After watching the three films, I started to wonder how they were similar and different. It was obvious that 28 Days Later and Children of Men were portrayed as post apocalyptic in theme, but it was hard to relate it to Apocalypto. All of the films were also set in a different time period and I did not understand how they all fit. After reading The Days are Numbered, I soon realized how all three films fit together. However, I was left with a question: if films follow the culture of our times, can it simply be that films constantly adapt to the culture that is currently relevant in order to pique the curiosity of viewers?

Besides the inclusion of the three films, there was also a small inclusion of how Cold War era films featured nuclear weapons. As with how Cold War era films featured nuclear weapons as the ultimate fear of the world at the time, twenty first century films contain modern day themes of societal changes and fears. Quinby refers to fertility, reversal of gender roles, and the role of a romantic hero in the three films. However, these are issues that are faced currently in the twenty-first century: America still has debates on the legality of abortion, the role of women is rapidly changing, and there is a shift from the romanticized heroes that change society to a more pessimistic society that acknowledges reality. This fits into Quinby’s statement about Kee, the woman playing the fair maiden in distress who doesn’t even know who the father of her child is. As for the change in the role of women, as exhibited in 28 Days Later and Children of Men, there has been a change in the role of women as heroes from the late 20^th century into the 21^st century in popular culture. Prime examples of this include Xena the Warrior Princess and the Alien film series where the main characters in both of films were women.

There are also conflicts that we face today, such as the current direction of technology and the harms it can do. In 28 Days later, when the animal activists thought they were saving monkeys from a horrible fate, they actually unleashed a fate that was even worse for their own species. The actions of the activists gave the message that humans should not interfere with science. Children of Men’s theme of infertility can be viewed as a stance against abortion, as in the world of the film, everyone wanted to children. There are scenes of corruption and decay in government in all three films whether it is a priest, soldier, or a ruler who possesses this trait, the key thing to note is that these are all issues that individuals face in the 21st century.

Another thing to point out is the use of names throughout the films. Although the name Seven is recognized as holy, Kee is a homophone for a key, and Faron is a play on words for someone who both must be fair and to pay a fair, names must be important in everyday society as well. During the 2008 and 2012 presidential election, if anyone were against Obama they would usually put emphasis on his middle name Hussein because it was synonymous for Muslim, which is also synonymous for terrorism in some parts of America. The reason behind this is that whether it is a movie or not, names matter in all time periods and civilizations. A special name like Seven, which alludes to the holy number seven, would give the character special attention to film critics. Finally, if Gibson “learned how to tell a tale, and to raise a pulse in the telling” in Apocalypto and created a gripping film that earned him $121 million at the box office, the other films had to do so as well in order to earn money. After all, who would pay money to see a film that they could not relate emotionally to?