Doomsday

Some Fundamentalist Thoughts on the End is a documentary produced, filmed and edited by Jahneille Edwards. It is the result of spending five months of intense discussion, research and learning about the makings of apocalyptic theory and the application of such theory in everyday life. After being immersed in the language of theory I wanted to test in a sense the waters and pry into the thought processes of those that adhered to certain theories. Having entered the course with an uncertain definition of the “apocalypse” I have now gained a clearer understanding eschatological thought in its traditional, modern and post-modern sense and was eager to embark upon my own research.

In terms of the documentary, I was curious about the work done by Charles Strozier in Apocalypse: On the Psychology of Fundamentalism in America, and wanted to focus on fundamentalism in this current day. While fundamentalist Christian beliefs are widely varied throughout the world, I focused upon Caribbean émigrés living in New York City in twenty first century. How did their apocalyptic narrative differ from narrative given by their predecessors? How do they see the “end?”  More specifically I asked:

• What is the Apocalypse? Please define this term.
• Do you believe that “the end” is near? If so please explain why?
• How might one prepare for the end? How will these apocalyptic events play out? Please describe the arbiters and others who might be involved.
• Where do you see yourself and others like you during the events?
• Have you any questions or doubts on the book of Revelations? Should it be taken literally or symbolically?
• Do you remember first hearing about the end? How did you receive this information? Please describe your feelings.

My primary focus was the content of their answers and drew my conclusions based upon their answers. I did not encourage dialogue during the interviews in an effort to prevent my input from changing the scope of their responses.

I focused upon their apocalyptic narratives and hypothesized about the implications of such beliefs upon the individual interviewees, and the people whom they influence. My original goal was to draw conclusions based upon their life experience, race, socio-economic class, religious conversion and adherence to dogma, but all of these factors could not have been individually addressed. Perhaps if I had conducted several interviews over an extended period of time making such conclusion would have been possible. However, I was satisfied with the information that I was able to gather from these two individual’s who rely heavily upon their Christian faith.