http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wZZ3mieX-I4
So I think all this May 21 apocalyptic stuff fits in pretty well with what we go over in class, yeah? So I wanted to share a video that we can all make fun of and talk about.
To me, the reactions of probably most of us and the reporter really drive home the "cry wolf" idea we talked about Thursday. I mean, most people just laugh about the end of the world theories now. And at one point during the interview they say if this apocalypse prediction fails, they'll just come up with more! How can that be taken seriously.
And it touches base with the "pre-elect" or chosen that Dr. D mentioned in a comment below (yeah, I'm weird and monitor all activity at all times. So watch out).
I know I didn't say anything groundbreaking, but I thought this was a good example of what goes on in the "real world" as opposed to the texts from the media that we've been looking at.
Garrard is, I think, quite astute with respect to apolypticism being what he calls a "crisis rhetoric." That is, it empowers the disenfranchised. That doesn't seem to change much, regardless of the religious inflection or historical context. What DOES change, however, is the crisis to which the apocalyptic rhetoric responds and the nature of the particular crisis. Because this new "rapture" craze is highly inflected with right-wing Christian ideology in the States, it could be a response to leftist agendas, the world financial crisis, and even the Obama administration, all of which--in the minds of many--are related.
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