Why are dystopian novels, movies, and television series so wildly popular? After sitting in a theater watching a film about nuclear annihilation (cozily nestled between car and beer commercials), we walk into the light of day to face the “real” media-controlled world of diversion and distraction, of ever-regenerated images that never die.
Why is our culture drawn to fantasies of death and destruction that typically provide no ultimate redemption or regeneration? To begin exploring this question, we will analyze and discuss the origins of the concepts of “apocalypse” and “dystopia.” We will then look at works of literature, film, and television to investigate how these stories are told and what they tell us about the contemporary cultural landscape. Through close reading of cultural products, we will look at the relationship between apocalyptic narratives and the centrality of Western consumerism, the practice of religious belief, the experience of grief and loss, the threat of sinister environmental factors, and questions about the presence or absence of a human condition.
This course will speak to anyone interested in understanding the forms of ancient, modern, and postmodern apocalypse, or in understanding the biblical resonances in many contemporary dystopian narratives. Most importantly, this course will help us learn to “read” our culture, discerning the common spiritual longings hidden in often surprising places.