This thesis deals with the post-apocalyptic worlds in the films The Road and WALL·E. Both films portray a barren world that has made life on earth difficult closing on impossible. The post-apocalyptic notion will be based on the theories of Baishya, Thompson, Jameson and Penley. Thompson argues that an apocalyptic fear is a fear of the future rooted in the present. This notion proves applicable, as the material will show a fear of global ecocide. Baishya describes how the possibility of total human annihilation as become more realistic in later years and what this means to apocalyptic fear. Jameson and Penley discuss how the human race would not be able to cope with an apocalypse since we cannot comprehend the efforts needed to recreate our society. This is evident in the material as they are not able to rebuild the human society on earth.
A post-apocalyptic world is obviously created by some kind of apocalypse. In WALL·E the film will suggest that the apocalypse, leading to the death of nature and earth, was caused by over-consumption and the garbage that became a product of this. The mise-en-scene will show how garbage has become an integrated part of cities and nature causing an ecocide. The human race has left the barren planet and lives in space instead. On board enormous space liners the human condition is reduced to a dormant state of living, where people do not even walk anymore as they are flown around.
The Road offers no explanation to the apocalypse but focuses on the global ecocide it has caused and how the human race is affected by it. The landscape of the film is barren and harrowing with a complete death of nature. The erosion of society is also depicted by showing the downfall of recognisable objects such as cars and roads but also of brands like Coca-Cola.
In terms of mise-en-scene both of the films use grey and brown colours to depict their setting enforcing the notion of ecocide, not allowing vibrant colours into the depiction.
The thesis concludes that both films are representations of fear, especially the fear of an ecocide that would kill the earth. Both films use objects the audience can recognise to show how the society has collapsed and the human future on earth is bleak. Furthermore it concludes that the human condition in a post-apocalyptic world will deteriorate. It might be into immobile dormant consumers or into a race of survivalist not able to live but only to survive.