Sudden Identity Crisis: Dealing with Individual Grief in HBOs The Leftovers
Submission Type
Event
Faculty Advisor
Molly Robey
Expected Graduation Date
2019
Location
Center for Natural Sciences, Illinois Wesleyan University
Start Date
4-13-2019 2:00 PM
End Date
4-13-2019 3:00 PM
Disciplines
Education
Abstract
HBO’s The Leftovers employs the typical post-apocalyptic equation. The audience follows a band of characters as they grapple with the fallout of a fantastical and global disaster. Exploring the available texts, criticism, and observable trends of the post-apocalyptic fiction genre, I found that it tends to closely align itself with cultural studies. The majority of critics focus their arguments on the etiology of the text’s apocalyptic event and the group-based survival (i.e. an apocalyptic plague represents societal fear/anxiety towards immigration). However, the “sudden departure” of The Leftovers differs in that there is no physical or resource-draining event. Losing 2% of the population without cause is still catastrophic, but the struggles become personal. I would argue that The Leftovers employs a unique apocalypse and character-driven writing to emphasize an individual’s grief and struggle. By examining four of the show’s main characters and their personal coping with the event, we can see the personal identity crisis that defines this show above any cultural lens.
Sudden Identity Crisis: Dealing with Individual Grief in HBOs The Leftovers
Center for Natural Sciences, Illinois Wesleyan University
HBO’s The Leftovers employs the typical post-apocalyptic equation. The audience follows a band of characters as they grapple with the fallout of a fantastical and global disaster. Exploring the available texts, criticism, and observable trends of the post-apocalyptic fiction genre, I found that it tends to closely align itself with cultural studies. The majority of critics focus their arguments on the etiology of the text’s apocalyptic event and the group-based survival (i.e. an apocalyptic plague represents societal fear/anxiety towards immigration). However, the “sudden departure” of The Leftovers differs in that there is no physical or resource-draining event. Losing 2% of the population without cause is still catastrophic, but the struggles become personal. I would argue that The Leftovers employs a unique apocalypse and character-driven writing to emphasize an individual’s grief and struggle. By examining four of the show’s main characters and their personal coping with the event, we can see the personal identity crisis that defines this show above any cultural lens.