The child in many post-apocalyptic films occupies a unique space within the narrative, a space that oscillates between death and destruction, faith and hope. The Child in Post-Apocalyptic Cinema interrogates notions of the child as a symbol of futurity and also loss. By exploring the ways children function discursively within a dystopian framework we may better understand how and why traditional notions of childhood are repeatedly tethered to sites of adult conflict and disaster, a connection that often functions to reaffirm the “rightness” of past systems of social order. This collection features critical articles that explore the role of the child character in post-apocalyptic cinema, including classic, recent, and international films, approached from a variety of theoretical, methodological, and cultural perspectives.

Contributions by: Eduardo Barros-Grela, María Bobadilla Pérez, Tarah Brookfield, Jennifer Brown, Glen Donnar, Aryak Guha, Mark Heimermann, James M. Hodapp, Frank Jacob, Cassandra L. Jones, Betül Atesçi Koçak, Eric D. Miller, Debbie Olson, Joseph Wiinikka-Lydon