ABSTRACT
While postapocalyptic narratives are hardly new, American television networks produced a notable wave of early twenty-first-century programs like Jeremiah (Showtime, 2002–04), Jericho (CBS, 2006–08), The Walking Dead (AMC, 2010–22), The Last Ship (TNT, 2014–18), Wayward Pines (Fox, 2015–16), and Revolution (NBC, 2012–14)—doomsday visions complemented by reality television “prepper” programs like The Colony (Discovery, 2009–10), Doomsday Preppers (National Geographic, 2011–14), and Doomsday Castle (National Geographic, 2013). These postapocalyptic and prepper television series use militarized images of hypermasculinity, gritty survivalist tropes, and remixed colonial wild west stereotypes in order to create stories congruent with a particularly conservative mode of patriarchal representation. Examining the origins of such narratives and the stereotypes they encourage constructs a window to a particular moment in American history—specifically, the renewed rise of populist, masculinist, heteronormative, and white supremacist movements. While the relationship between a society and its popular cultures is inherently cyclical, pinpointing a precise moment in postapocalyptic television’s evolution helps to situate it as a hegemonic tool that may serve to exacerbate or encourage “alt-right” attitudes toward marginalized groups.
