The Appearance and Resonance of Apocalyptic Archetypes in Contemporary Disaster Films
The COVID-19 pandemic has roused the apocalyptic fear that was foreseen in religious prophecies. This research will focus on the post-9/11 and pre-COVID-19 disaster films, in an attempt to understand the representation and pre-presentation of the collective disaster psychology. Aligned with Jungian...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2021-10-01
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| Series: | Religions |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2077-1444/12/11/913 |
| _version_ | 1797508607696175104 |
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| author | Chi-Ying Yu |
| author_facet | Chi-Ying Yu |
| author_sort | Chi-Ying Yu |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | The COVID-19 pandemic has roused the apocalyptic fear that was foreseen in religious prophecies. This research will focus on the post-9/11 and pre-COVID-19 disaster films, in an attempt to understand the representation and pre-presentation of the collective disaster psychology. Aligned with Jungian film studies, this essay regards films as a convergence of generations’ collective unconscious. Apocalypse may as well be considered the psychic archetypes that emerge in our civilization in the name of religion. This essay aims to construe the ways that apocalyptic archetypes appear and are elaborated in contemporary films, in hope of recognizing the new apocalyptic aesthetics formed in the interval between the two disastrous events. Consistent with the meaning in classic doomsday narratives, the archetypal symbols in these films are found to have carried a dual connotation of destruction and rebirth. Through empirical cinematographic style, these archetypal images are revealed in an immersive way. Disaster films from this time place emphasis on death itself, fiercely protesting against the stagnation of life, and in turn triggering a transcendental transformation of the psyche. Unlike those in the late 1990s, viewing the doomsday crisis through the lens of spectacularity, disaster in these films is seen as a state of body and mind, and death a thought-provoking life experience. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-10T05:07:13Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-aa1126f7a3fe4052b50f68403334736d |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2077-1444 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-10T05:07:13Z |
| publishDate | 2021-10-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Religions |
| spelling | doaj.art-aa1126f7a3fe4052b50f68403334736d2023-11-23T01:15:49ZengMDPI AGReligions2077-14442021-10-01121191310.3390/rel12110913The Appearance and Resonance of Apocalyptic Archetypes in Contemporary Disaster FilmsChi-Ying Yu0Department of Arts and Design, National Tsing Hua University, Hsinchu City 30014, TaiwanThe COVID-19 pandemic has roused the apocalyptic fear that was foreseen in religious prophecies. This research will focus on the post-9/11 and pre-COVID-19 disaster films, in an attempt to understand the representation and pre-presentation of the collective disaster psychology. Aligned with Jungian film studies, this essay regards films as a convergence of generations’ collective unconscious. Apocalypse may as well be considered the psychic archetypes that emerge in our civilization in the name of religion. This essay aims to construe the ways that apocalyptic archetypes appear and are elaborated in contemporary films, in hope of recognizing the new apocalyptic aesthetics formed in the interval between the two disastrous events. Consistent with the meaning in classic doomsday narratives, the archetypal symbols in these films are found to have carried a dual connotation of destruction and rebirth. Through empirical cinematographic style, these archetypal images are revealed in an immersive way. Disaster films from this time place emphasis on death itself, fiercely protesting against the stagnation of life, and in turn triggering a transcendental transformation of the psyche. Unlike those in the late 1990s, viewing the doomsday crisis through the lens of spectacularity, disaster in these films is seen as a state of body and mind, and death a thought-provoking life experience.https://www.mdpi.com/2077-1444/12/11/913pre-COVID-19 cinemapost-9/11 cinemaapocalypseJungian film studiescollective unconsciousarchetypal symbols |
| spellingShingle | Chi-Ying Yu The Appearance and Resonance of Apocalyptic Archetypes in Contemporary Disaster Films Religions pre-COVID-19 cinema post-9/11 cinema apocalypse Jungian film studies collective unconscious archetypal symbols |
| title | The Appearance and Resonance of Apocalyptic Archetypes in Contemporary Disaster Films |
| title_full | The Appearance and Resonance of Apocalyptic Archetypes in Contemporary Disaster Films |
| title_fullStr | The Appearance and Resonance of Apocalyptic Archetypes in Contemporary Disaster Films |
| title_full_unstemmed | The Appearance and Resonance of Apocalyptic Archetypes in Contemporary Disaster Films |
| title_short | The Appearance and Resonance of Apocalyptic Archetypes in Contemporary Disaster Films |
| title_sort | appearance and resonance of apocalyptic archetypes in contemporary disaster films |
| topic | pre-COVID-19 cinema post-9/11 cinema apocalypse Jungian film studies collective unconscious archetypal symbols |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2077-1444/12/11/913 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT chiyingyu theappearanceandresonanceofapocalypticarchetypesincontemporarydisasterfilms AT chiyingyu appearanceandresonanceofapocalypticarchetypesincontemporarydisasterfilms |