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Kraemer, Christine Hoff. "The Creative Apocalypse: Post-wwii narratives of death, rebirth, and transformation." Thesis B.A. Univ. of Texas, 2000. Added by: joachim (29/08/2011, 18:53) |
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| Resource type: Thesis/Dissertation Language: en: English BibTeX citation key: HoffKraemer2000 Email resource to friend View all bibliographic details  |
Categories: General Keywords: "Neon Genesis Evangelion", "Watchmen", Animation, Anno. Hideako, Apocalypse, Gibbons. Dave, Japan, Moore. Alan, Philosophy, United Kingdom Creators: Kraemer Publisher: Univ. of Texas (Austin) |
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| Attachments | URLs http://www.inhuman ... istine/thesis.html |
| Abstract |
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The existence of the atomic bomb has made humanity keenly aware of its own ability to shape its destiny – or at least to choose its end. This has problematized traditional apocalyptic narratives, which often focus on the subjugation of humanity to forces beyond its control. In response, poet Gregory Corso (“Bomb”), animation director Hideaki Anno (Neon Genesis Evangelion), and comics writer Alan Moore (Watchmen) have co-opted the apocalyptic narrative to explore the existential consequences of humanity as a self-defining, self-destroying entity. In all three works, apocalypse serves to rip away existing structures and identities. Unlike the Revelation of St. John, where ultimate destruction reveals the divine order beneath, however, apocalypse in these works reveals only a yawning emptiness, an absence of meaning and order. Rather than dissolving into nihilism, however, these works offer strategies for living a fulfilling life in a universe where there is no underlying metaphysical structure. Through taking responsibility for our role in creating meaning and structure in our lives, our ability to collectively and individually self-define becomes empowering. In this sense, apocalypse becomes a creative process, a metaphor for the constant destruction and new birth of our identities and self-narratives. Finally, apocalypse serves to dramatize and exaggerate this process, helping us to become aware of the cycle of self-definition so that we can more deliberately take part in it.
Added by: joachim |