Freethought & Rationalism Archive

Luiseach · 02-09-2003, 02:27 PM

I'm watching The Second Coming on ITV. Now, I've heard tell that films about the Rapture, etc. are becoming more and more popular, especially Stateside. This is the first one I've seen in the UK. I'm not quite sure what (if anything) to make of it!

Has anybody else here noticed this trend in television/TV etc. The Apocalypse Soon fashion, as I call it?

Why do you think it's becoming so popular? Fatalism? The thousand-year-itch? Very curious....

Mageth · 02-09-2003, 02:34 PM

Yeah, I've noticed it. But I've heard the likes preached since I was but a wee lad.

I distinctly remember, in the '60s, attending a "revival" in the church I grew up in, where the guest speaker spent several evenings poring over charts and scriptures detailing the coming apocalypse (supposedly we only had ten years or less left).

There have been many periods throughout history when the "Apocalypse Soon" hysteria permeated the superstitious. I think the pervasiveness of this kind of thinking today may at least in part be due to the "Information Age", where such memes have found new avenues to infect large numbers of people.

Luiseach · 02-09-2003, 02:46 PM

Good point, Mageth...as a life-long heathen, I've only been burdened with the 'we're going to hell in a handbasket' gloom n' doom mentality at high school in the 80's, when teachers would try to impress on us lot the seriousness with which we should take the fact that we are the ones growing up 'tall and proud/in the shadow of a mushroom cloud'. Sheesh!

Anyways, The Second Coming is over (until the second part tomorrow), and Dolores Claiborne is on now. Hurrah for Stephen King! Now there's a source of REAL wisdom, I can tell you!

Mageth · 02-09-2003, 02:59 PM

I've only been burdened with the 'we're going to hell in a handbasket' gloom n' doom mentality at high school in the 80's...

I'm old enough to remember the "duck 'n cover" antics of the '50s and early '60s. Ever see Atomic Cafe?

Luiseach · 02-09-2003, 03:04 PM

Nope, never seen Atomic Cafe ... christ, I always knew I was culturally-deprived, but this is ridiculous.

Okay, you've piqued my curiosity...what's it about?

I was subjected to Threads and something called The Day After (I don't know if I got that last title right or not...what an impression that must have had on me, yes?). :-D

Mageth · 02-09-2003, 03:25 PM

Atomic Cafe might be described as a comic-horror documentary about the Cold War, the threat of nuclear war, and its effect on society, primarily in the '50s and early '60s. Definitely worth seeing.

A good writeup.

Luiseach · 02-09-2003, 03:30 PM

Thanks for the link, Mageth... :-)

02-09-2003, 02:27 PM	#1
Luiseach Senior Member Join Date: Dec 2002 Location: limbo Posts: 986	The Second Coming on ITV I'm watching The Second Coming on ITV. Now, I've heard tell that films about the Rapture, etc. are becoming more and more popular, especially Stateside. This is the first one I've seen in the UK. I'm not quite sure what (if anything) to make of it! Has anybody else here noticed this trend in television/TV etc. The Apocalypse Soon fashion, as I call it? Why do you think it's becoming so popular? Fatalism? The thousand-year-itch? Very curious....

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02-09-2003, 02:34 PM	#2
Mageth Contributor Join Date: Jul 2001 Location: Deep in the heart of mother-lovin' Texas Posts: 29,689	Yeah, I've noticed it. But I've heard the likes preached since I was but a wee lad. I distinctly remember, in the '60s, attending a "revival" in the church I grew up in, where the guest speaker spent several evenings poring over charts and scriptures detailing the coming apocalypse (supposedly we only had ten years or less left). There have been many periods throughout history when the "Apocalypse Soon" hysteria permeated the superstitious. I think the pervasiveness of this kind of thinking today may at least in part be due to the "Information Age", where such memes have found new avenues to infect large numbers of people.

02-09-2003, 02:46 PM	#3
Luiseach Senior Member Join Date: Dec 2002 Location: limbo Posts: 986	Good point, Mageth...as a life-long heathen, I've only been burdened with the 'we're going to hell in a handbasket' gloom n' doom mentality at high school in the 80's, when teachers would try to impress on us lot the seriousness with which we should take the fact that we are the ones growing up 'tall and proud/in the shadow of a mushroom cloud'. Sheesh! Anyways, The Second Coming is over (until the second part tomorrow), and Dolores Claiborne is on now. Hurrah for Stephen King! Now there's a source of REAL wisdom, I can tell you!

02-09-2003, 02:59 PM	#4
Mageth Contributor Join Date: Jul 2001 Location: Deep in the heart of mother-lovin' Texas Posts: 29,689	I've only been burdened with the 'we're going to hell in a handbasket' gloom n' doom mentality at high school in the 80's... I'm old enough to remember the "duck 'n cover" antics of the '50s and early '60s. Ever see Atomic Cafe?

02-09-2003, 03:04 PM	#5
Luiseach Senior Member Join Date: Dec 2002 Location: limbo Posts: 986	Nope, never seen Atomic Cafe ... christ, I always knew I was culturally-deprived, but this is ridiculous. Okay, you've piqued my curiosity...what's it about? I was subjected to Threads and something called The Day After (I don't know if I got that last title right or not...what an impression that must have had on me, yes?). :-D

02-09-2003, 03:25 PM	#6
Mageth Contributor Join Date: Jul 2001 Location: Deep in the heart of mother-lovin' Texas Posts: 29,689	Atomic Cafe might be described as a comic-horror documentary about the Cold War, the threat of nuclear war, and its effect on society, primarily in the '50s and early '60s. Definitely worth seeing. A good writeup.

02-09-2003, 03:30 PM	#7
Luiseach Senior Member Join Date: Dec 2002 Location: limbo Posts: 986	Thanks for the link, Mageth... :-)

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