Is the word “apocalypse” overused? Has it become a part of our lexicon in a way that degrades its meaning? These questions, touched upon in both class and Kirsch, seems especially relevant today, the 10-year anniversary of the 9/11 attacks. The New York Times special collection of articles and media on the attacks is entitled “The Reckoning.” One of their articles, a sampling of first hand accounts from September 11, 2001, is called “Witness to Apocalypse.” My initial thought was that this could not possibly be a misuse of the word. One doesn’t need the horrifying pictures or videos, oral history transcripts or audio, to understand that the scenes of that day must have been apocalyptic to the people experiencing them. But then I reached the end of the article:
Though the project [the September 11, 2001 Oral History Project] does verify the importance of 9/11 as a historical event, it also helps clarify the conception that the attacks were irreversibly cataclysmic for New Yorkers. For the most part, Dr. Bearman [Peter Bearman, co-founder of the project] said, “life goes on.”
The world didn’t end on September 11, 2001, despite what many might have thought on that day. The lesson to be learned from this is that we won’t know for sure the apocalypse has come until it’s over.
But, as we already know, that doesn’t stop people from trying to predict it’s date. What interests me is not so much the date-setting impulse itself; as I said in my last post, that’s actually very understandable given the text of the Book of Revelation. What’s interesting is the two broad approaches to a belief in the end of days. Those who choose to suffer in silence, who accept the coming of the end of the world and seem to follow the Book of Revelation, are represented well by “Duck and Cover.” The idea of waiting around for the end of the world as portrayed in “Duck and Cover” was almost frightening with its Mad-Eye-Moody inspired message of “constant vigilance” – the detonation of an atomic bomb on US soil is not an “if” but a “when” according to that video. It brought to mind the less subtlety fear-inducing Daisy girl advertisement for LBJ from 1964. Whether one believes the apocalypse will be human or divine will, that state of readiness affects society. The Rapture is a convenient reassurance for those who choose to sit and wait. This chronic anticipation at the end of the world is sometimes made acute by a tumultuous world-event or a convincing preacher. However, such catalyst could also prompt people to lead a more aggressively seek out the end of the world, by contributing it to themselves, or, through a more positive and secular approach of simple progress, “building the millennial kingdom” themselves, as Kirsch puts it. This proactive rather than passive approach means that even those who lack faith in a divine apocalypse can anticipate a man-made end, easier to believe in light of modern human history. Certainly, the idea of faith-induced violence and discrimination is something to be concerned about, but the apocalyptic ability that humans in fact possess is equally frightening, While the absence of true belief can (thankfully) get in the way of my interpretation of the Book of Revelation, no such interference exists for the “scientific” predictions regarding the end of the world.
Hi Kaitlyn,
I hope you are considering doing something on zombies for your creative project! The first zombie movie, by George Romero, was a clear critique of race and class hierarchies that beset life in the US. There is a good essay on it in a collection I co-edited from last year, called Reel Revelations, so if you want to take a look at it, I have a copy in my office. In light of what you say about the use of the term apocalypse to describe certain events, here is an interview from yesterday with Charles Strozier (who we will be reading later): http://www.huffingtonpost.com/pythia-peay/psychology-of-911_b_946731.html
The second half is particularly pertinent to our discussions.
For class, why don’t you bring up for discussion the issue of agency–helping the endtime along–whether in a violent way or in a more peaceful millennialist way?
I am definitely considering doing something involving zombies for the final project! I’ve actually never seen the original Dawn of the Dead, but I would definitely be interested in that article! I think that my interest in zombies comes across as more fanatic than it actually is; my exposure to apocalyptic thought and ideas (at least in an obvious way) prior to this class has been through pop culture, where there are at lot of things about zombies floating around. Therefore, it’s something I can go to when looking to apply what we’ve read thus far (though that will change starting next week!).
I really liked the way Strozier described 9/11:
“it was an apocalyptic experience, but it was not an apocalyptic event”
This was the way I was thinking about it, eloquently put. Strozier summarizes the evolution of apocalyptic thought that Kirsch described, and his idea of “apocalyptic dread” seems to be the one reflected in the videos I mentioned. As a psychologist, he seems to have a better understand of the affect on society this has, which I just briefly mentioned.
Apocalyptic agency has already been expressed in many different forms throughout history, and I think it relates to the idea of control brought up in some other posts. Looking forward to discussing it!