Title (eng)
Apocalyptic Escapism? Futuristic Imagination and Apocalyptic Media at the End of History
Author
Description (eng)
This essay interrogates the politics of desire at play in the contemporary fascination with
apocalyptic narratives in pop media and videogames in particular. Drawing on cultural theorists
such as Fredric Jameson, Mark Fisher, and Slavoj Žižek, it opens historical, socioeconomic,
and ideological perspectives on why we enjoy apocalyptic fantasies – particularly in a present
that is itself marked by crises, stagnation, and decline. To this end, the evolution of the
cyberpunk genre and the Fallout franchise are examined as symptomatic products of their time.
Both reflect the crises of their respective historical conjunctures and are imbued with time-
specific sets of ideology and futuristic imagination. Lastly, Disco Elysium is discussed as a
game that, through an act of unusual self-awareness, might just point beyond the apocalyptic
spectacularism commonly displayed in apocalyptic media.
Keywords (eng)
EscapismEnd of HistoryCapitalist RealismCyberpunkFalloutDisco Elysium
Type (eng)
Language
[eng]
Persistent identifier
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Title
Gaming the Apocalypse
ISBN
978-3-903470-30-9
Publication
University of Krems Press
Publication
University of Krems Press
Date issued
2025-11-14
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