Christ on Earth. Revelation is an apocalyptic literature as well. Apocalypse also means to uncover, if it ever seems that there is more evil in the world than good. I think that Americans are obsessed with apocalyptic visions of the future because from day one in the Bible, it was said how the world will end. Given past history the Bible has been accurate so you can’t help but to believe what it says has some truth to it. Apocalyptic is applied to the popular culture without even realizing that it is, through the movies for instance. An interesting question that is asked in the video is, “Which will end, the world first global warming or the Christ returning. With all the bombs, killing and other things can all be applied to the apocalyptic story line. People obsessed with the apocalyptic because they believe that it is something that they can conquer, they can be ready for the end. But in reality no one knows when the world is coming to an end. I myself have not studied the Bible but from my understanding the Bible tells us how the world will end and it will be through fire which explains the bombings that are occurring in the world today.
I think that our need to view the future harms our effects to solving the problem because no one is trying to solve the problem permanently. This world has become a money maker and that is what everyone is focused on. If groups do not believe in apocalyptic they would not understand what each other is talking about; therefore, would not be able to relate to each other so I do believe that it first starts with the understanding of what apocalyptic is.
Apocalyptic View of the World
We in America have and have always had obsession with apocalyptic visions. Traditionally these were religious based apocalyptic visions that mass sin causes these apocalypses to happen. In our modern day life we see it in books, movies and in everyday conversations. Americans are obsessed with this vision because we have a fear or interest in death, an apocalypse is possibly the largest possible death scenario available. This fear of the unknown for one makes most of us cringe. By creating these fantasies we are able to put a vision to this unknown. We can play through what could possibly happen and create endless scenarios for apocalypse whether it is a human caused mutually assured destruction or a nature caused destruction or a combination of the two of them the possibilities are endless and hold great entertainment value.
In my opinion, viewing the world with apocalyptic outlook can lead to pessimism. The possibility of the world ending tomorrow should not prevent us from solving the global and social problems of the here and now. I believe many are replacing real problems with fantasies of what could happen in the worst case scenario or they are drastically inflating the possibility of these apocalyptic disasters to really occur. The fact that we should allow humans to suffer because it could all end it is the opposite of caring for fellow humans. One reason the apocalyptic vision is so obscene to me is that an apocalypse is most likely not going to happen; the mathematical probability is probably so small that it should have much lesser of an influence than it does on Americans. We should however be aware that humans can cause an apocalyptic scenario to happen, whether it is nuclear mutually assured destruction or a slow destruction via pollution and manmade climate change, because technology has given us the power to do harm to our planet any ourselves
I think Americans are obsessed with the apocolyptic visions because of science and also pop culture has a lot to do with it.I think that the ulimate apocolyptic fantacy is a pleague wipeing out the human race turning people into zombies. I think that the way we view future apocalypse harms our efforts to solve pressing problems. I say this because we seem to focus more on fiction than the facts. We need to look into science to get a better understanding of what may happen but we still may never know. Apocalpticism impacts the way indiividuals and groups relate to one another socially. The wealthy people looks down upon poor people becuase they beleive that when the time comes their money will somehow be able to save them.
I believe Americans are so obsessed with the apocalyptic visions of the future because many culture believe the reason for our existent would be answered. I believe that the apocalyptic fantasy of Americans today has warped to popular culture. Where as the video pointed out that more then 3 million people are currently getting ready for the end of days.
I believe that the view of the future apocalyptically would help solve pressing problems if we took it serious enough and not as if it was going to be a movie. The apocalypticism impacts individuals and groups because it seems that the world will end at our own hands because certain individual need for power.
At the end of the day as the video stated we should fear the future but embrace the future and whatever may come of it.