Secularized Apocalypse: "The Day After Tomorrow"

"The Day After Tomorrow" is a classic example of a secular apocalypse film. A secular apocalypse, according to lecture, is an apocalypse made by the actions of humans, either a single individual or an entire society. Secular apocalypses have no Divine supernatural being that causes the destruction, rather it is a result of human action. The fiction film "The Day after Tomorrow" describes future events of the Earth as a result of global warming. Obviously, the events displayed within the film are very exaggerated- a giant tsunami  that washes away New York, a tornado in the middle of Los Angeles, and an ice age that covers North America in a thick sheet of snow-but the lessons for society within the film are quite clear. The film follows Jack Hall played by Dennis Quad, as he tries to save his son Sam Hall, played by Jake Gyllenhaal, and his group  of friends and other survivors, from the natural disasters occurring in New York City. Throughout the film, Jack and Sam struggle to withstand the forces of nature, but eventually manage to stay alive until the weather settles and they walk out into the world, which seems to be experiencing a new ice age. 


This film portrays many elements discussed within Ostwalt “Movies and the Apocalypse” whereby the author discusses secularized apocalypticism in film and its contrasting themes and elements compared to traditional apocalypse stories. By exploring religious ideas, such as the apocalypse, secularized films that have no religious references at all, still function religiously by imparting an ideology of the end of time (Ostwalt, 2003). 



One particular point that Ostwalt makes with regards to the elements of secularized apocalypses is that they draw from contemporary science fiction . This means that modern evil no longer comes in the form of a beast but a form that current society finds as an issue. Within “The Day After Tomorrow”, the beast is global warming and the end of the world is forced onto them not by a supernatural being but by a realistic issue in our current world. Today, apocalyptic stories are based on events that audiences can relate to. Although the events in “The Day after Tomorrow” are exaggerated, global warming does cause a potential threat to a large portion of humanity- either through water scarcity, natural disasters, or reduced biodiversity- which makes it an appropriate apocalyptic issue. 


Another commonality between Ostwalt's argument and “The Day after Tomorrow” is his argument that the end comes from human stupidity and greed. This removes the influence of the Divine and, instead, examines the role of humanity developing their own future. As a film based on global warming, a result of fossil fuel emissions due to human consumption and production, “The Day After Tomorrow” is a clear example of Ostwalt's argument: the end of the world as a result of human negligence, not of God's will. 


The final correlation between Ostwalt's argument and “The Day After Tomorrow”, is his argument that within secular apocalypses, humans are able to survive the end of disaster. According to Ostwalt “human ingenuity, scientific adaptations, and heroism allow humanity to survive” (Ostwalt, 2003).  Within the film, Jack, his son Sam, and the group Sam had been stranded with, manage to survive the disaster and the film ends with them walking out into the new world. In the final scene, the group exits the library and walks onto the snow covered ground. This leaves the ending rather open, not knowing who else has survived and how the group will be able to continue to survive in the current ice age. Although the continuation is unknown, their survival demonstrates how humanity was able to overcome an apocalypse-“saviors from destruction"- unlike evangelic apocalypse films where humans are powerless.


It is clear that there are many contrasting themes between evangelic apocalypses and secularized apocalypses, and Ostwalt's reading does an effective job of explaining these themes. 




References
Ostwalt, Conrad. “Movies and the Apocalypse.” In Secular Steeples: Popular Culture And 
The Religious Imagination, 157-88. Harrisburg: Trinity Press International, 2003