The apocalypse is everywhere
Subtitle: a popular history of America's favorite nightmare
By: Anne Rehill.
Publisher: Praeger
Published: 2010
Place of publication: Santa Barbara, Calif
Language: eng
Number of pages: 281
ISBN-13: 9780313354380; 9780313354397
Subjects: End of the world; Popular culture -- United States
Description: From the Publisher: The Apocalypse Is Everywhere: A Popular History of America's Favorite Nightmare explores why apocalyptic thinking exists, how it has been manifested in Western culture through the ages, and how it has woven itself so thoroughly into our popular culture today. Beginning with contemporary apocalyptic expressions, the book demonstrates how surprisingly widespread they are. It then discusses how we inherited them and where they arose. Author Annie Rehill surveys the ancient belief systems from which Christianity evolved, including ancient Judaism and other faiths. She explores the vision outlined in the Book of Revelation and traces the apocalyptic thread through the Middle Ages, across the Reformation and Enlightenment, and to the Americas. Finally, to prove that the Apocalypse is indeed everywhere, Rehill returns to the present to consider the idea of apocalypse as it occurs in movies, books, comics and graphic novels, games, music, and art, as well as in televangelism and even presidential speeches. Her fascinating scholarship will surely have readers looking about them with new eyes.
Notes: Includes bibliographical references and index.
Table of contents: title: Preface; title: Part I: Ubiquitous cultural expressions; title: Apocalyptic warnings : from TV to the White House; title: Doomsday broadcasting on Comedy Central; title: Homer Simpson and the rapture; title: Party in hell on South Park; title: Using Revelation as a template : the Left behind series; title: Apocalyptic brutality : Cormac McCarthy; title: Part II: How we inherited the book of Revelation; title: The apocalypse emerges from ancient ideas; title: From the Hebrew distillation to Islamic interpretations; title: Modern apocalyptic source : John's book of Revelation; title: Christianity conquers Europe : the Middle Ages; title: Religious challenges; title: and imagining no apocalypse; title: Christianity and Revelation cross the Atlantic; title: Part III: Acting out the apocalypse in the new world; title: Apocalypse in literature and film; title: More doomsday tales; title: Armageddon hits the big screen; title: Eternity in comics and graphic novels; title: Judgment Day in music and art; title: TV and games to the rescue; title: Apocalyptic fun in your own backyard.