Understanding Genre in Mr. Burns: Blending Sitcom and Apocalypse on Stage
The Apocalypse Genre and Dystopia
Why are we obsessed with violence and destruction in media and entertainment?
The apocalypse and post-apocalypse genres gained popularity starting in the 1940s and 1950s. During the nuclear arms race, American society began to fill with fear and anxiety over what mass destruction could mean for them, and how that would impact the country moving forward. Popular entertainment and culture began to incorporate these speculations and ideas into works. Entertainment became an outlet for these ideas, as artists of all kinds began to explore extraordinary circumstances in situations of chaos. These ideas branched out beyond nuclear destruction, and also reached toward extraterrestrial life, weather change, and other forms of chaos beyond the control of the human race.
As the Apocalypse genre continues to branch out, it asks questions surrounding "What's next?" and examines how life continues after such a catastrophe. From this branch of questions, the Dystopia genre begins to form. Dystopia is a broken society in which there is either a corruption of power or an unclear power structure. An apocalyptic catastrophe or event is often the cause of a dystopian society. The Dystopia genre grew in popularity along with the Apocalypse genre, as both seek answers during and after catastrophic world events.
These two genres still hold intrigue in today's forms of media, creating an outlet of potential answers for what could happen, and what life would be like post-apocalypse.
Apocalypse and Dystopian Societies
This collection of images provides examples of media and entertainment that defined and expanded the
Apocalypse and Dystopia genres. This collection provides a range of the variety found within the genre, and how this idea of apocalypse changed over the decades. Many of these examples were gleaned from my research sources. Click on an image to discover more.
Growth of the Genres
The Apocalypse and Dystopia genres continue to thrive with a wide array of entertainment and media created in this genre. These genres grow hand in hand with each other, since the apocalypse is a direct cause to the dystopian society. These genres continue to explore new methods of apocalyptic destruction and their outcomes. These scenarios usually result in the end of all social structures and the creation of a corrupted new one, usually a totalitarian society. All comfort associated with a former structure is lost. Fiction writers alike seem to explore themes around the purpose and meaning of life, the fragility of mortality, and other existentialist worries that often trouble our society when faced with outside conflict or the threat of conflict.
How does this connect to Mr. Burns?
Act One of this play is set at the tail end of an apocalypse, and Acts Two and Three grow into more of a dystopian society with each act. In Act One, the characters have lost the structure defining who specifically has control or power. Maria has a monologue throughout pages 32-36 about the loss of this structure, and she opens up about how she came to terms with losing the life she was used to.
This group of individuals attempt to recreate entertainment, to pass the time and also attempt to regain a sense of structure to their lives. Rather than a physical power of control often found in other dystopian stories, their voices and the entertainment they create are their source of power, and who gets to tell a story. But, in Act 2, we see this struggle for power as our main group of focus is fighting with other theatre companies over the power of words (Washburn, Act 2, pp.61-64). The apocalyptic setting raises the stakes for our group, with upheavals of all political systems and structure. In part, the characters must find a sense of organization and structure with each other, but also cope with the losses of a system they once knew.
Their biggest struggle is their lack of information about what is going on outside of their bubble. In Act One, Maria says, "it’s not knowing, that’s the problem" (Washburn 36). In Act Two, Gibson has a monologue about the "not knowing" Maria refers to, discussing his fears for the future and and potential dangers they don't have the answers to (59). This topic is critical to the Post-Apocalypse genre, as the characters must navigate the world without a comfort of answers.
Washburn's play adheres to many of the prerequisites of the Post-Apocalypse and Dystopia genres, inquiring why and how these characters continue to fight for survival.