Trying to Make Sense of the Taxonomy of Apocalyptic Writing
We have a human tendency towards taxonomy – putting things into groups – whether it be species of living things, library books or rocks. This seems to satisfy some inherent imperative to categorise and serves to analyse similarities and evolutionary pathways. The fictional works we are referencing in the Encyclopaedia Pandemica project - whether they are novels, short stories, comic books, video games, music or pieces of visual art – can be categorised as Apocalyptic or Post-Apocalyptic fiction, a branch of Dystopian fiction. There is also a huge overlap with Science Fiction, particularly that dealing with possible alternate timelines; what Robert A. Heinlein called Future History. Finally, all of the above can be considered as Speculative Fiction – all asking the simple question: “what if….?”
Some definitions may be helpful at this point:
Dystopia: Literally “bad place” from Ancient Greek; a society that is considered undesirable or frightening. The term arose as an antonym to Utopia, an ideal society. In Dystopian fiction, social and political change often produce dangerous urban environments and tyrannical regimes. What may appear to be utopian societies turn out to be dystopian, usually because of centralised control and loss of personal freedom.
Apocalypse: This has come to mean any widespread destruction or disaster, usually involving a cataclysmic breakdown of society. The term originated with early Judeo-Christian writings, such as The Book of Revelation, prophesying the events of the End Times. In Apocalyptic Fiction, the protagonists fight against the threat, often saving the World.
Post-Apocalypse: The time afterwards where surviving humans struggle to survive, repopulate and rebuild society. Often in Post-Apocalyptic fiction, a small group of survivors battle against looters and insurrectionists. Memories of life before the apocalypse are commonly forgotten and disbelieved.
Science Fiction: A sub-genre of speculative fiction which deals principally with the impact of actual or imagined science and technology on society or individuals.
Speculative Fiction: A collection of genres including elements which do not exist in the real world, including science fiction, fantasy, horror, superheroes, utopian and dystopian fiction and the supernatural.
The Venn diagram below attempts to illustrate where Apocalyptic/Post-Apocalyptic fiction sits amidst the crossovers between these genres.
This still leaves us with Apocalyptic and Post-Apocalyptic media occupying a hugely varied field. Since in most examples humankind is reacting to a challenge from an internal or external threat or crisis, the source of that threat would seem provide a sensible basis for classification. The chart below, which we have devised to put these into context has been tested and any dystopian book, film or video game we tried fitted fairly neatly into one of the categories.
Given the size of the pile of pandemic-based novels and the growing watch-list of films we are working our way through as part of the Encyclopaedia Pandemica project, it is no surprise that they greatly outnumber other categories of Apocalyptic media. One explanation for this is the immediacy of the subject matter; we are more likely to experience the consequences of a pandemic than we are an alien invasion. Having said that, those of us currently experiencing the sacrifices required by Covid-19 may prefer to read about something else.
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