Did the Pandemic Ruin the Post Apocalyptic Genre?

First!

Second first

this might be my favorite video on genre i've ever seen, period.

the genre is right up my alley, but your explanation is..... there's no other word for it: perfect.

Friendly reminder to everyone commenting (because I forget sometimes too): if you are taking the time to comment you like it, please also take 1.5 seconds to click the thumbs up :) Thank you.
Awwww, thanks so much for the props. :) We stuck around because you're an awesome person in so many ways and we love you! <3<3
This video was so good!!! I know, I say that every time, but this was a level above. Not only were some of the effects stellar- the static tv intro, hello =D- but the subject matter is so relatable even for those who aren't huge Post Apocalypse fans. It was inspiring and uplifting. At least it put me in a better mood.
I'd love to learn more about this "flux of nature" theory you mentioned. It sounds very interesting.

And a side note: Well done on the verbal gymnastics you performed in this video. "inextricably interwoven into pop culture." o.O I would have faceplanted on sentences like those. XD

Oh! For what I've seen (and from personal experience), watching studio ghibli has also been a in a high in the pandemic and i think that's why. They give you hope but in a small scale, in the small things in life, in the beauty of a field of flowers, or a plate of good food, or a quite sunday afternoon laughing with your family. It has often been said about tjose movies that it romanticizes the little things in life even in the moments where the world and the plot in the movies are bleak, sad or political.



Great video! Yes I think not only this genre will change after the pandemkv, but maybe others too. It will definitely be a different world. For better or worse. World historical events like this often bring change in a big scale. All we can hope is that it will be for the better and that we can put our little 2 grains of sand to it.

They also highlight rebuilding, or dying out, in the aftermath of forces beyond our control, reminding us that the universe is a cold, indifferent place in which humanity is less insignificant than the microbes you wash of your hands. It's also eldritch horror with mankind either barely scraping by, devolving to savagery, or slowly, inexorably spiraling into extinction. Yay go team depression!

Nice to see you back around! I agree that certain things are just going to be a bit different now. But I believe in you!

I think it might get diminished I don't know the genre will be totally destroyed but I could see where it affects some people definitely it depends on like what type polkapocalypse like Fallout for example also the alternate reality aspect of it like not just of vodka lives so they can go more with alternate timelines alternate history

Hey if it did get Destroyer might legally alternate-history genre

HAHA! Awe Megan! From what I've noticed, each genre goes through a change, whether for good or bad, it depends on the readers. Regardless, I'll be sitting here listening to Aletheia on audio while I wait for Red Rivers. No matter the state of the world, I will continue to look forward to the next book in 736's and Jason's story... And Arson, I gotta think about my favorite pyromaniac every once in a while lmao XD <3

I haven't watched Love and Monsters or Sweet Tooth but Kipo and the Age of Wonderbeasts was definitely a "pandemic-content" highlight for me.
The worldbuilding mixed with the uncertainty mixed with optimism as well as everything I loved about Avatar: The Last Airbender was something that I wish I could watch again for the first time!

Great video, Megan!

I loved this video so much, especially as someone who has written dystopian fiction and was pondering a lot of these same questions when the pandemic hit. I agree that we'll probably see some changes in the genre as a result, but it's going to be interesting to see what those changes are and to know that dystopian fiction probably isn't going away anytime soon. You broke it all down really well and I'm very curious to check out the shows you used as examples.

Yeah, I struggled with mental health too during the pandemic. I turned to video games as well. I don't know if that was a good decision or not. I'm doing better now. Hope you're doing well! Always enjoy your vids.

