Graduation Term
2020
Degree Name
Master of Arts (MA)
Department
Department of English
Committee Chair
Katherine Ellison
Abstract
Popular entertainment has become concerned with addressing issues of climate catastrophe in order to reflect the real concerns of its audience. Because these media narratives are produced by wealthy institutions that reach millions of people, it is vital to understand what these stories say about the causes of existential crises and their presented solutions. This thesis applies an ecocritical approach informed by environmental justice theorists and Marxist theory in order to analyze what a contemporary popular film, videogame, and novel have to say about addressing an oncoming ecological crisis. This analysis reveals that mass death among the disempowered is considered inevitable in these fantasies, and that only a certain few empowered individuals are capable of restoring the world to a fragile status quo.
Access Type
Thesis-Open Access
Recommended Citation
Medrala, Kematat Matthew, "By Your Powers Combined: Heroic Solutions to Climate Catastrophes in the Fifth Season, Avengers: Infinity War, and Horizon: Zero Daw N" (2020). Theses and Dissertations. 1299.
https://ir.library.illinoisstate.edu/etd/1299
DOI
https://doi.org/10.30707/ETD2020.1606247535.292018as