The Child in Post-apocalyptic Cinema

The child in many post-apocalyptic films occupies a unique space within the narrative, a space that oscillates between death and destruction, faith and hope. The Child in Post-Apocalyptic Cinema interrogates notions of the child as a symbol of futurity and also loss. By exploring the ways children function discursively within a dystopian framework we may better understand how and why traditional notions of childhood are repeatedly tethered to sites of adult conflict and disaster, a connection that often functions to reaffirm the “rightness” of past systems of social order. This collection features critical articles that explore the role of the child character in post-apocalyptic cinema, including classic, recent, and international films, approached from a variety of theoretical, methodological, and cultural perspectives.

Jennifer Brown is the author of the middle-grade novels How Lunchbox Jones Saved Me from Robots, Traitors, and Missy the Cruel and Life on Mars, a 2015 CCBC Best-of-the-Year Pick. She's also the author of the highly-acclaimed YA novels Hate List, Bitter End, Perfect Escape, Thousand Words, and Torn Away. She lives with her family in Kansas City, Missouri.

www.jenniferbrownauthor.com
@JenBrownBooks

Frank Jacob, PhD, is assistant professor of world history at the City University of New York (QCC).