First lemme say, 206 represent
Also, I hope this genre isn’t over, hopefully it will just be remixed

I definitely want to watch these now! Personally I haven't lost interest in dark post apocalyptic fiction, I do like classic dystopians after all lol, but I am excited for hopeful post apocalyptic fiction too

Everything comes and goes in ebbs and flows depending on history. Invasion literature (a genre of fiction where a powerful nation is invaded and occupied by a foreign power, e.g. Red Dawn style stories) were popular initially from 1871 (after the Franco-Prussian War) to 1914 (the start of World War I) due to the defeat of the French by Prussia and the formation of what became to be what we now consider to be Germany, when an 1871 novel called The Battle of Dorking about a fictional German invasion and occupation of Great Britain was published, which among the more popular stories in that genre was War of the Worlds by H.G. Wells. People seem to forget that the original novel is set in England as opposed to America in more modern adaptations (the Orson Wells radio drama, the original 1953 film adaptation and the 2005 remake that Steven Spielberg did with Tom Cruise). Everytime invasion literature had a comeback, it was always informed by the era that it came back in (e.g. how the original Red Dawn, whilst a movie, was informed by actual fear of the Soviets in the early to mid 1980s.)

Another example is disaster stories that were popular in the 90s (even if they started in the 70s) when films like Roland Emmerich's Independence Day were popular, to the point that disaster movies with similar plots were released in film release years within mere months of each other (such as how Dante's Peak and Volcano were released within months of each other, ditto for Deep Impact and Armageddon.) Then 9/11 happened and the public's taste for stories like that with disasters destroying recognizable landmarks dissipated. In the rare instances that it did come back (going back to the Spielberg/Cruise remake of War of the Worlds) it was steeped in 9/11 like imagery (the scene where Cruise's character comes home after the first Martian attack with the dust of disintegrated people on him was very reminiscent of the people who survived the dust cloud caused by the Twin Towers collapse).

Post-apocalyptic, specifically pandemic style stories going forward will be informed by COVID. Much like how early pandemic fiction was probably informed by things like the Black Plague, or for more modern (read: within the last century) examples, Scarlet Fever, Whooping Cough, Spanish Flu, Measles, and Polio. Heck, even smaller pandemics of recent pre-COVID years (Bird Flu, Swine Flu, Ebola) would probably had informed pandemic fiction had they got out of hand.

Though, in my opinion, the best COVID story allegory in all fiction is ironically not a pandemic fiction story, but a classic horror monster movie. The first movie I saw when theaters reopened in TX (where I currently live) was the 1975 classic Steven Spielberg film Jaws. And with a huge plot point being the debate of whether or not to close the beaches of Amity Island because of the shark threat and risk the local economy reminded me of the controversy of the COVID shutdown last year. And I know I am not the only one to make that comparison, since if you do a Google search of Jaws COVID, you will find lots of news and opinion articles (from even establishing media companies like CNN) about it.

Also, side-note, awesome that you live in Seattle! I am a WA native, (originally from Tumwater, though I use Seattle for shorthand as most people aren't aware of my hometown). I always enjoy seeing my home state get some love.

I've never been particularly big on post-apocalyptic work - the character and themes would have to seem interesting enough to me to pick it up, regardless of genre. And yet, just the other day, I saw Station Eleven unread on my shelf, which, y'know, is all about most of humanity dying from a plague, and thought it might be worth a read. Don't know where that fits into the analysis, but I thought I'd bring it up anyway.
We are the most self-deprecating species on the planet, by the way - it says a lot about us that we spend a lot of time imagining our own destruction, as well as ways out of it.

I may or may not have been neglecting my WIP for the last week to reread Aletheia...

😅😅😅😅😅

P.S. the intro with the tv took me by surprise and I laughed out loud in shock, lol

Also, I'm excited for Red River, and will probably be unable to read anything else until it comes out, but I will wait years if that's what it takes.

Happy writing and reading everyone! 😁

I'm getting money Monday and as soon as it hits my bank account, I'm becoming a patron. I've wanted too for a while, but I've been unemployed since February

Four months later and this still made me cry on the second watch. Just beautiful. Thanks for the reminder that hope matters :) <3<3

ye it survived