I don’t think people necessarily go into watching these films or TV shows, with the goal of learning survival tactics for the future in mind. A significant message about the dangers of our future may strike some people close to their heart, but I know that seeing an apocalyptic situation in a movie is very interesting because it is a very thrilling topic. You can usually easily self insert yourself as the main protagonist of the film. You’re not only cheering for the main character to succeed, but you’re finding yourself, rooting for yourself to succeed. A lot of us may just have morbid curiosity as well. Seeing a movie poster we may think “How the hell are they gonna get out of this one?” and analyze our own probability of surviving the events of the movie.
Finding Peace with Casual Life Through Action
I feel like people enjoy watching media that shows their downfall because of its ability to feel real. This need for adventure and action in one’s life is embedded in every one of us, no matter how disinterested one might outwardly project. I feel like sci-fi shows and movies about the end of the world give us first, a good starting point for an imaginative dream of what we would do in those situations and secondly, something to fear, or more like something to be able to react to and then say “well I’m glad that’s not my reality”.
It’s almost like we watch these “scary” shows about our possible demise to show our minds that we are NOT dying, we are NOT being invaded by aliens right now or we are NOT in the middle of a zombie apocalypse fighting for our lives. Watching these films almost gives you an appreciation for the little things, which humans, typically, desperately need.
