Film Studies 397E - ST- Film/End of the World

What insights do films with end-of-the-world scenarios, dystopian futures, and post-apocalyptic themes offer into the cultural moment that produces them? From alien invasions and planetary collisions to cataclysmic war and totalitarian dystopias, from the zombie apocalypse and the rise of machines, to human extinction and the end of civilization, what do these films tell us about contemporary realities? How do they speak to our anxieties and fears about the future as well as our hopes and aspirations? In what ways do these films pose and explore questions of the "human"? End-of-the-world films often intersect with other genres (thriller, action film, neo-noir, comedy, art-house, romance, drama, experimental, etc.) In this course we will study the cinema of eschatology, of ultimate endings, and analyze a range of filmic approaches to the philosophical, psychological, and aesthetic questions raised in end-of-the-world narratives.

Existential threats-real, imagined, metaphorical-inspire a swiftly growing set of films from around the
world. Catastrophic pandemics, climate disaster, world war, alien invasions, cosmic collisions, dystopias,
zombies, intelligent machines, mass extinction, prophesied apocalypse...and the list goes on. What do
films about the end of the world tell us about contemporary realities? What insights do they offer into the
cultural moment that produces them and the prevailing attitudes and realities of gender, race, class,
sexuality, and gender identity? How do they speak to our anxieties and fears about the future as well as
our hopes and aspirations? How does the genre of end-of-the-world films intersect with other
genres-thriller, action film, neo-noir, comedy, art-house, romance, drama, experimental, historical? In
this course we will study the cinema of ultimate endings and analyze a range of filmic approaches to the
philosophical, psychological, social, and aesthetic questions posed in end-of-the-world films.

Film Studies Major Through BDIC Category: G, E

UMass Amherst Undergraduate Certificate Categories: III, V