<span class="s1">The end of the world once again comes to Hollywood’s big screens this summer with everything from big-budget action adventures to indie comedies putting their twist on the apocalypse.</span> <span class="s1"><em>Oblivion</em>, starring Tom Cruise, started the trend last week. Set in 2077, it follows the last humans as they prepare to find a new home on another planet. “There’s an innate fascination with thinking about what life would be like after we’re gone,” said the film’s director, Joseph Kosinski.</span> <span class="s2">June and July will bring M Night Shyamalan’s <em>After Earth</em>, the comedy <em>This Is The End</em>, the zombie film <em>World War Z </em>and the robots-versus-aliens adventure <em>Pacific Rim</em>. The British comedy <em>The World’s End</em>, about childhood friends who become mankind’s only hope for survival after a trip to the pub, opens in August.</span> <span class="s1">Bob Thompson, a professor at Syracuse University, said the trend may reflect a sense of insecurity among Americans, particularly about the economy, the environment and political gridlock.</span> <span class="s1">“The metaphor for the end of the world is simply an exaggerated story that deals with the same feelings,” Thompson said.</span> <span class="s1">Social insecurity is at the core of Guillermo del Toro’s <em>Pacific Rim</em>, which puts a comic-book spin on the end of the world with epic robot-monster battles.</span> <span class="s1">Del Toro said the film reflected larger social concerns and fragility, including "global economic collapse, war and terrorism everywhere". </span><span class="s3">– <em>Reuters</em></span> Follow us Follow us on <a href="https://www.facebook.com/thenationalArtsandLife">Facebook</a> for discussions, entertainment, reviews, wellness and news.