The end of the world is near! Well, not quite…but it sure seems to be the rage in pop culture. We have flesh eating zombies, alien takeovers, and overturned governments; the apocalypse is just around the corner. People have always wondered how the world will end. Why are we so fixated on this happening? Why is America so obsessed with the apocalypse?

According to the LA Times, AMC’s zombie apocalypse series “The Walking Dead” hit No.1 this season for the 18 to 49 year old demographic. Last summer’s debut of the popular teen post-apocalyptic movie “The Hunger Games” grossed in a record $155 million. Even children’s television programming has jumped on the bandwagon. Cartoon Network’s “Adventure Time with Finn and Jake” tells the story of a boy and his dog in a magical world… which happens to take place in a post-apocalyptic future, 1000 years after “The Great Mushroom War”.

Dr. Moynihan, Professor of Sociology at Skyline College discusses how people have contemplated the end of the world throughout history.

“I don’t see this as unusual. Societies have reacted to these movements in the past. It often represents a desperate attempt to reestablish order in people’s lives and to cling to something that has meaning,” Moynihan said.

Mankind has been threatened with plagues and natural disasters throughout history. Documentation of mass hysteria is not uncommon. Many religious groups, particularly fundamentalists, have explained these events as divine retribution with a path to redemption through a sort of ritual cleansing and thereby new beginning. Most religious movements are deeply rooted in the idea that there will someday be an end to all suffering bringing a new age of enlightenment. Even radical and trendy groups in the 60’s and 70’s embraced “The Age of Aquarius”, which was an astrological shift of information and consciousness which would intern create of a new age of harmony or disharmony of people depending on one’s belief and ability to adapt to the changes.

Popularity in these movements seems to coincide with times economic and social hardship and instability. We are all familiar with the recent billboards warning people everywhere that the world will end in 2012. It is no surprise that; in fact, our country was on the verge of a great economic recession. Dr. Moynihan believes that people feel a sense of “normlessness” during these economic downfalls.

“People are losing jobs and houses. They can’t send their kids to good schools. People feel a sense of not knowing what the rules are anymore,” Moynihan said.

He continues on with this idea, relating it to the current turmoil that has struck the Middle East.

“I think it’s partially what is happening in the Arab Spring. People are tired of being held in a meaningless state of affairs and they want to strike out and have some sense of control.”
Tarek Eljarrari, Professor of Psychology at Skyline College considers that contemplating death and the end of the world is a part of human development.

“Humans are the only species who recognize their own mortality,” he said. “The notion of our own demise provokes a certain degree of anxiety. Evoking it in a cultural way helps us come to terms with death.”

Eljarrari goes on to say that culture, in a sense, shelters people from the notion of death by creating an identity for death. Ironically, in the same way, people identify life with their culture.
“A lot of it has to do with people’s detachments from the world,” Moynihan said.

Moynihan compared it to the way people attach themselves to a sports teams or a stereotype.

Nick Kukielka, a sophomore at Skyline and a fan of AMC’s “The Walking Dead” says he enjoys watching the show simply because, “It’s entertaining.” But WHY is it so entertaining to watch men in horror fight for their lives in a gory world infested by zombies?

Sure, people have always had a slightly perverse disposition. Just think about the ancient Romans favorite pastime of watching lions rip apart gladiators, while fully aware that the odds of survival for the gladiators was slim to none. Some may conclude that there lies a beast within all of us. Perhaps using violence as an outlet, as entertainment, is a way of coping with our own inner turmoil over coming to terms with this reality.

The cult following for apocalyptic fiction could also be a way for outsiders to feel like they are a part of something purposeful. Some people go so far as to literally prepare for the end of the world by building bomb shelters and stocking up on weapons and canned food.

“It gives them a sense of control, a sense of ‘I know something that you don’t’, a sense of community, a sense of belonging. If there were an apocalypse, survivors would ultimately be put back on a level playing field,” Eljarrari explained.

In the end, we have no guarantees about what will become of us, or our world. Scientist will tell us that if all life on our planet was destroyed, Earth, in it’s infinite resilience would find a way to start over again. After all, flowers always find a way to grow in a forest that has been decimated by fire. We love to celebrate starting over in this country. We talk about the Great Depression and how our country came back stronger. Our most prized heroes have always been the individuals who have overcome impossible obstacles to reinvent themselves and their current situation.

Why is America obsessed with the Apocalypse? Ironically, we may all have a deep desire to start over, to begin each day as if it were our first, not our last. Don’t we always want that second chance and that opportunity to try again? Perhaps the obsession with the Apocalypse is not about endings at all. Perhaps it is, in fact, about beginnings.