TO:  Letter to the Editor      

SUBJECT:  The Greatest Show On Earth

Godzilla terrorized New York City spawning an arena of terrible 
baby lizards hungry for human flesh.  A giant asteroid is on a 
collision course with earth threatening Armageddon.  Weird alien 
space invader bugs hold earth hostage demanding the return of a 
miniature galaxy upon Orion's belt or else they will zap the 
planet to smithereens!  Our only hope for salvation is "Men in 
Black" with super power ray guns.

Turn on the television or go to the cinema and the biggest block 
buster is a disaster film featuring humanity's destruction.  From 
Titanic to Armageddon the greatest show on earth is 
that the end is coming.

Why is Hollywood so obsessed with doom?  What is it about human 
nature which draws millions of people to pay to watch these giant 
disaster, mega monster, total annihilation, human extinction 
films?  Are we thrilled at the idea of our own demise?  Does 
humanity have a death wish?  What does this say about our 
fundamental nature and morality?

Stories preaching doom have been big sellers ever since Noah 
built the ark.  The Bible stories of God destroying Sodom and 
Gomorrah and prophets envisioning the Apocalypse and Armageddon 
are, after all, ingrained into our subconscious minds.  Our 
society is taught the thrill of doom from birth to death.  We are 
taught to pay the pulpit, the pontiff or the panderer on the 
street corner for entertaining us with the best doomsday fantasy.

Hollywood learned its death from outter space block buster lesson 
from Biblical thrillers turned high tech sci-fi.  The only 
difference is that aliens, asteroids and the Andromeda 
Strain have replaced deamons, devils and God's wrath.  Forget 
it, a devive savior isn't good enough anymore; Hollywood needs 
super heros!

The prophecy of doom still is the biggest money maker around.  
Asside from movies like Oh God staring George Burns and the 
inspirational Ghosts, in Hollywood God is dead!  Why then 
do we wonder that our society is so corrupt and violent?  From 
the cradle to the grave the greatest show on earth is blowing 
away the planet!

Sincerely, 
TerryLynch
Montgomery, AL
DATE:  July 12, 1998