Apocalypse in Media, Literature, and Linguistics

Narratives of Despair and Hope

Mohamed Mliless, Latifa Belfakir, Hicham Laabidi

• Publisher: Bloomsbury Academic
• Year: 2026
• Edition: 1
• eBook ISBN:
  9798216380238
• Topic: Politics & International Relations
• Subtopic: Sociolinguistics
• Index: Politics & International Relations

Apocalypse in Media, Literature and Linguistics: Narratives of Despair and Hope argues that apocalyptic stories are not merely genres or headlines; they are cultural technologies that construct environmental crises and channel public response. The volume shows how language and narrative-metaphors, frames, and plotlines-shape ecological identity, moral urgency, and policy choices across fiction, film, journalism, and community activism. Contributors trace how alarmist framings can heighten attention yet also induce paralysis or denial, and how hopeful, justice-oriented discourse can motivate stewardship and collective action. Case studies range from McCarthy's The Road and Atwood's climate fiction to Swahili-language media in Kenya, Brazilian news rhetoric, cinematic reception of The Day After Tomorrow, necropolitics in the Niger Delta, and critiques of anti-apocalyptic techno-optimism. Together, the chapters advance a clear claim: apocalyptic narratives do political work, distributing fear, responsibility, and possibility. The book offers practical analytic tools-drawn from ecolinguistics, critical discourse analysis, cultural studies, and media analysis-for diagnosing destructive framings and designing alternatives that inform without fatalism. It is a timely resource for scholars, educators, journalists, and advocates seeking language that moves audiences from dread to durable, justice-centered action.

Table of contents

• Cover
• Halftitle Page
• Title Page
• Contents
• List of Figures
• List of Tables
• Foreward
• Acknowledgment
• List of Abbreviations
• Introduction
• 1 Navigating the Apocalypse: A Character and Thematic Analysis of the Film The Road
• 2 “Why so alarmist?” or An Ecolinguistic Approach to Apocalyptic Discourses on Climate Change
• 3 Apocalypse and How: Framing Climate Change in Kenya
• 4 From Crisis to Apocalypse: Disrupted Ecosystems and Broken Bonds in Margaret Atwood’s The Year of the Flood
• 5 Death-Worlds of the Niger Delta Environmental Necropolitics and Resistance
• 6 Let Nature Speak, Climate Impacts, and the Language of the Environment as a Laboratory for Learning: An Ecolinguistic Approach
• 7 “Is Climate Change Real or Far-Fetched?”: Unraveling Audiences’ Responses on Climate Change in The Day After Tomorrow
• 8 Exploring Apocalyptic Environmental Discourse through Cultural Studies
• 9 Deconstructing Environmental Apocalypse Narratives: A Critical Analysis of Michael Shellenberger’s Work
• General Conclusion
• Index
• List of Contributors
• Imprint