Conventions of the Post-Apocalyptic genre

Conventions of the Post-apocalyptic genre 

Levi Stratuss (Binary Opposites) 

Levi Stratuss came up with the theory in which there are a pair of related terms or concepts that are opposite in meaning. They are an opposite set of values which reveal the structure of media texts. For example is Good and Evil and Life and Death. The values do not contradict one another but instead complement each other. The theory suggests you can't have one without the other maybe in a symmetrical way.  Another example is Heaven and Hell. 

Image result for binary opposition

The post-apocalyptic genre is a very diverse as many different people have different takes on how the world ends. This gives many writers creative freedom within the genre. However whilst the genre  maybe diverse it still has typical conventions which are:
  • A lack of people/ abandonment 
  • Devastation both man-made (28 Days Later) and natural (The Road)
  • A loss of humanity/ morals (such as cannibalism and murder)
  • Elements of faith and biblical references (The item of significance in The Book Of Eli is the bible)
  •  Hopelessness and Death but also a small sense of hope for euphoria 
  • A lack of resources 
  • Happiness only seen in flashbacks
  • A need for family and companionship 
  • Contrast between slow and fast pace editing
  • Strong male protagonists
  • A loss of law ( In The Road this is a rule that is even obeyed by the bandits and raiders of the now wasteland.)
  • An equilibrium or sense of a "happy" ending  (Following Todrov's theory)

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