This Unbearable Imminence : Pre-apocalypticism in The Last Policeman, Station Eleven, and Melancholia
Piippo, Niklas (2022)
Julkaisun pysyvä osoite on
https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi-fe2022052438555
https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi-fe2022052438555
Tiivistelmä
This thesis aims to study pre-apocalyptic narratives as a distinct form from other forms of apocalyptic literature, such as post-apocalyptic narratives. The goal is to examine what defines apocalyptic literature in terms of typical features and functions, and then consider how these factors change when the setting is pre-apocalyptic. Additionally, the study uses methods for analyzing human behavior when faced with an impending apocalypse.
After creating an appropriate working model of the pre-apocalyptic, it was applied in the analysis of three primary texts that were characterized as pre-apocalyptic. The study examined how the apocalypse was realized in the texts, what role it served, and what relationship characters had to it. The primary texts were the novels The Last Policeman (2012) by Ben H. Winters and Station Eleven (2014) by Emily St. John Mandel, as well as the film Melancholia (2011) by Lars von Trier.
Structurally, pre-apocalyptic narratives used the same methods as other apocalyptic texts but omitted certain narrative stages and functions such as a rebuilding of society and social critique. Apocalypse was best understood as a transformative event that recontextualizes events and worldviews. Knowledge of an upcoming apocalypse was also transformative in the same way as the event itself. Reader knowledge could also define the pre-apocalyptic context just as in-narrative knowledge could. Character behavior could be understood based on psychological models that describe reactions to disaster. Pre-apocalyptic narratives also drew a parallel between the apocalypse and human mortality, which emphasized self-reflection and recontextualization.
The central findings of this thesis were that pre-apocalyptic narratives share themes with other apocalyptic literature but differ in tone and emphasis due to different structure and presentation. Further studies could compare pre-apocalyptic and post-apocalyptic narratives more directly or explore how sociopolitical contexts affect the creation and reception of pre-apocalyptic literature. Pre-apocalyptic narratives could also be studied more in-depth through the lens of specific philosophical or psychological frameworks.
After creating an appropriate working model of the pre-apocalyptic, it was applied in the analysis of three primary texts that were characterized as pre-apocalyptic. The study examined how the apocalypse was realized in the texts, what role it served, and what relationship characters had to it. The primary texts were the novels The Last Policeman (2012) by Ben H. Winters and Station Eleven (2014) by Emily St. John Mandel, as well as the film Melancholia (2011) by Lars von Trier.
Structurally, pre-apocalyptic narratives used the same methods as other apocalyptic texts but omitted certain narrative stages and functions such as a rebuilding of society and social critique. Apocalypse was best understood as a transformative event that recontextualizes events and worldviews. Knowledge of an upcoming apocalypse was also transformative in the same way as the event itself. Reader knowledge could also define the pre-apocalyptic context just as in-narrative knowledge could. Character behavior could be understood based on psychological models that describe reactions to disaster. Pre-apocalyptic narratives also drew a parallel between the apocalypse and human mortality, which emphasized self-reflection and recontextualization.
The central findings of this thesis were that pre-apocalyptic narratives share themes with other apocalyptic literature but differ in tone and emphasis due to different structure and presentation. Further studies could compare pre-apocalyptic and post-apocalyptic narratives more directly or explore how sociopolitical contexts affect the creation and reception of pre-apocalyptic literature. Pre-apocalyptic narratives could also be studied more in-depth through the lens of specific philosophical or psychological frameworks.