• Email
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • LinkedIn
  • Pinterest
  • TikTok
  • Tumblr
  • Twitter
  • YouTube

Tahlia Newland

Editor, Author & Artist

  • Editing Services
  • Me & My Creative Life
    • My Books
      • Metaphysical Fiction
    • My Poetry
    • My Masks
    • My Hats
    • Permaculture, Forest & Garden
    • Performing Arts
  • Blog
  • Contact

When reality looks like fiction: Covid-19 and apocalyptic, post-apocalyptic and dystopian fiction

May 9, 2020 by Tahlia Newland

With the world in the grip of Covid-19, life is looking like something out of a novel from the apocalyptic, post-apocalyptic and dystopian fiction genres. This is not particularly surprising considering that reality informs fiction and fiction reflects reality.

The first time I felt I were living in an apocalyptic fiction novel was when out of control bushfires threatened my property in January of this year, but the threat receded and left me and my property unharmed. And even during the event, the world and the rest of Australia continued as normal, so – even though it felt like it to those who lived through it – the fires weren’t truly an apocalyptic event. The Australian fires were catastrophic, but they were restricted to one area of the world, whereas a truly apocalyptic event effects the whole world or large portions of it.

Image by GravityGeorge from Pixabay

The word apocalypse, according to the Oxford Dictionary refers to ‘the complete final destruction of the world, as described in the biblical book of Revelation, or an event involving destruction or damage on a catastrophic scale.’ It’s the scale of a disaster that makes it apocalyptic.

Covid-19 had already started infecting people in China in December 2019, and the fires were still very much a worry when I first heard about the new corona virus in January. By the middle of March, the fires were out, but covid-19 was taking hold. Europe was the new centre of the pandemic and Australia got its stay-at-home orders. We’d come out of the fires and into a global pandemic that disrupted people’s lives all across the globe.

Once again, I felt as if I were living in an apocalyptic fiction novel.

Image by Tumisu from Pixabay

Apocalyptic fiction and Covid-19

In fiction, an apocalyptic event is something disastrous enough that it changes the world as we know it. Apocalyptic fiction themes include environmental catastrophes (such as an exploding super volcano and the results of unmitigated climate change), alien invasion, solar flares frying all our electronics, a meteor or comet strike, AI’s taking over the world, nuclear war, and, of course, pandemics.

Covid-19 is not the end of the world, but it has changed the world—all of it. No country has been exempt. And though I’m reserving judgement on whether or not the Covid-19 pandemic is what I would call an apocalyptic event, I don’t doubt that its apocalyptic for those on the front line in the hospitals, particularly in Italy, Spain and New York. And for those dealing with the bodies. Those who have lost their jobs, their businesses, their loved ones, their homes, and/or their health are feeling the brunt of the pandemic, as are those who are stuck in a house they share with an abusive spouse or parent, or whose mental health is fragile and made worse by their circumstances. These kinds of experiences are the stuff of apocalyptic fiction.

We are all facing the pandemic, but we’re not all facing the same circumstances. Australia is relatively untouched compared to the USA because our government acted in time. There’s a big difference in risk between geographical areas and a big difference in how people experience the economic effects of the pandemic. Some of us are untouched other than what we see on the news or read in our newspapers, while others have lost everything. Apocalyptic fiction usually follows several characters to show the differing experiences and reactions to circumstances. We could all be one character in an apocalyptic fiction novel.

Apocalyptic fiction is fiction written about an apocalyptic event, not after it. It portraits the event, its immediate effects on the characters, and how they react to it. This, to some extent, is our present reality.  A story set after the apocalyptic event, however, is called post-apocalyptic fiction.

Image by Stefan Keller from Pixabay

Post-apocalyptic fiction

When the first wave of infection is over, we’ll be left facing a new normal in which precautions to minimise the spread of infectious diseases will likely remain part of our life. At that point, we move into the realm of post-apocalyptic fiction.

Post-apocalyptic fiction deals with how people face the challenges of a changed world. The event that caused the changes is over, or over enough that people are trying to find their way in a changed but more stable world. They face the prospect of creating a new normal in a world where old rules don’t apply, where human behaviour must change in light of the apocalyptic event.  Such books look into political, social and behavioural changes that could be expected in a changed world. The question such novels answer is, how will the characters adapt.

How will we adapt? The post-apocalyptic story of Covid-19 is not yet written.

Image by Виктория Бородинова from Pixabay

Dystopian fiction and conspiracy theories

I sometimes wonder if those who subscribe to conspiracy theories read a bit too much dystopian fiction. Certainly the fanciful stories some come up with are the stuff of fiction. They play on people’s fears and provide scapegoats for people’s anger and fear. Having someone or something to blame for their misfortune gives people a bit of a sense of control over their lives when a traumatic event has thrown their lives into uncertainty.

