Where Do They Go From Here?

While reading The Road at Starbucks, someone came up to me and said, “That book is so boring.” I had to disagree. He was referring to the stylistics and the (he argued) over-done portrayal of “the human condition.” I feel that McCarthy is successful in his use of language in portraying a very real image of a post-apocalyptic world. The monotony of the language, the short sentences, and the sense of greyness that pervades the novel convey a very believable empty, threatening, and decaying post-apocalyptic world. Continue reading

A Lasting Market for Apocalyptic Anxiety

While reading Kirsch I often noted how cultural anxiety plays a key role in apocalyptic thinking. Apocalyptic anxiety has opened up a huge market in pop-culture. It’s important to note that this market didn’t just succeed without the presence of some need; people buy into it. I would argue that apocalyptic consumers aren’t just successfully targeted bystanders, but rather they have an anxiety-driven fascination with the legacy that originated with The Book of Revelation. Kermode addresses further how this market of anxiety succeeds because of the very human need for a comprehensible end to the human “story.” Continue reading