Marc Rastoin, SJ / Issue 1801 / 18 January 2018
In recent decades, there has been a literary genre that has developed exponentially: the post-apocalyptic genre. These are works of a cultural nature, particularly films and novels, that describe the human condition following a major catastrophe, which, regardless of the reasons that caused it (wars, deadly viruses, climate change, extraterrestrial invasion and so on), has destroyed civilization as we know it and has left a small group of survivors who are in search of a way to salvation.
Although there were some works of this type prior to 1945, it is a widespread opinion that the accumulation of atomic bombs by the superpowers following Hiroshima and Nagasaki was the underlying cause of this new genre.[1] With the ecological and climate crisis becoming increasingly recognized, works in this vast genre have gradually developed in a parallel manner.[2] Some of these have even become iconic works, winning literary awards and leaving a mark on popular culture. One only needs to think of the Mad Max series in the movies,[3] or the influence of the novel by Cormac McCarthy, The Road, which was published in 2006, won the Pulitzer Prize in 2007 and was brought to the big screen in 2009.
This article is reserved for paid subscribers. Please subscribe to continue reading this article
Subscribe
