'The Devil Wears Nada': the Simpsons and the demythologisation of the apocalypse

Adam, Raoul J. (2013) 'The Devil Wears Nada': the Simpsons and the demythologisation of the apocalypse. In: Ashton, James, and Walliss, John, (eds.) Small Screen Revelations: apocalypse in contemporary television. The Bible in the Modern World, 50 . Sheffield Phoenix Press, Sheffield, UK, pp. 179-202.

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Abstract

This chapter provides a psychoanalytic perspective on The Simpsons' satirical representations of apocalyptic mythologies. I argue that The Simpsons' representation of eschata reveals the function and maintenance of an apocalyptic archetype. The function of the archetype relates to the cultural management of death anxieties and the realisation of life. The maintenance of the archetype involves an adaptive cycle of mythologisation, demythologisation, and remythologisation in dynamic cultural contexts. The animated satire offers a window into the fragile complementarity between 'mythos and logos' in popular western visions of the apocalypse. Throughout the chapter, I locate the function and maintenance of the apocalyptic archetype in the millennial American milieu.

Item ID: 25843
Item Type: Book Chapter (Research - B1)
ISBN: 978-1-907534-78-2
ISSN: 1747-9630
Date Deposited: 19 Jun 2013 23:55
FoR Codes: 17 PSYCHOLOGY AND COGNITIVE SCIENCES > 1701 Psychology > 170111 Psychology of Religion @ 50%
22 PHILOSOPHY AND RELIGIOUS STUDIES > 2204 Religion and Religious Studies > 220405 Religion and Society @ 50%
SEO Codes: 95 CULTURAL UNDERSTANDING > 9504 Religion and Ethics > 950404 Religion and Society @ 100%
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