Ecocritical Concept: Apocalypse

Apocalypse is an early theory surrounding the end of the world. It has been passed down throughout the generations through literature and is a concept that is very important to ecocritical studies. Ecocritical studies examine the representation of humans and nature in apocalyptic rhetoric, imagery, and themes. The impact of these representations are analyzed in relation to our connection with nature. Ecocriticism analyzes apocalyptic rhetoric that commonly shapes the general outlook on environmental concerns. Environmental concerns are seen in the images and themes of apocalyptic elements in movies, TV shows, and literature.

Apocalypse is characterized by:
Religious vs. secular
Environmental impacts
Overpopulation
War
Pollution

Reglious Apocalypse is the foundation of the apocalypse genre. It has been passed down through many different religions (Judaism, Christianity, Islam) and other non-religious organizations (cults, nazis, and communists). All of these groups of people had one thing in common; all of these groups have adopted some form of an apocalyptic rhetoric (Garrard, 93). The Bible has a chapter named Revelations, and this is the Christian foundation for what the end of the world will look like that has influenced much other rhetoric. This destruction for the end of the world is often described as a “violent and grotesque” struggle between “good and evil” (Thompson, 13). The very word apocalypse stems from the Greek word meaning “un-veil”, unveil the crisis that humanity will endure. This is most often referred to as the “tragic” mode of apocalypse. Tragic in this sense mainly concludes that no matter what humans do, the end of the world is inevitable, certain. There is no action that humans can truly take to stop the upcoming apocalypse. Eden will eventually be destroyed.

Secular Apocalypse is the version of apocalypse that is not bound to religious views. It instead focuses on the fate of the human culture in relation to a different type of mode, comic. If something is comic, in this sense it means that there are things that can change. This secular apocalypse is not inevitable like it is within religion. In this version, that humans can change their ways, and most of the time this relates to the environment. The secular apocalypse can still use the Bible as inspiration, but the genre tends to allow some adaptations. An example of this would be D.H. Lawrence. He wrote and took inspiration from the Bible’s Genesis, but the story has a greater emphasis on the natural world and looks at harmony along a greater universe (Garrard, 101). The biblical references are ultimately outcasted by biological research and science. The emphasis on the natural world is what ties this genre to environmentalism.

Environmental Mindfulness is when someone pays attention to how they are impacting nature in their everyday life. Sometimes, it is easy to jsut go through the motions, but it is better to be fully present and take in the way our daily life impact our world around us.

This might include:

Recycle
Practice sustainability
Start backyard composting
Use reusable bags
Use reusable containers
Be mindful of driving, walk when you can
Notice your use of water

(Source: TedTalk)

Apocalyptic Literature is a genre of writing that stems from early narrative forms as early as 1200 BCE. Christian, Jewish, and other secular models continued on the discussion surrounding the eventual, gradual decline of civilization from the Iranian Prophet Zoroaster (Garrard, 92). These stories surrounding the catastrophic results have formed a strong threshold in Environmental Literature. The basis of the apocalypse is ruining something good, a foundational good vs. evil. Our “pre-apocalypse” world is viewed similar to the Garden of Eden, our own version of paradise. The way that this manifests and is eventually destroyed in this trope occurred through three common situations: the destruction of our world, our eden, through overpopulation, war, and pollution.

The environmental apocalypse focuses on the science of demographics relating to the environment. In the deployment of the apocalypse trope, there is a shift away from religion, and a newfound focus on ecological necessities. This genre follows the idea that there is something “evil” polluting our earth (air, water, and land), that humans need to stop or else there will be catastrophic consequences. Within the three main categories ecocriticism pays close attention to religion vs. secular overtones of good vs. evil in overpopulation, war, and pollution, there is always going to be good vs. evil. Ecocritcs raise questions such as - can it be adverted? who's responsibility is it? how is nature represented as an Eden?

Overpopulation

Gobal population is an environmental issue that could end the world. Overpopulation is based off of a scientific term: carrying capacity. Carrying Capacity is the number of people, other living organisms, or crops that a region can support without environmental degradation. This trope of overpopulation normally comes along with a scarcity of resources: water, food, and clothing. In Parable of the sower, climate change has impacted their environmental landscape because there is not enough water, food, shelter, or clothes for the current population. The world has changed into a “free-for-all” where there are frequent murders and attacks. There are neighborhoods set up by a small community to live inside, but they are frequently attacked and destroyed. The story integrated overpopulation because within the neighborhood, it is difficult for even their small neighborhood to service on nearby water and the food that they are able to produce. This is also a modern day issue in our world. There are not the resources necessary for people to survive. Overpopulation is setting us farther away by limiting our resources in our ideal “Eden”.

War and Nuclear War
War is something that has been plaguing societies since the formation of civilizations. This war trope fits into environmentalism many different ways, a destruction of nature or a cause for people to be reliant on nature. In All Quiet on the Western front, boys are shipped off to war. While this novel is not apocalyptic, it shows the long term impact on the characters because of war. There is death, and within that death, there is a shift towards inward peace that comes from nature. A more accurate trope dealing with war, that also fits into apocalyptic literature, is nuclear war. Nuclear War is when the use of nuclear weapons is targeted at anything on this list: individual citizens, military target, an entire military, a specific location dealing with the economy, or an entire country. Nuclear war is deadly because it impact all levels of organisms from the local plant and wildlife to killing a large group of humans. Along with death for many organisms, the air pollution that comes along with nuclear war is still continuing to develop in an area until a couple months later. This is referred to as nuclear fallout. There is also a contamination of the water supply that would take around 10 years for ground water to become usable again. Aquifers could take up to a thousand years to truly be free of nuclear contamination. There is war, but the nuclear war is devastating to our environment. Those tragic outcomes are present in many apocalyptic narratives. A good example of nuclear war literature is Alas, Babylon by Pat Frank.

Pollution
Pollution is a broad term that encompasses the land, air, and sea. Our land is filled with trash, and we do not have a good way to quickly break down certain materials. When we are unable to break down these materials, the trash must wait thousands of years to decompose. This is a major cause of land pollution. Liquids threaten to contaminate our groundwater and aquifers. This is a reason why our water is polluted, but there are also large amounts of trash being dumped into our ocean. This has negative consequences to our aquatic life, and their ecosystem. Aquatic life helps provide humans with a food source, but that source will soon be destroyed should their own ecosystem not have the means to survive. Another way that our aquatic life is polluted is from our oil. Our oil is known to “spill” out into the ocean, and it is life threatening for the animals. A final way that our ocean is polluted is from chemical rain. When chemicals runoff into water sources that eventually go through the water cycle, a portion of those chemicals can end up in our drinking water and in our oceans. Our air is polluted because of our factories and carbon dioxide emissions. All of these things talked about are used in the apocalyptic literature because they are things that people can relate to. Should these processes continue, the stories and literature can infer the impact that it will have on our future. Our problem with pollution could lead to major problems in the future, and that is why they are a popular topic in novels because it promotes change. When a reader can see the impact, it starts a conversation about how we can do better as a society to ensure that these apocalyptic narratives never happen.