Post Catastrophe Film

Bol

A new sub-genre of film called ‘post-catastrophe’ is emerging and sits in the space between blockbuster disaster movies that use scenes of destruction to blow the world up and disrupt the flow of humanity and post-apocalyptic films where a version of society has formed in the ashes of the disaster. 17 b&w illus. Focusing on the fragile, immediate aftermath of global events, before any new social order or rules for living have formed, Naish’s book introduces an emerging subgenre positioned between disaster movies, which depict humanity facing large-scale collapse, and post-apocalyptic films, where new societies and rules have already taken hold: post-catastrophe film capture a unique threshold of survival amid change. Through lively case studies of popular films, Naish offers close readings of cinematic narratives and explores deeper themes that emerge in the aftermath of disaster, including the role of AI and cyborgs, cosmic survival and colonization, and the tensions between individual isolation and life with others. “Post-Catastrophe Film is a serious engagement with how the end of the world is represented in science fiction. Naish's analysis asks us to consider what catastrophic films are trying to tell us about our contemporary moment, underneath the spectacle and the rubble. From insistences on carrying on with daily life, indulging in individualist fantasies of frontiersmanship, escaping sacrifice zones, witnessing the slow degradation of everything, to the helpless yearning for heroic intervention, Post-Catastrophe Film never loses sight of our present, which these post-apocalyptic futures reference. Instead, he asks us to confront our shared exposure and consider what we have to collectively lose - or gain.” Robert E. Kirsch, co-author of Be Prepared: Doomsday Prepping in America "A fascinating account of what it means that the world may be ending in a smoky and damp whimper, not a Hollywood bang. Deft and provocative criticism that helps us see our moment!" Bill McKibben, author of The End of Nature and Here Comes the Sun Stephen Lee Naish is a British-Canadian writer, independent researcher, and author of several nonfiction books. He lives in Ontario, Canada. What can post-catastrophe films tell us about our current real-world circumstances? This book proposes that a new sub-genre of film called ‘post-catastrophe’ is emerging that displays narratives directly analogous to our current predicament of runaway climate disruption. Post-catastrophe film sits in the space between blockbuster disaster movies that use scenes of destruction to blow the world up and disrupt the flow of humanity and post-apocalyptic films where a version of society has formed in the ashes of the disaster. In these narratives, the characters are thrown into a world of unsettling circumstances in which they have to adapt and strive for survival and reimagine the world as it changes around them. We face a similar predicament."

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Pages: 252, Paperback, Intellect (UK)