Page - 80 - in JRFM - Journal Religion Film Media, Volume 05/02

lypse research, but that selected conveys a special meaning or formal traits. The relevance of the artist(s) has been also taken into account, as well some equitable chronological distribution. Two broad musical-literary categories can be identified: songs that specifically mention the Apocalypse (or biblical images of destruction) and songs with no explicit religious/apocalyptic references but that depict catastrophes like a nuclear war. In the latter the religious dimension can be uncertain. With respect to critical dystopia, some songs clearly belong to the category; a few do not, which makes them of interest as contrasting reper- toire. In a third group the boundaries between classical and critical dystopia are blurred, as the conceptual differences exist alongside coincidences. Bob Dylan has been constantly attached to religious themes, particularly bib- lical. His conversion process, his visit to Pope John Paul II, his gospel albums, and some of his songs are undeniable proofs of a personal approach to (Christian) religion. “A Hard Rain’s A-Gonna Fall” (A–1)56 was published shortly before the Cuban Missile Crisis; the lyrics are concerned with the tension of those years. It is a metaphorical and poetic song, where the “rain” is an allusion to a world war. However, the meaning beyond the words has remained a hymn against injustice and war. Some verses contain accusations in typically Dylanesque lan- guage: “I saw ten thousand talkers whose tongues were all broken / I saw guns and sharp swords in the hands of young children … / Heard one person starve, I heard many people laughin”. Other famous dystopian and authenticity-com- mitted songs by Dylan are “All Along the Watchtower” (later covered by Jimi Hendrix), and “Masters of War”, and even more so, “The Groom’s Still Waiting at the Altar” (Shot of Love, 1981), perhaps the scariest of all Dylan apocalypse songs. The lyrics include: “seen the massacre of the innocent … / They’re killing nuns and soldiers”. In Tempest (2012) Dylan devoted the homonymous song to the Titanic shipwreck, with notable apocalyptic connotations. Nonetheless, Dylan’s dystopia usually leaves a margin for salvation: Tempest is full of violence and bloodshed but there is possibly a hint of optimism in Dylan’s Titanic song as well. Humanity bobs along the chaotic sea often unmindful of the prophets’ warnings but not all is lost. Revelation anticipates a time when the sea, John’s symbol of chaos, will be no more (21.1).57 “The End” (A–2) by The Doors was conceived as the farewell to a girlfriend of Jim Morrison’s, but because of its use at the beginning of the film Apocalypse now (Francis Ford Coppola, US 1979)58 it became an icon of dystopian rock. The music is disturbing, in oriental style; just when the voice starts to sing, the screen shows a 56 Hereafter the indication (A-x) means Annex and the number of the song there, with its main data. 57 Gilmour 2017, 71. 58 Initial scene on: https://bit.ly/2LU6fGr [accessed 12 June 2018]. 80 | Javier Campos Calvo-Sotelo www.jrfm.eu 2019, 5/2, 69–94