Journal of Religion & Film Volume 20 Article 30 Issue 3 October 2016 10-2-2016 Verdens Undergang (1916) and the Birth of Apocalyptic Film: Antecedents and Causative Forces Wynn Gerald Hamonic Thompson Rivers University,
[email protected] Recommended Citation Hamonic, Wynn Gerald (2016) "Verdens Undergang (1916) and the Birth of Apocalyptic Film: Antecedents and Causative Forces," Journal of Religion & Film: Vol. 20 : Iss. 3 , Article 30. Available at: https://digitalcommons.unomaha.edu/jrf/vol20/iss3/30 This Article is brought to you for free and open access by DigitalCommons@UNO. It has been accepted for inclusion in Journal of Religion & Film by an authorized editor of DigitalCommons@UNO. For more information, please contact
[email protected]. Verdens Undergang (1916) and the Birth of Apocalyptic Film: Antecedents and Causative Forces Abstract This essay describes the antecedents and causative forces giving rise to the birth of apocalyptic cinema in the early 20th Century and the first apocalyptic feature, Verdens Undergang (1916). Apocalyptic cinema's roots can be traced back to apocalyptic literary tradition beginning 200 BCE, New Testament apocalyptic writings, the rise of premillenialism in the mid-19th Century, 19th century apocalyptic fiction, a growing distrust in human self-determination, escalating wars and tragedies from 1880 to 1912 reaching a larger audience through a burgeoning press, horrors and disillusionment caused by the First World War, a growing belief in a dystopian future, and changes in the film industry. Keywords Verdens Undergang, Apocalypse, Motion Pictures, Antecedents, Causes, Danish Film Author Notes Wynn Hamonic is Subject Matter Expert and Curriculum Consultant for Film 3991: Cinematic Visions of the Apocalypse, at Thompson Rivers University, Kamloops, B.C., Canada.