Midterm ( The Gods and the Apocalypse)

The Gods and the Apocalypse

Mankind, which in Homer’s time was an object of contemplation for the Olympian gods, now is one for itself. Its self-alienation has reached such a degree that it can experience its own destruction as an aesthetic pleasure of the first order. (Walter Benjamin, pg 50)

This excerpt is taken from Walter Benjamin’s The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction, which was written in 1936. The piece by Benjamin explicates his views on the diminishing qualities of art in a highly capitalist and reproduction-friendly society. This small section does have rather apocalyptic hints that are of note. The concept of power in this excerpt and in greater relation to the apocalypse is of great importance. The roles of those in the so-called “impeding apocalypse” display not only our views of what is the worst to come but also the worst of our current nature.
To play off the idea of Olympian gods, one has to note the importance that they possessed to people at the time. The gods did all the work that made their world what it was. The gods were the explanations for lightning, sex, war, and, even love. Humans tried their best in all possible ways to do whatever deeds necessary to please these supernatural beings. By worshiping the gods people showed not only that they wished to have the bountiful blessings that could be bestowed upon them but avoid their punishments as well. There was no electricity, efficient medicine, or TiVo. The gods were for all purposes technology; they made everything work.
A long time ago, a wise Catholic priest chopped down a tree and people began worshiping Jesus. This may sound awkward but it does have intellectual substance. This priest chopped down the supposed holy tree of Thor. Doing such a taboo action would most certainly invoke Thor’s punishment and the death of the priest by lightning bolt. It didn’t. People stopped worshiping Thor and moved on to what they believed the more credible religion.
The actions of this story show that once the great punisher in the sky is no longer in power it is then possible for Satan to play. Meaning: the things that we believed to limit us actually don’t we control our destiny and our world. It is this shift of power that is important to understanding the apocalypse.
Mankind sees itself as a god upon itself. It marvels at its own creations and failures. Yet this is only present in societies that are advanced technologically and financially. I seriously doubt to a child in Sierra Leone who has witnessed his mother raped and his father hung thinks that “in the future things will get really bad!” Humans, who fear only one another and have trust in neither, possess the narcissistic quality that once “I am gone the world is over.” Dinosaurs died, was this not an apocalypse for them? Because of the many developments that humans have made they believe that without them there is no world. This is incorrect. Humans were once foolish children who followed the Greek gods and have replaced them; they have become gods themselves. As did the gods, humans foolishly destroy their very creations until it is intellectually implausible, soon humans will so be.