They [conspiracy theories] are tools for imposing structure on an unpredictable and unforgiving world, thereby relieving stress and reducing anxiety. The less people feel in control of their world, however meek or grand, the more likely they are to seek out some method of restoring control — to fight their sense of powerlessness. The covid-19 pandemic is the ultimate power grab: No one knows when the threat will subside, what the economic impact will be or when a vaccine will be available. When events are, in actuality, out of our control, the psychological burden can be alleviated by turning to alternative explanations for events. 

Washington Post Corona virus conspiracy theories

If you look at the common conspiracy theories around Covid-19 (don’t get sucked in though!) you’ll see how some relate to fears that we may be heading towards a dystopian society.

According to a Read Write Think file, a dystopian world is one ‘in which oppressive societal control and the illusion of a perfect society are maintained through corporate, bureaucratic, technological, moral, or totalitarian control.’

The file lists the following characteristics of a Dystopian Society

  • Propaganda is used to control the citizens of society.
  • Information, independent thought, and freedom are restricted.
  • A figurehead or concept is worshipped by the citizens of the society.
  • Citizens are perceived to be under constant surveillance.
  • Citizens have a fear of the outside world.
  • Citizens live in a dehumanized state.
  • The natural world is banished and distrusted.
  • Citizens conform to uniform expectations. Individuality and dissent are bad.
  • The society is an illusion of a perfect utopian world.

How does one get from an apocalyptic event to a dystopian world?

Dystopian fiction is not the same as post-apocalyptic fiction. A post-apocalyptic world is not necessarily a dystopian world. However, in fiction some apocalyptic event is often the inciting incident for the development of a society of greater governmental control and less individual freedom.

The usual progression of events is that of a population agreeing to restrictions on their freedom in order to survive an apocalyptic event, then in the post-apocalyptic phase of the society, the restrictions, rather than being rescinded are retained and tightened.

During the development of the dystopian society, misinformation becomes propaganda and the people’s understanding of what is real, what is actually happening, is distorted by the government to suit their purpose of control. Lies become the currency of power.

Generally, people who are bewildered about what to believe choose the safe route as outlined by their ever-more controlling government. They give up freedoms in the name of safety. Often, at some point, the iron grip of the dystopian government is enforced by police or military.

Misinformation and conspiracy theories are rife in our Covid-19 world making it hard for people who don’t check sources and use their critical thinking faculties to know what is real. Once people give up fact checking and believe whatever sounds reasonable to them regardless of whether or not it is true – as confirmed by verifiable facts/research – they’re on their way to being easily manipulated by propaganda and are already giving up their capacity for independent thought. The crazy thing is that those most into conspiracy theories often think that they are exercising independent thought. Certainly it’s independent from what the government wants us to believe, but is it true? That part isn’t given much thought by conspiracy theory adherents—if it were, they wouldn’t spread so fast and far. When belief becomes more important to people than facts, how we think things are can be vastly different to how they actually are.

For instance, Trump likes to say that the US is ‘doing really well’ in terms of ‘winning the war against Covid-19,’ but a single glance at the death tolls around the world tells a very different picture. Anyone who reads news from reputable sources of journalism knows that the US is doing worse than any other country in terms of the number of deaths and how the government has (mis)managed the public health emergency. But if the government insists on another version of reality and people are willing to go along with it to such an extent that the lies become widely accepted as truth, then the people can be easily manipulated, and their society could be on its way to becoming a dystopian society. The ability of people to find the truth, and recognise it, is vital for democracy.

Image by Enrique Meseguer from Pixabay

The challenge of writing apocalyptic, post-apocalyptic and dystopian fiction

When writing apocalyptic, post-apocalyptic and dystopian fiction, you can’t just make things up. Yes, you make up the event, but if it’s not based on something that could happen, and if it doesn’t show people acting the kind of way that people actually would act in reality, then the book will have failed. Basing human behaviour in fiction on human behaviour in reality is what makes a story and characters believable. Fiction—even fantasy—is most powerful when it reflects aspects of reality.

 The challenge of writing apocalyptic, post-apocalyptic and dystopian fiction is that every aspect of the disaster and the resultant effects on the society must be thought through, envisaged and incorporated into the story. That’s not easy, but living through Covid-19 will make it easier for any author who wants to include a pandemic in their apocalyptic, post-apocalyptic or dystopian fiction. We don’t have to use our imagination, we just have to watch what’s happening around us now.

