47(!) years earlier (in 1951), George Pal produced "When Worlds Collide."  The premise of this film was that the earth would be destroyed by collision with another celestial object, and that only a  select few (and how they are selected forms the core of the film) could be  saved.  Is this starting to sound vaguely familiar?
About the only  improvement I can see in the last half century is that the wonderfully  gifted Morgan Freeman is cast as U.S. President -- an idea that would have  been unthinkable in 1951.  The only reason I mention this is because most  viewers of the movie I talk to never noticed Mr. Freeman's race -- only his  absolute credibility as the President of a nation in crisis.  So, to  contradict my subject line, I guess things DO change, after all.
In any  case, the question of how we as a species would deal with our own  individidual and collective exinction is a profound one that deserves more  thoughtful treatment than it received in either of these films.
47(! ) years earlier (in 1951), George Pal produced "When Worlds Collide. "  The premise of this film was that the earth would be destroyed by collision with another celestial object, and that only a  select few (and how they are selected forms the core of the film) could be  saved. Is this starting to sound vaguely familiar? About the only  improvement I can see in the last half century is that the wonderfully  gifted Morgan Freeman is cast as U. S. President -- an idea that would have  been unthinkable in 1951. The only reason I mention this is because most  viewers of the movie I talk to never noticed Mr. Freeman's race -- only his  absolute credibility as the President of a nation in crisis. So, to  contradict my subject line, I guess things DO change, after all. In any  case, the question of how we as a species would deal with our own  individidual and collective exinction is a profound one that deserves more  thoughtful treatment than it received in either of these films.