Tahlia Scherer, Features Editor
(from left) Julia Roberts, Ethan Hawke, Mahershala Ali, & Myha’la in ‘Leave the World Behind’
“A conspiracy theory about a shadowy group of people running the world is far too lazy of an explanation … especially when the truth is much scarier.”
“What is the truth?”
“No one is in control. No one is pulling the strings.”
What if that’s true?
*
Over the last few years, there has been an apocalyptic drought. Not literally, of course. In fact I think we have come much too close to the apocalypse lately.
Rather, I mean in films and literature. My retirement from dystopian and apocalyptic fiction began years ago, when the movies and books I was consuming felt more repetitive than provocative. It seemed as though every imaginable impending doom, societal annihilation, and global catastrophe had already been published. I was over it.
Then I saw this trailer.
On December 8th, 2023, ‘Leave the World Behind’ was released on Netflix, featuring Julia Roberts, Ethan Hawke, Mahershala Ali, and Myha’la.
Adapted from the novel written by Rumaan Alam, ‘Leave the World Behind’ was initially published during 2020 – a time when the apocalypse was far too familiar to be fiction. The movie was adapted, written, and directed by Sam Esmail, notable as the creator of “Mr. Robot”.
Read this Netflix Summary Below:
A family vacation on Long Island is interrupted by two strangers bearing news of a blackout. As the threat grows, both families must decide how best to survive the potential crisis, all while grappling with their own place in this collapsing world.
This film checks all the classic apocalyptic boxes:
BlackoutsCyberattacksForeign EnemiesTechnologyRacismDiseaseClass DivisionsSelf-Driving carsAnimal migrationPlane CrashesConspiracy Theorists
Yet it does something more. While the plot slowly unravels, the truth does not. The conclusions that you might have jumped to just five minutes before no longer hold true, and all of your prejudices or preconceived notions are completely wrong. While predictable in its details, the plot is perfectly uncertain.
The movie reminded me in some ways of a ‘choose your own adventure’ in the sense that viewers can formulate their own diverse opinions about the cause of the apocalypse.
Perhaps it’s racism or our foreign adversaries. Maybe it’s our phones. Or maybe, it’s a mixture of all three.
While critics call the movie a bombardment with everything wrong with America, perhaps that fact is exactly what makes the film so realistic.
The movie ends abruptly, and the credits begin rolling before you can even begin to process what you have just consumed.
Viewers and critics everywhere have interpreted the ending differently, some calling it a punch line and others calling it poignant commentary on the role of media in our society. Regardless, the purposeful ambiguity of the ending serves as another testament to the unpredictability of the film.
Despite its unpredictability, the film tells us one thing is certain.
The world will inevitably end, not to be survived by the depth of humanity or even the advancements of civilization.
The world will end, survived by only one thing: the media.
