the post-apocalyptic film genre in american culture 1968 - 2013

301 Pages·2016·4.43 MB·English

by  Emma Harris

THE POST-APOCALYPTIC FILM GENRE IN
AMERICAN CULTURE
1968 - 2013

Thesis submitted for the degree of
Doctor of Philosophy
at the University of Leicester

by

Emma Anne Harris
Department of History of Art and Film
University of Leicester

2016

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The Post-apocalyptic Film Genre in American Culture
1968 - 2013
Emma Anne Harris

ABSTRACT
This thesis examines post-apocalyptic films in American cinema in the period
1968-2013. These films will be analysed in relation to their status as a genre,
their underpinning narrative structures, the influence of religious myths, and
their relationship to American national identity. Three representative films will
be analysed as case studies: The Ultimate Warrior (1975), Steel Dawn (1987),
and I Am Legend (2007).
A combined methodological approach will be used to study the post-apocalyptic
genre. This approach utilises a ‘bottom-up’ thematic content analysis followed
by close textual analysis of the case study films. This analysis is interpreted
through a structuralist critical framework within a historical context.
The analysis chapters in this thesis will focus on three main stages within the
overall time period: 1968-1976, 1982-1989, and 2007-2013. In each of these
stages elements in the post-apocalyptic genre shifted because of cultural and
social developments. However, this thesis also examines the patterns and
themes that have remained consistent and stable in the genre across time. One
of the main aims of the thesis is to analyse how the post-apocalyptic genre
overlaps, repeats, and is disrupted over time.
This thesis demonstrates that the post-apocalyptic genre functions as a unified
group of films. The chapters explore how the genre blends with others (e.g. the
western), but also retains a coherent narrative. Additionally, the project
establishes how the post-apocalyptic genre articulates aspects of American
national identity. Primarily, this is through expressing a discomfort with
modernity and depicting a pastoral utopia. The values that are conveyed in
post-apocalyptic films are connected with conservatism and Evangelical
religious doctrines in American popular culture. These broader themes are
intertwined in the development of the genre with dominant historical influences,
such as the Women’s Rights Movement, Reagan’s Presidency and nuclear
anxiety, and the legacy of 9/11.

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

“Next time I have an idea like that, punch me in the face” (Tyrion Lannister).
I would firstly like to thank my husband Patrick for his unfailing kindness,
support, and belief in me…and for the countless cups of tea he brought while I
wrote this.
To my friends and family – Samantha, Megan, Brenda, Marlies, Amanda, and
Yvonne – you kept me smiling and you are all truly lovely people.
I am also very grateful to my lovely parents-in-law Chris and Christine for their
patience and thoughtfulness.
Thank you to those people who proof read chapters and drafts of my thesis for
the time, attention, and feedback you gave: Elizabeth Oldfield, Hazel Collie, Dr
Beth Lunt, April Perrie, Mandy Thomas, and Liz Bonnett.
My thanks also go to Dr Anna Claydon for her invaluable advice and ideas
regarding science fiction cinema. Additionally, I would like to thank my
examiners Dr Claire Jenkins and Dr Mark Bould for their input and help.
I am, of course, grateful to the History of Art and Film department for the full
scholarship which made this all possible. Special thanks go to my supervisor Dr
Guy Barefoot, for his consistent interest in and support of my PhD.

