End-of-the-world movies: What can we learn from them?

(CBS) Some believe that the End of Days will be on May 21, 2011. Others think the Mayan calendar predicts the world will end on Dec. 21, 2012. But, if the world does end, we'll all know what to do - thanks to a number of end-of-the-world movies.

Here are some lessons we can take away from the films that imagine our impending doom (or survival after it). Be sure to file them away for the next Judgement Day.

Pictures: End-of-the-world movies

No. 1: Don't trust the machines - or the monkeys. They always seem to gain sentience and want to enslave (and destroy) their human overlords.

Examples: All the "Terminator" movies, "Planet of the Apes"

No. 2: Don't try to make nice with the aliens. If you ever think otherwise, just remember those spaceships blowing up world landmarks in "Independence Day." Seriously, they don't come in peace. (Unless it's E.T. We can keep him.)

Examples: "War of the Worlds," "The Day the Earth Stood Still"

No. 3: Plagues are the worst. Assuming you don't die from the deadly virus, you get infected (and occasionally become a psychotic, zombie-like being), or you're one of the few survivors left on the now-deserted planet (who then have to fend off those zombie-like beings). Either way, it doesn't look fun.

Examples: "28 Days Later," "I Am Legend," "Twelve Monkeys"

No. 4: In space, no one cares about science. No one should let a silly thing like scientific accuracy interfere with making an end-of-the-world movie. Especially if it's one with an Aerosmith power ballad on the soundtrack.

Examples: "Armageddon"

No. 5: If you happen to survive a cataclysmic event, hang in there. It doesn't look like things get much better, but at least you're alive! (Right?)

Examples: "The Road," "The Day After Tomorrow," "2012"

Tell us: What's your favorite end-of-the-world movie?