Recorder: Sonja Phillips

June 11, 2001

Film: Terminator II, Judgment Day, directed by James Cameron, 1992.

Summary of the Scene: archetypal vision of apocalypse and the destruction of the world by fire.

The woman in the scene is having a vision of the future in which the world is being destroyed by nuclear warheads in 1997. The destruction of the world by fire captures the imagination of our culture. It is a key image in Revelations:"The first angle sounded, and there followed hail and fire mingled with blood, and they were cast upon the earth; and the third part of trees was burnt up, and all green grass was burnt up" (Rev. 8, 7). "And the fourth angel poured out his vial upon the sun: and power was given unto him to scorch men with fire. And men were scorched with great heat, and blasphemed the name of God, which hath power over these plagues: and they repented not to give him glory" (Rev. 16, 8-9).

The world dies , destroyed by the inequity of man, whether that inequity be called sin, greed, or technological suicide, the end of the world is brought about by the actions of man. It is true if you believe in the original sin of The Garden of Eden, or if you see the shortcomings of man through a more secular lens. How does this belief that we not only have the power to destroy the world, but that we will ultimately use it, affect our culture? Do we overstep our bounds by making the assumption? Is the belief hubris? Or do we indeed possess the power to bring about the end of the world? Does the acceptance of such an idea create an inevitable apocalypse? Is our future written in the book of The Revelation. Perhaps, on the other hand, we shape God as Lauren in "The Parable of the Sower" puts it. Perhaps we shape change and are writing our own future day by day, for the good or the bad.

Primary Objective: (1) To identify, describe, and criticize the narratives or stories that humans tell about the future

a.) Apocalyptic

Secondary Objective: (3) Is the future "written" or being written."

Butler, Octavia E,. "The Parable of the Sower" New York: Warner, 1995.

The New American Bible. Nashville: Catholic Bible Press. 1991.

1. Are there parallels between our belief in an apocalyptic end to civilization and the apathy with which we treat the destruction of our planet to meet humanity's ever increasing needs?
2. Is Revelations a self-fulfilling prophecy where life imitates art out of our need for the distinct delineation between good and evil? Do we romanticizing the end of the world so that we may see it as a heroic struggle between God and the Devil rather than as an evolutionary process where each of our actions builds the reality that is the present?

Lacy: Everybody is destroyed.

Glenn: Nuclear Holocaust scenarios of survivors. Only Northern Hemisphere. People would survive.

Lisa: Could be seen as it doesn't matter if we destroy the planet because of this is the end, who cares?

Dr. White: President Reagan's Secretary of the Interior wanted to open National Forests for intensive logging because preservation didn't matter--Jesus would be here soon.

Glenn: World view of Washington state is 15 years behind Germany, Texas is 15 years behind Washington state.

Keely: Natural resources i.e. extremists backwoods hillbilly types not at all. We are getting the impact of having all these natural resources.

Sabrina: Self fulfilling\jump start the end of the world.

Michelle: Christian viewpoint, self fulfilling prophecy, self still involved in it.

Dr. White: Romanticize--caretakers of the Earth doesn't have the same impact as an apocalyptic story.

Keely: A drive to survive, there are people perpetrating the thrill of destruction but we hang on desperately to survive.

Lacy: Companies causing devastation. What are we going to do about it?