What's so bad about the end of the world? There has been a tremendous interest in the post apocalyptic genre over the past 10 years and it doesn't look like this trend will slow down anytime soon. Being interested in impending doom is not necessarily a bad thing, that is why I created this blog.
First of all, it forces us face the music. Whether it is climate change or nuclear annihilation, by peeking through the post apocalyptic looking-glass, the worst case scenarios are revealed to us. It is by acknowledging these outcomes that we can find solutions to make our world a better place to live.
Secondly, necessity is the mother of invention. Some of the greatest achievements of mankind have been done during the 'sturm und drang' of war and catastrophes. German wartime rockets led to founding of the space exploration. Even today's Internet originated from ARPANET, which in turn was designed to help the military against nuclear attacks. The real possibility of human annihilation has led to improvement many aspects of our lives today.
Finally, post apocalypticism is a type of escapism. It allows us to start with a clean slate; a world destroyed also means another world can be born. Ancients legend of Ragnarök and the visions of Saint John on Patmos give us a picture of a new earth purged from all the atrocious aspects of humanity. Post apocalypticism gives us a fresh start.
So in the end, my love of the post apocalyptic genre is that it merges both bleak reality of a defective world with the potential for all of us to reach loftiest heights to what it means to be human.
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