Intellectuals and Survival in 21st-Century Apocalyptic and Post-Apocalyptic Narratives
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Date
2015-12
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The Ohio State University
Abstract
Fictional works that center around the apocalypse have continued to play an important part in western culture and continue to spread to seemingly new forms of media (film, television, and video games) while maintaining a presence in traditional literary forms. These narratives often show the audience a great upheaval in societies as catastrophes occur, yet almost inevitably the survivors band together and prevail. I argue that for survival to be an option, correct leadership is a requirement. I looked at various post-apocalyptic narratives and found that successful leaders function as, what Antonio Gramsci termed, organic intellectuals. Gramsci explains an organic intellectual as a class representative that can unite his or her specific social group while also promoting that group's purpose. The post-apocalyptic function of this type of intellectual is to mitigate the threats, promote survival, and produce discourse reinforcing the notion of survival to others. Gramsci uses the organic intellectual in opposition to a traditional intellectual: a person who promote the control of the dominant group. In the post-apocalyptic landscape, traditional intellectuals encourage survivors to trust in the pre-apocalyptic governments or institutions that no longer exist. This does not work and actually makes survival more difficult. Alternatively, there are instances where an individual that does not function as either organic or traditional intellectual but attempts to take on a leadership role. This often end in disaster for those who decide to follow this faux leader.
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Keywords
Intellectuals, Post-Apocalayptic Narratives, Apocalyptic Narratives, Antonio Gramsci