Apocalyptic Ecology in the Graphic Novel : Life and the Environment After Societal Collapse

"As awareness of climate change grows, so too increases the number of cultural depictions of environmental disasters. Since the late twentieth century, graphic novels have reliably produced dramatizations of natural and environmental disasters. Many of these texts use themes of dystopian hopefulness, or the enjoyment that audiences experience from watching human 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 carefully examining the narratives and artistic renderings of the environmental apocalypse in some of the most popular contemporary graphic novels, the author makes an argument against dystopian hope, arguing that the ways through which we experience depictions of apocalypse shape how we respond to real environmental crises."-- Provided by publisher 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. Cover Table of Contents Acknowledgments 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