Date of Award
2009
Degree Type
Thesis
Degree Name
Master of Education
Program
Education
Supervisor
Dr. Cornelia Hoogland
Abstract
Anime is the definitive postmodern genre through which to portray apocalyptic narratives as it provides an imaginative liminal site that transcends any specific culture and ethnicity, and through which global concerns can be investigated. The study of apocalypse in selected anime - Japanese animated film and television - is beneficial at the outset o f the 21st century when we are beset with catastrophes both ecological and technological that are recognizably manufactured by some degree of human involvement. This examination is pertinent to disciplines as diverse as communications, cultural theory, anthropology, film, cyborg studies, Asian studies, and English literature. The dystopian settings and destructive elements in apocalyptic anime can be used in diverse and complex ways to comment on characterresponsetoupheavalanddisaster. Bystimulatingdiscussionthrough exploration of anime narratives, this popular culture product offers a pervasive and rich vocabulary with which to consider our reactions to adversity. This thesis demonstrates how the study of apocalypse through anime narratives is relevant to a greater understanding of our own behavior in reaction to apocalyptic
circumstances.
Recommended Citation
Morris, Pauline, "Apocalypse in Anime: Shifting Boundaries of Human Technology Interface" (2009). Digitized Theses. 3784.
https://ir.lib.uwo.ca/digitizedtheses/3784