But sometimes an apocalypse is required for the world to get in line with your fantasies. Which at least partially explains why so many apocalyptic tales these days seem to be driven by such heavy doses of wishful thinking. Take the sugary, armageddon-flavored nuggets of NBC’s new doomsday hit Revolution. Unlike the cautionary tales scripted by futuristic visionaries like George Orwell or JG Ballard, Revolution feels like a child’s clumsily drawn daydream, one that lands halfway between Dungeons and Dragons and Real Simple magazine.
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It’s hard not to feel a rush of yearning for this simple if violent existence. The characters’ goals are concrete and simple: hit the road in search of help or information; subvert your malevolent overlords — local, observable foes, as opposed to the faceless, splintered, omnipresent enemies we increasingly protest; hide your firearms and your American flags from evil outside forces.

The bottom line is we, as a country, a society, and a people, are so fucked up that wiping it all out and starting over has become a hoped for fantasy. Too hard to fix, so time to start over.