O fim dos tempos no imaginário popular ocidental

Abstract

In view of the recurrence of discourses and cultural productions that address the end of the world, this study investigates the various apocalyptic representations in the Western popular imagination, aiming to understand how such narratives reflect the fears, desires, and cultural values of different historical periods. The research arose from an interest in analyzing how different societies have symbolically dealt with the idea of the end throughout time, whether through religious beliefs, natural catastrophes, or technological collapses. The main objective is to investigate representations of the end of the world in the Western imagination, with the purpose of identifying recurring symbolic patterns and archetypes in myths, religions, literary works, and audiovisual productions. Specific objectives include identifying the main representations of the end of the world throughout history; categorizing these narratives into religious, natural, and technological dimensions; analyzing how such representations reflect the fears and values of the societies that produced them; and investigating the symbolic patterns and archetypes present in the works analyzed. The adopted methodology is qualitative in nature, based on comparative and interpretative analysis of various sources, including sacred texts, literary works, films, and television series. The theoretical framework includes authors such as Ernst Bloch (2005), Mircea Eliade (1992), Max Weber (2004), Michel Maffesoli (2011), Marcelo Gleiser (2011), Adela Yarbro Collins (2000), David Cook (2005), N. T. Wright (2016), Norman Cohn (1970), as well as contemporary literary works by Cormac McCarthy and Emily St. John Mandel. The results point to the presence of universal symbolic patterns that transcend different cultures and periods, revealing the importance of the apocalypse as a collective narrative construction. This study is relevant for contributing to the understanding of the cultural and psychological dynamics that shape the apocalyptic imagination, offering insights for reflections on the present and future of Western society.