Games, tv series, movies - when choosing what to watch or play, I kinda hate seeing stuff built on post-apocalyptical Earth now. What used to be pure fantasy, doesn’t feel so far-fetched anymore. In the series “Colony” there’s a seen of an overrun hospital and people screaming for care with few dcotrs/nurses/beds, and I felt sick knowing that is actually happening.
I mean cyberpunk remains a favorite genre of mine, despite the convergence with reality (minus the cool bits).
For some reason I never grouped that in with normal post-apocalyptical stuff. I’m thinking after a nuclear war, zombie outbreak - decimated neighborhoods, loss of traditional infrastructure, people struggling for basic amenities. Though I guess it was kind of like that in one of Cyberpunk’s zones. That southern one.
I still like post-apocalyptic stuff. As bad as the pandemic was (is?) IMHO it’s not approaching the levels of stuff like The Stand or similar.
Post-apoc stuff doesn’t bother me at all. Just wait until you see climate change in 20 years. This is a boring dress rehearsal. To cheer yourself up, maybe watch “The expanse”.
We watched Threads last year on a friend’s ‘recommendation’ and I think that has done far more damage to most post-apoc fiction than the pandemic has! It’s a remarkable picture but one I suspect most people will only ever watch once because of how unrelentingly bleak it is and how real it feels. It doesn’t help that Sheffield is also just up the road from me.
John Varley’s “The Manhattan Phone Book (Abridged)” is always in the back of my mind when I play post-apocalyptic games.
Early in the pandemic I wasn’t up for watching stuff like Contagion about widespread viral pandemic because we knew very little and those touched a direct and present fear. At this point, we could easily have had the whole thing wrapped (not the knock on effects on supply chains etc, but the pandemic itself) and be prepping to make sure the next potential pandemic-level pathogens never reach that point, and I’m personally fully vaccinated, so my fear has morphed almost completely to frustration and anger at the people who are preventing the pandemic from ending. At no stage has it felt truly apocalyptic to me - as much of a nightmare as it is and as much damage as it has done to lives and societal structures, it’s been a burden more than it has been the End Times ™. And a lot of post-apocalypse fiction rests on premises that I don’t find real enough to be put off by.
That said, I watched one episode of Years and Years (pre pandemic, I think) and found that so existentially distressing I’ve never gone back. And climate change, now…that fucking terrifies me. I’m always skittish of climate fiction at this point.
I’d recommend staying away from Bacigalupi’s stuff then
Already did. LOVED it :)
Too late.
He’s really good, though. Just makes me real worried about the future.
I enjoyed Netflix’s Sweettooth adaptation so I guess I still do.
I write (mainly) post-apocalyptic and dystopian stuff for a living and I haven’t noticed a dip in sales. I suspect people still like the genre. I was at a horror convention called Texas Frightmare in Dallas last weekend, and I sold out of multiple post-apocalyptic books of mine on the second day. Personally I still love the genre. My wife and I will throw a post-apocalyptic movie on anytime. She and I met at a zombie convention years ago, so we’re a little biased.
Threads is completely fucking terrifying, yes. On the Beach is too.
But I think there’s still generally room in the genre because most works find ways to explore how humans can manage to change (for the better maybe) and survive. Threads is IMO more about how we absolutely won’t survive in any meaningful way if we keep going as we are.
Diego
I don’t know if I’ve ever felt any genre of story seemed too real or too on the nose for me to watch. I have limits as far as how much trauma and suffering I want to see unflinchingly portrayed regardless of genre, though. I think it’s because, not sure how to correctly put it, I don’t really seek or experience escapism. I’m finding connections rather than distracting myself when I switch from a problem to a piece of media.