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CONTENTS

ABSTRACT ................................................................................................................................. 2
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ......................................................................................................... 3
CONTENTS ................................................................................................................................. 4
LIST OF TABLES ....................................................................................................................... 7
LIST OF FIGURES/ILLUSTRATIONS .................................................................................... 8
1. INTRODUCTION .............................................................................................................. 11
Perfection and the Post-apocalypse .............................................................................. 11
Aims of the Thesis ............................................................................................................ 12
Post-apocalyptic Narratives in Popular Culture ........................................................... 14
The Religious and Historical Context of Eschatology ................................................. 17
Time Period ....................................................................................................................... 22
Thesis Structure ................................................................................................................ 23
2. LITERATURE REVIEW ................................................................................................... 26
Introduction ........................................................................................................................ 26
Definitions .............................................................................................................................. 27
Science Fiction .................................................................................................................. 31
Horror ................................................................................................................................. 34
Genre and Culture ............................................................................................................ 37
Semantic/Syntactic ........................................................................................................... 52
An Operational Definition of Post-apocalyptic Fiction ................................................. 53
National Mythscape .............................................................................................................. 56
Promised Land and Utopia ............................................................................................. 60
Post-apocalypse and Politics .......................................................................................... 63
Eschatology and Popular Culture .................................................................................. 68
Conclusion ............................................................................................................................. 72
3. METHODOLOGY ............................................................................................................. 74
Research Questions ........................................................................................................ 74
Thematic Content Analysis ................................................................................................. 76
Corpus of Films ................................................................................................................. 77
Time Period ....................................................................................................................... 83
Coding Schedule .............................................................................................................. 84
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Summary ............................................................................................................................ 94
Sampling ............................................................................................................................ 95
Case Studies ..................................................................................................................... 95
Critical Theory ..................................................................................................................... 100
Structuralism ................................................................................................................... 100
Challenges to Structuralism .......................................................................................... 102
Sample Approach ........................................................................................................... 105
Previous Critical Work ................................................................................................... 106
Summary of Methodology ............................................................................................. 110
4. 1968-1976: PESSIMISM TO OPTIMISM .................................................................... 112
Introduction ...................................................................................................................... 112
Overview .......................................................................................................................... 112
CASE STUDY: The Ultimate Warrior (Dir. Clouse, 1975, 20th Century Fox) ............ 123
Synopsis .......................................................................................................................... 123
Genre Context ................................................................................................................. 123
Comparison of Final Scenes......................................................................................... 126
Representations of Landscapes ................................................................................... 133
The Urban and the Pastoral .......................................................................................... 140
Conservative Values and Traditional Lifestyles ......................................................... 147
The Role of the Woman and Religious Symbolism ................................................... 150
Conclusion ....................................................................................................................... 159
5. 1982-1989: THE FINAL FRONTIER ........................................................................... 162
Introduction ...................................................................................................................... 162
Overview .......................................................................................................................... 162
CASE STUDY: Steel Dawn (Dir. Hool, 1987, Vestron, Inc). ........................................ 165
Synopsis .......................................................................................................................... 165
Genre Context and Hybridity ........................................................................................ 166
Return-to-primitivism Trope .......................................................................................... 179
Frontier and Eschatological Myths ............................................................................... 188
The Structuring Theme of Violence ............................................................................. 197
Female Heroes ............................................................................................................... 205
Conclusion ....................................................................................................................... 213
6. 2007-2013: FEARS AND EXPECTATIONS ............................................................... 216
Introduction ...................................................................................................................... 216
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Overview .......................................................................................................................... 216
CASE STUDY: I Am Legend (Dir. Francis Lawrence, 2007, Village Roadshow
Pictures/Warner Bros.). ..................................................................................................... 221
Synopsis .......................................................................................................................... 221
Representations of the Enemy ..................................................................................... 222
The Iconography of the Opening Shots ...................................................................... 230
Wilderness in the City .................................................................................................... 238
Theatrical and Alternate Endings ................................................................................. 242
The Legacy of I Am Legend – A Breakdown of Structures ...................................... 250
Conclusion ....................................................................................................................... 256
7. CONCLUSION ................................................................................................................ 259
Overview .......................................................................................................................... 259
Findings............................................................................................................................ 261
Possible Future Work..................................................................................................... 270
Summary and Contribution ........................................................................................... 270
APPENDICES ......................................................................................................................... 273
FILMS CONSULTED: ............................................................................................................ 279
WORKS CONSULTED: ......................................................................................................... 284

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LIST OF TABLES

Table 1: Initial Corpus of 71 Post-apocalyptic Films 81
Table 2: Corpus of Post-apocalyptic Films by Setting 86
Table 3: Corpus of Post-apocalyptic Films by Trope 88
Table 4: Corpus of Post-apocalyptic Films by Narrative Ending 92

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LIST OF FIGURES/ILLUSTRATIONS

All images are used in accordance with Section 30(1ZA) of the Copyright
Designs and Patents Act. In particular, the exceptions for criticism and review
and for general quotation that were introduced by the Copyright and Rights in
Performances (Quotation and Parody) Regulations 2014.

