Between 28 Days Later, Apocalypto, Children of Men, and the new episode of The Walking Dead, my dreams last night were filled with adventure, sacrifice, death, and a very panicked rise out of bed this morning. As I watched all of these productions, I tried to try and connect them using a common theme. Even though all of these films are obviously apocalyptic, they each gave a varying view of what “the end” could possibly entail.
The most generic of these films to me would have to be 28 Days Later. I haven’t seen this movie since it was released, and I have to say that watching it for the 2nd time wasn’t nearly as captivating as I remember the first being. Perhaps this movie was more original when it came out, but since its creation there has been excess production of this genre. I have to admit that there are some sophisticated themes present in this movie, such as the role of Christianity, and the presence of violence in westernized society. The first encounter that Jim has with the infected is when he enters the Church and is attacked by the Priest. While watching this scene, I couldn’t help but think that the Priest seemed more than just infected – he appeared to be possessed. Jim also notices graffiti on the wall that reads “The End is extremely fucking nigh.” If we look at the Book of Revelation, the events that take place in the church can symbolize the downfall of corrupted men and the coming of the end.
Going back to the more predictable aspect of the movie, we can see the typical zombie apocalypse characters; Jim, who believes in the survival of the group, and Selena, who feels that “plans are pointless” and openly states how she would leave anyone behind to save herself. Over the course of their journey, Selena does soften up a bit and is guided into seeing that there is importance in group survival. This leads me into the most important theme present in the three films: survival of a group, not the individual.
This theme is present in not just these 3 films, but all throughout apocalyptic culture. How often do we see end-of-the-world material that follows the journey of just one person? When I was trying to think of an example of this, the closest thing I could come up with was Tom Hanks in Cast Away. Even in this film [SPOILER!!!] he creates a companion out of a volleyball and ultimately returns home to reunite with his wife and society. Survival is not about living the longest life you can, but sharing that time with others and making sure that the world you live in will continue without you. In 28 Days Later the characters live for each other, in Children of Men the entire plot revolves around a pregnant woman, and in Apocalypto , Jaguar Paws only interest is returning to his family.
