The Post-apocalyptic genre is concerned with the destruction of civilisation after a catastrophic event. Mass human extinction has been prophesied to occur in many different ways by science-fiction writers and theorists.
This list focuses mass extinction via
War.
Mutually Assured Destruction: A doctrine of military strategy in which a full-scale use of nuclear weapons by two opposing sides would effectively result in the destruction of both the attacker and the defender. The strategy is a form of deterrence, with both sides attempting to avoid the possibility of nuclear annihilation.
War has always been devastating. Since the advent of the Atomic Bomb, it has been regarded as an icon of total destruction and devastation, and is thought of as the instrument most likely to bring about the destruction of life on earth.
This list presents films which deal with the aftermath of human wars, though the slant is heavily biased in the direction of mutually assured destruction via nuclear attack.
Historic Bombs:
Little Boy
Target: Hiroshima
Power: 18 Kilotons
Death Toll: 140,000 immediately.
Fat Man
Target: Nagasaki
Power: 21 Kilotons
Death Toll: 40,000 immediately
Tsar Bomba
Target: Novaya Zemlya (Test)
Power: 50 Megatons
Death Toll: N/A