Alien Apocalypse Films
Only the slightest bit more realistic than a zombie apocalypse, is an alien invasion. However, despite the fact that this probably is not very likely to happen, TV shows and movies about aliens are extremely convincing. I've seen a ton of alien movies (I really like them) and after every single one I ask myself 'how ignorant could I be to think that there is no life on other planets, that we on Earth are the center of the universe and there is no other life?' Maybe, perhaps, there is extraterrestrial life out there, and I'm okay with that, it doesn't scare me. However, there are many people who see these types of films and can't sleep, can't think about anything other than 'what if I'm abducted by an alien?' or 'what if aliens attack Earth?' and that's when these kinds of films start moving away from entertainment and start becoming their own apocalypse. Fear, in theory, should be an evolutionary thing, as well as an instinctual thing. We learned to fear touching a hot stove when we were younger because of that one time we got burned, this is a helpful fear, and something vital to adapting to living, so how did we begin to fear aliens (amongst other things)? THE MOVIES! Of course other sources aided in developing this fear as well, like the War of the Worlds radio broadcast, books (like Dreamcatcher by Steven King, one of my favorites), and television programs. All these types of media combined to create one big culture of fear. Some movies that stick out in my mind as ones that seemed somewhat "realistic" as well as memorable enough to actually scare viewers are:
- Battle Los Angeles
- Signs
- Invasion of the Body Snatchers
- Dreamcatcher
- District 9