Fig Number Page
Methodology
Fig 1: Graph of Occurrence of Settings 88

Pessimism to Optimism: 1968-76 Chapter
Fig 1: Carson (Brynner) waiting to be hired for his fighting skills in The 124
Ultimate Warrior.
Fig 2: Taylor approaches the Statue of Liberty in Planet of the Apes. 127
Fig 3: The final shot of Planet of the Apes. 128
Fig 4: Carson and Melinda and her baby escape the subway tunnels 128
in The Ultimate Warrior.
Fig 5: Carson and Melinda and her baby look towards the safe haven 129
of the island in The Ultimate Warrior.
Fig 6: One of the still shots depicting an escape for the city in The 130
Ultimate Warrior.
Fig 7: The opening shot of The Ultimate Warrior. 133
Fig 8: An opening still shot of The Ultimate Warrior. 134
Fig 9: Thomas Cole’s Desolation from Course of an Empire (1836) 136
series.
Fig 10: A ruined Washington D.C. in Logan’s Run. 136
Fig 11: The roof garden in The Ultimate Warrior. 138
Fig 12: The Baron’s study in The Ultimate Warrior. 144
Fig 13: The mob invades The Baron’s study in The Ultimate Warrior. 145
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Fig 14: The Baron’s body lies among his possessions in The Ultimate 145
Warrior.
Fig 15: Melinda after giving birth in The Ultimate Warrior. 151
Fig 16: A stain glass image of the Virgin Mary. 152

The Final Frontier: 1982-1987 Chapter
Fig 1: The Nomad and Sand-Dweller in Steel Dawn. 167
Fig 2: Cord prepares to fight in Steel Dawn. 169
Fig 3: Dojo scene in Fists of Fury. 169
Fig 4: Cord’s letter in Steel Dawn. 171
Fig 5: A ruined ship is marooned in the desert in Steel Dawn. 173
Fig 6: Jux, the Nomad, and Tark arrive in the shanty town by horse 175
and cart in Steel Dawn.
Fig 7: The Nomad opens the saloon doors in Steel Dawn. 175
Fig 8: The Nomad and Sho face each other before their duel in Steel 176
Dawn.
Fig 9: The opponents face each other in Once Upon a Time in the 177
West.
Fig 10: The stand-off before the duel in Silverado. 177
Fig 11: The wind powered farm equipment at Kasha’s homestead in 183
Steel Dawn.
Fig 12: Damnil sits on his metal ‘throne’ in Steel Dawn. 193
Fig 13: The Nomad emerges from being ‘entombed’ in Steel Dawn. 202
Fig 14: Neville in a crucifixion pose in The Omega Man. 203
Fig 15: Neville in his own sacrificial blood, the cure in the front of the 203
frame, again in a crucifixion pose in The Omega Man.
Fig 16: Rebecca and Jet Girl in Tank Girl. 208
Fig 17: E Johnson and Sam in Cherry 2000. 208

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Fears and Expectations: 2007-2013 Chapter
Fig 1: The Family in The Omega Man 224
Fig 2: The mutants (or Dark Seekers or ‘infected’) invade Neville’s 225
laboratory in I Am Legend.
Fig 3: Neville prepares dinner in I Am Legend. 226
Fig 4: The first shot of a post-apocalyptic New York since 9/11 in I Am 232
Legend.
Fig 5: The construction site a Ground Zero, © Reuters/Gary 233
Hershorn.
Fig 6: The empty streets of New York in the opening shots of I Am 234
Legend.
Fig 7: Another empty street shot from I Am Legend. 234
Fig 8: Lafayette Street - Empty Except For Smoke, September 11, 236
2001, Photography © NY ArtWorld 2001.
Fig 9: The rubble and broken Brooklyn Bridge in New York in the 236
opening shot of Cyborg.
Fig 10: The impressionistic shot of deer leap in front of the Bank of 239
New York in I Am Legend.
Fig 11: Neville continues his hunt through the long grass underneath 240
posters for Broadway musicals in I Am Legend.
Fig 12: Neville stalks the deer in I Am Legend; the camera work 240
resembles a police raid.
Fig 13: Anna and Ethan enter the colony in Vermont in I Am Legend. 243
Fig 14: The leader or Alpha of the mutants greets his mate in I Am 244
Legend.
Fig 15: The Alpha leaves with her without hurting Neville in I Am 245
Legend.
Fig 16: The final shot of the alternate ending of in I Am Legend: they 245
drive the jeep out of New York.
Fig 17: Kitai is attacked by an ‘evolved’ version of a tiger in After 251
Earth.

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