5 Popular Ways to Die

The world as we know it has seen through various infatuations over a different period of times. One of the infatuations, the crazy people of the Earth still hold on to and has recently gained quite a popularity is imagining the end of the world and its aftermath. The renewed apocalyptic fantasies and terror were probably the result of the Y2K problem which threatened the end of the world through the collapse of the computer networks. Therefore, the early 1990s can be given the credit for the various forms of apocalypses or their updated versions we come across in popular fiction.

1. Zombie Apocalypse

Who after watching a Zombie movie in their right minds have not imagined their survival if the living has to protect itself from the dead? The dead human beings who are driven by nothing but hunger for the living. The zombies are dead human bodies except for the tiny part in their brains which crave for the flesh of others. A zombie is like an infected person carrying a communicable disease, if infected, you'll be reborn as a dead flesh eating creature too. The Walking Dead is an absolute watch TV show showcasing the journey of the living in a world taken over by Zombies.



2. Artificial Intelligence Apocalypse

The rapid technological advances and our progress in the field of science have given birth to the fear of a computer with its own brain, i.e., artificial intelligence.

Though highly beneficial to mankind, artificial intelligence holds the threat of taking over our world since we have become so dependent on computers for our daily life.

Robots and cyborgs roaming the world controlling human beings or better yet attempting the extinction of human race. Classic examples of this include films like The Matrix Series and The Terminator Series.



3. Greenhouse Effect / Climate Apocalypse

An apocalypse through vigorous changes in the climate of Earth due to pollution is the most plausible end of the world theory.

The Greenhouse Effect Apocalypse predicts the gradual increase in Earth's temperature which will eventually result in an inferno like Venus. The Climatic apocalypse is the drastic change in the biosphere of Earth rendering survival chances extremely low.

In Christopher Nolan's brilliant 'Interstellar', he presents the Earth in a climate apocalypse accelerated by humanity and global food crises that force them in search for other Earth-like planets.



4. Mayan Apocalypse

21 December 2012 was supposed to be the end of the world. The Earth was supposed to be destroyed by a series of natural disasters or a meteor predicted by the end of the Mayan Calendar.

This was perhaps the most widely known apocalyptic theory after the Bible prophesied the end of the world. People went as far as believing and preparing themselves for the impending disaster.

As we are aware (and alive) that world did not end but the film '2012' will provide you with this vision of the end which is still predicted on a later date.



5. Alien Apocalypse

We frequently come across ongoing research for life in outer space and the belief of the existence of species on another planet.

An alien invasion has been treated as a potential threat that will take over the world. Both spoofed and serious versions of extraterrestrial life invasion are available in forms of books and videos.

The Host by Stephenie Meyers is an interesting read that portrays a post-apocalyptic world invaded by a parasitic alien race.





To me, end of the world seems like a distant event. Judging the current situation, the question we should be asking ourselves is our fascination with the threat of extinction of our race. Why has the apocalypse culture taken such a front seat in popular culture? What are you really trying to escape in imagining a dystopia like this? Or is it that an end of the world is necessary for our utopian fancy to emerge?


Written by Sanya K. Aitwani
Complicated thinker with a creative streak and a laptop full of stuff.