The End of the World with Michael and Stu
The Apocalypse is Everywhere. The End of the World with Michael and Stu is a (hopefully) insightful and (hopefully) humorous exploration of the rise of apocalyptic news, apocalyptic thinking and apocalyptic culture. Each week, we’ll be looking at a work of art, a piece of media, or an historical event related to the (hopefully not) impending End of the World.
The End of the World with Michael and Stu
Episode 26: It's Easier to Imagine the End of the World than the End of Capitalism
This week we discuss the Democrats' strategy of calling their electoral opponents "weird" before plunging into a consideration of Alfonso Cuarón's 2006 dystopian masterpiece, Children of Men, paying particular attention to the analysis of Mark Fisher, as found in his landmark 2009 book, Capitalist Realism. Is this film, as Fisher suggests, an metaphor for the wasting effect of neoliberalism upon creativity? Is it a religious allegory? Can we somehow connect the "weirdness" of JD Vance's natalist views back to the themes of the film? In order to find out, you must listen!
This episode contains spoilers for Children of Men and for Capitalist Realism, if books of theory can be "spoiled" (they cannot).
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