Description
Book Synopsis As awareness of climate change grows, so do the number of cultural depictions of environmental disaster. Graphic novels have reliably produced dramatizations of such disasters. Many use themes of dystopian hopefulness, or the enjoyment readers experience from seeing society prevail in times of apocalypse.
This book argues that these generally inspirational narratives contribute to a societal apathy for real-life environmental degradation. By examining the narratives and art of the environmental apocalypse in contemporary graphic novels, the author stands against dystopian hope, arguing that the ways in which we experience depictions of apocalypse shape how we respond to real crises.
Table of ContentsAcknowledgments
Preface
1. Whither Dystopia? Why Apocalypse?
2. Dysto-Apocalyptic Hope and the Imagination
3. Pathogenic Shaped Futures, Part I: Annihilation and The Walking Dead
4. Pathogenic Shaped Futures, Part II: Reduction and Y: The Last Man
5. Post-Human Life in a Post-Nuclear Age in Snowpiercer and Sweet Tooth
6. The Massive and Life on a Warming Planet
7. Environmental Theory in an Apocalyptic Age
Chapter Notes
Bibliography
Index
