Mary Shelley’s “The Last Man” could be credited as the first of what would be come the postapocalyptic cliché that resurfaces in popular culture countless times. The apocalypse has been caused by many different things, plagues, flesh-eating zombies, nuclear holocaust, and despite the constant rehashing and repetitiveness, I have yet to grow bored of the end of the world. Due to the overwhelming popularity of this cliche in entertainment, it is quite the accomplishment for Mary Shelley to have poineered the idea.
Countless zombie movies have found success by using this type of postapocalyptic setting, also countless videogames have sold millions of copies by creating a postapocalyptic world. This trend will continue to resurface in the future as well. People just can’t get enough zombies.
It’s difficult to say why we are so enthralled with the idea of the decimation of our species. Perhaps it is because we all fear the possibility of something like that occuring. Also, we are constantly being told by sources like the bible and other religious texts, and also the discovery channel, that our days are numbered. If it’s not global warming that gets us it will be swine flu or 2012. Perhaps watching zombies eat people helps alleviate the stress.
