This past week, the slew of recent post-apocalyptic films continued with “Oblivion,” which tells the story of a nearly annihilated human race as a result of alien invasion. “Oblivion” is just one of the many post-apocalyptic movies scheduled to come out in 2013, after several successful years for the genre. Though each presents a different view of the potential future, some of them threaten to tread into familiar science fiction territory. This genre also makes a segue into the dystopian society plot line, another concept that has become very familiar in both movies and books.
“World War Z,” in theaters June 21, deals with zombies, a popular antagonist of the past decade. Based off the 2006 novel by Max Brooks, it tells the story of the zombie pandemic and the individual accounts of certain people’s survival. The movie will feature several major actors such as Brad Pitt (“Se7en”) and Matthew Fox (“Lost”), which will help draw crowds to theaters. The trailer promises a storyline potentially different from a contrived one,as it tells the behind the scenes story of several different characters trying desperately to be one of the few left alive.
Matt Damon’s (“Good Will Hunting”) newest thriller, “Elysium,” delves into a futuristic caste system, where the poor remain on a polluted Earth while the rich have moved to a new planet, Elysium, whose name is derived from the Elysian Fields of the gods. Also featuring Jodie Foster (“The Silence of the Lambs”), as the defender of the system, Damon’s character, Max Da Costa, fights to break free of the class arrangement and destroy it to save the people of Earth. “Elysium” will hit screens August 9.
The film that might prove to be the most original is “After Earth,” with a cast consisting of Will Smith (“Men in Black”) and Jaden Smith (“The Karate Kid”), premiering June 7. After their ship has crash landed on Earth, which had been abandoned long ago, the father/son duo must work together to improve their relationship and survive a world that wants them killed in order to return to their planet, Nova Prime. They face much adversity along the way, especially since in this fictive universe humans did not leave Earth of their own free will.
There are going to be several more post-apocalyptic films released this year as well. One is “This is the End,” a comedic film about a group of actors waiting to be saved from the end of the world. “The Purge” is a movie that, rather than depicting the apocalypse, tells the story of a completely changed society where for one night each year there are no laws, no regulations, and anarchy rules for the evening – all in the attempt to lower crime and violence year round. The much anticipated sequel to “The Hunger Games,” “Catching Fire,” will also be in theaters this November, presenting a world drastically altered after two teens beat the oppressive system of their dystopian society.
What is the true fascination with post-apocalyptic media? The easy answer is that it presents an escape for viewers and makes them feel better about the world they are living in, because as bad as things get, it will never be as bad as the apocalypse. Additionally, many celebrities have caught on to the current attraction, so their affiliations with the subject encourage many to go see the films. But one thing is undeniable – this year will definitely be an interesting and defining chapter in the life of the post-apocalypse film.
