Greg Foran's Courses

Rhetoric 309K: Doomsday Rhetoric
Prompts for Paper #2: Apocalypse in secular popular culture

First version due: Wednesday March 22, 2006
Second version due: Monday April 3, 2006

Specifications:
As usual, use 12 point font, 1-inch margins, and double space. The paper should conform to MLA format guidelines. I strongly recommend the use secondary sources to enhance your argument. Your thesis should be original, arguable, and interesting.

Macbeth

Shakespeare’s plays have generated scores of competing interpretations, and Macbeth is no exception. For this paper, analyze Macbeth as rhetoric, a play with a persuasive agenda by engaging with Jane Jack’s article “Macbeth, King James, and the Bible.” Choose one of the following options:

1) Jack argues that “(t)he space in which Satan is unleashed is an exact analogy of Macbeth’s reign in Scotland. Macbeth becomes the Devil” (187). Do you agree? If Macbeth is the Devil, do any of the other characters have apocalyptic counterparts? (Think about the major characters (Banquo, Malcolm, Macduff, Lady Macbeth) as well as the minor characters (e.g. the Porter, Lady Macduff, Seyton, Fleance). If you disagree with Jack, can you find evidence that militates against her reading? Whichever side you take, make an argument about the role of apocalyptic in this play.

2) Jack claims that “Macbeth’s story is told less in terms of English history…than in the spirit of the Old Testament histories of kings whose reigns are characterized as good or evil according to their allegiance to the false prophets or the true God….Macbeth is less a story of regicide and tyranny than of the war between the forces of evil and supernatural good” (180). In other words, she says, Shakespeare makes a religious argument, not a political one. Do you agree? Which is more important in this play, religion or politics? In either case, of what specifically does Shakespeare try to convince his audience?

Length: 5-6 pages

Revelation
Say something interesting about how Flanner O’Connor’s short story “Revelation” uses the Apocalypse
and/or the Biblical prophetic tradition to make an argument about class and race relations in the South. Be sure to do a little research into O’Connor’s biography and religious beliefs to enrich your argument. Some questions to consider: How does O’Connor’s vision of Revelation differ from the premillennialist
view we’ve studied this semester?
Who is the prophet in this story, and what does O’Connor suggest are the key
characteristics of the prophet?
Who are the sympathetic characters in this story? Why do we sympathize with
them?

As always, quote copiously from O’Connor’s text when making your claims.

Length: 5-6 pages

Film
Watch any one of the following apocalyptic movies*:

Lord of the Rings: Return of the King (2003) (medieval-esque fantasy epic)
DVD 3665 Audio Visual Library
DVD 2373 Audio Visual Library

The Day After Tomorrow (2004) (climate change causes a global freeze)
DVD 3500 Audio Visual Library Reserves

End of Days (1999) (Satan comes back to earth and only Arnold can stop him)

The Road Warrior (Mad Max 2) (1981) (post-nuclear society in search of gasoline)
DVD 241 Audio Visual Library FAC 341

The Seventh Seal (1957) (Ingar Bergman Classic set in medieval Sweden during the Plague)
DVD 269 Audio Visual Library Reserves

Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991) (humans must change the past to stop killer machines in the future)
DVD 1 Audio Visual Library Reserves

Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines (2003) (See above)

Waterworld (1995) (survivors in a flooded world search for the last patch of land)

Ghostbusters (1984) (an ancient Sumerian demon threatens to destroy the world)
DVD 1821 Audio Visual Library

Dr. Strangelove (1964) (black comedy about nuclear annihilation)
DVD 3534 Audio Visual Library

Dogma (1999) (irreverent religious comedy by director Kevin Smith)
DVD 2883 Audio Visual Library

Then, write an argument examining how the film uses apocalyptic themes to make an argument about politics, religion, or culture. Remember to place the movie in its historical context: how does the film reflect or comment on the culture from which it comes? What can we infer about the hopes and fears of the intended audience based on the movie’s use of apocalyptic elements?

You may find it useful to engage with Ostwalt’s article “Armageddon at the Millennial Dawn” (for insights into how Hollywood uses religious themes) and Dailey’s “Bruce Willis as Messiah” (as a model of how to perform a close analysis of a film). You might choose to apply the insights they develop, revise their arguments, or flat-out disagree with them. (Maybe you’ll find that the secular apocalyptic movie you choose really is chock full of spirituality?)

At a minimum, your paper should cover: *the vital details about the movie (director, actors, gross sales)
*the movie’s intended audience, as near as you can figure
*enough plot details to allow a reader who hasn’t seen the move
to understand what is going on

Your analysis should pay special attention to dialogue and visual elements. What the characters say and the images the director chooses to show make up the bulk of your evidence.

Some sample topics: *critique of racism and economic injustice in The Day After Tomorrow
*Biblical flood motifs in Waterworld
*the role of the Catholic Church in End of Days
*free will vs. determinism in Terminator 3
*parody of the power of advertising/corporations in Ghostbusters

*If you wish to pick another movie, please obtain my approval before writing your paper.

Length: 6-7 pages

Music (You will be handing in both a CD and an essay if you choose this option.)
Compile a mix CD of six or more songs that you think employ apocalyptic themes to make an argument. Then write an essay defending your choices and explaining how these songs tell us something about the culture from which they come.

You should provide extensive samplings of song lyrics to prove that the song is inspired by the Apocalypse. Just as important, you should comment on the music itself: style, instrumentation, etc. Be sure to provide relevant information about album release dates, musician biography, and anything else that helps the reader understand the songs.

You can approach this project any number of ways:

* Compare and contrast two or more genres of music. Do rap artists use apocalyptic differently than pop stars? What similarities exist between reggae apocalyptic and country/western apocalyptic?

*Compare and contrast two different periods of music. Did musicians draw on apocalyptic themes differently in, say, the 60’s than in the 90’s? Why, and what does it tell us about the historical difference between the periods?

*Survey one artist or band (e.g. Bob Dylan, Busta Rhymes, Tool, DC Talk) and say something interest about his/her/their apocalypticism. Is it motivated by religious belief? Skepticism? Is the artist making socieal commentary? For what cause?

Length: 7 pages