The Last of Us: The End of the World As We Know It Pop DNA

This week we are getting apocalyptic! We talk about why we as humans seem to be fascinated with the fall of civilization or even of humanity itself. From the ancient epic of Gilgamesh to several separate HBO shows, our literature and culture are full of stories about humans at the end of the world.

How does The Last of Us explore the human significance of the apocalypse? And what other works of apocalyptic and zombie fiction can we discuss to contextualize what TLOU might be trying to say about humanity? Works we discuss include:


The Epic of Gilgamesh
Revenant myths and legends
The Last Man by Mary Shelley
1984 by George Orwell
Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel (and the HBO series)
The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood (and the Hulu series)
Pride and Prejudice and Zombies by Jane Austen and Seth Grahame-Smith
The Girl With All The Gifts by M. R. Carey
Severance by Ling Ma

Follow us on Instagram for more about the literature and commentary we reference.




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