Doomsday America: The Pessimistic Turn of Post-9/11 Apocalyptic Cinema
In this article we discuss the cycle of apocalypse films released in the aftermath of the attacks of 11 September 2001, examining the ways in which they conveyed a variety of post-9/11 fears and concerns around issues such as the War on Terror, American imperialism and the environment. In particular...
| Authors: | ; |
|---|---|
| Format: | Electronic Article |
| Language: | English |
| Check availability: | HBZ Gateway |
| Interlibrary Loan: | Interlibrary Loan for the Fachinformationsdienste (Specialized Information Services in Germany) |
| Published: |
[2011]
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| In: |
Journal of religion and popular culture
Year: 2011, Volume: 23, Issue: 1, Pages: 53-64 |
| Further subjects: | B
Apocalypse
B Film B 11 / 9 B contemporary cinema |
| Online Access: |
Volltext (Resolving-System) Volltext (doi) |
| Summary: | In this article we discuss the cycle of apocalypse films released in the aftermath of the attacks of 11 September 2001, examining the ways in which they conveyed a variety of post-9/11 fears and concerns around issues such as the War on Terror, American imperialism and the environment. In particular, we will trace the continuities and discontinuities with similar disaster/apocalyptic films released in the late 1990s, tracking the representations of four thematic elements that permeate through both pre-millennium and post-9/11 apocalyptic Hollywood cinema: the representation of the apocalypse; the role of human agency as saviour; the role of religion; and socio-political commentary made by the films. In doing so, we argue that cinematic representations of the apocalypse have been much more pessimistic post-9/11, thus demonstrating that Hollywood science fiction, or "sci-fi," can facilitate wider socio-political concerns while continuing to provide the expected spectacular, audio-visual displays. |
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| ISSN: | 1703-289X |
| Contains: | Enthalten in: Journal of religion and popular culture
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| Persistent identifiers: | DOI: 10.3138/jrpc.23.1.53 |
