Films feature end of the world.

• Position: YOUR LIFE

Anticipating the end of the world has bean a recurring theme for many cultures, especially when times are tough, note Karolyn Kinane and Michael A. Ryan, coeditors of End of Days: Essays on the Apocalypse from Antiquity to Modernity. Kinane also is an assistant professor of English and director of the Medieval and Renaissance Forum at Plymouth State University, Holderness, N.H.

"Destruction of the world is a universally fascinating interest for many people. Every culture has a myth of destruction, just as they have a myth of creation. These myths of destruction tend to surface during times of crisis."

Two recent films, "2012" and "The Road," particularly focus on the end of the world: "2012" is based on an often misunderstood Mayan calendar prediction that the world will end, while "The Road" is about a family trying to survive after an apocalypse.

"There really are no new apocalyptic reckonings. People continue to tap into preexisting traditions...