There is a great interest in apocalyptic stories in Hollywood. From 2012 to 2013, Hollywood released fifteen disaster, apocalyptic, and post-apocalyptic movies (Haas et al. 344). In the past, apocalyptic works have functioned as a tool to both manage times of crisis and to address the political, environmental, and social reality of the world (Garrard 94). Thus, there is a connection between the popularity of the apocalyptic genre and real-life events of crises. This study examines the fascination of apocalypticism, by looking at two different depictions of an apocalypse. Therefore, the purpose of my thesis is to compare the post-9/11 cli-fi The Day After Tomorrow (2004) about the consequences of abrupt climate change and Netflix’s comedy Don’t Look Up (2021), which depicts a disastrous comet hurtling towards Earth. The comparison especially examines similarities and differences between how the two films articulate apocalypticism. Furthermore, as Don’t Look Up (2021) was filmed during the COVID-19 pandemic and The Day After Tomorrow (2004) came out three years after the 9/11 terror attack in New York, this thesis also compares how they each symbolize historical and critical events in America, specifically regarding political and environmental aspects depicted in the movies.
To compare The Day After Tomorrow and Don’t Look Up, I first present several perspectives on what the comparative method entails, to properly employ the approach in my thesis. Hereafter, different accounts of apocalypticism as a concept are outlined. First, from a historical point of view of how apocalypses have been used. The use of apocalypses is also specified in the American context. Thereafter, the gravity of apocalypses is categorized into different taxonomies, which helps to establish the magnitude of the apocalyptic event. These are then used in the examination of the two movies, in regard to whether the movies follow a traditional, theological depiction of apocalypses or the more contemporary portrayal, and how the apocalypses are narrated in regard to their level of menace. Next, I include certain notions of the environmental history of America to contextualize the ecological portrayals in the movies. There are also descriptions of indications of ‘political’ movies and their effect, to compare the political aspects in the movies. This leads to the comparative discussion of the apocalyptic climate change in The Day after Tomorrow and the comet in Don’t Look Up, concerning how the movies resemble real-life events of crises in America. In this context, there is also a discussion of the movies’ apocalyptic stories, in regards to their potential impact on the audience.
This thesis concludes that the overt depiction of climate change in The Day After Tomorrow (2004) resembles the current environmental crisis and appurtenant political conflicts, as well as it speaks to the anxiety after the 9/11 terror in 2001. Don’t Look Up (2021) is a caricature of the power and state of politics in the US, but it also covertly illustrates the management of the COVID-19 pandemic and global warming. Hence, the message in both movies demonstrates the problematic urge to utilize Earth’s resources excessively and how this hinders the characters’ change to avert the apocalyptic consequences. The comparison also derives that the movies symbolize the necessity of solidarity in times of crisis, such as global warming, the 9/11 terror attack, or the abruption of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2021. Based on the comparative discussion of the movies, my thesis deduces that the apocalyptic narratives and the different comic and tragic endings in TDAT and DLU potentially affect the viewer’s reception of the topics differently. Ultimately, the comparison of The Day After Tomorrow (2004) and Don’t Look Up (2021) concludes that there is a connection between the films’ apocalyptic portrayals, and contemporary, political, and environmental issues and conflicts in America.