The role of imagination in real life caution and solutions

Can we learn anything from fiction?

The Read Write Think file  says, ‘Dystopias, through an exaggerated worst-case scenario, make a criticism about a current trend, societal norm, or political system.’

So dystopian novels can be tales of caution on how not to let an apocalypse lead to a dystopian society. They can point, through parallels and analogies, to where the danger signs may be in our own society and direction—for instance a president who lies without censor and whose version of events is believed by a large number of the population.

And post-apocalyptic fiction can provide imaginative ideas for possible solutions to real-life post-apocalyptic challenges. Certainly, such fiction can prepare us for the kinds of things we may face. If we’ve read a book that shows the kind of human behaviour we’re likely to see in a disaster, then if we ever meet with such a disaster, we will know what to expect. Of course, that’s assuming that the author has done their research and has written something based on reality, on how people actually do act in a disaster. Perhaps, inspired by a character in a novel, we’ll step into the role of hero.

How is the pandemic affecting you?

Examples of the apocalyptic, post-apocalyptic and dystopian fiction genres

Click here for examples of apocalyptic and post-apocalyptic fiction on Amazon. And if you want to read a pandemic story – if reality isn’t enough for you – try Pandemic (The Extinction Files Book 1).

Click here for examples of dystopian fiction on Amazon, but note that some of what appears in this list may be more post-apocalyptic than dystopian. I enjoyed the Variant saga and you would probably have heard of The Hunger Games and the Divergent series, both good examples of the genre.

Click here to read my dystopian fiction reviews and here for post-apocalyptic fiction.


If you like fantasy stories with action, romance and a contemplative element, you’ll enjoy my fiction, so take a look in my bookshop before you go.

You can also follow me on all sorts of social media by clicking the buttons at the top of my website.

Share this:

  • Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on LinkedIn (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Reddit (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Tumblr (Opens in new window)
  • Click to email a link to a friend (Opens in new window)

Related

Filed Under: Editing, Writing & publishing Tagged With: corona virus, covid-19, pandemic in literature

« 4 Crucial Mistakes Authors Make When Launching a Self-Published Book
5 Tips for Marketing Your Book on a Budget »

Comments

  1. Michael says

    May 9, 2020 at 6:29 pm

    Propaganda is used to control the citizens of society

    is just how it is and has been for over 70 years since it was invented. Its not “theoretical” and one example of propaganda was the coining of the terminology “conspiracy theory” so that anything you don’t like can be denigrated and anyone investigating labelled a “conspiracy theorist”.

    Other than this … the rest of the thesis is fine, but its a shame you don’t seem to respect the truth of mind control and propaganda even after having been victim to it in a cult setting.

    Conspiracy – Rigpa (inner circle) – theory, that Sogyal was not Altruistic at all but actually traumatic for selfish purposes etc. Evidence …

    Without evidence its an unproven theory … and adding conspiracy to it … is just to add some kind of stigma like “oh dear some people feel like governments try to control the population, how foolish – we all have total free will”. Yet … governments such as North Korea and China exist and much of what they do is not mutually exclusive from what the rest of the governments of the world engage in.

    Some “theories” are just wrong, and that’s normal – most will be wrong. So I’d rather hear people say “don’t get caught in theories with no evidence until good convincing evidence gives an overwhelming probability that this theory is better than the conventional belief.

    Do we want to be dominated by assumptions and beliefs or have some kind of relief by entertaining strong theories that explain things that don’t make sense. For example – how did President Trump get elected … he did, we can only theorize all the elements but it was certainly a grand collaboration of co-conspiritors. Yet thats ok, because its conventially acceptable to trash and blame him because he is quite obviously not what he says he is.

    • Tahlia Newland says

      May 10, 2020 at 12:02 pm

      I don’t disagree with you, but I didn’t feel it necessary to go into that kind of detail because this is not a political commentary but a literary one. My point for this article is simply how and why reality can feel like fiction sometimes and how fiction can be a warning for present reality.

      How you take those warnings is up to you. I’m not proposing anything here or taking any position.

  2. Roland MacInnis says

    May 17, 2020 at 2:24 am

    Thalia,
    You’ve done a great piece of writing with this assessment.
    I’ve passed it along to an English teacher friend.
    Makes for a bgreat High School English assignment, aimed at sharpening critical thinking skills.
    Rollie MacInnis
    Kanata Ontario, Canada

    • Tahlia Newland says

      June 2, 2020 at 11:58 am

      Thanks for the feedback. I’m glad you found it interesting. And yes, it would be a good inspiration for a lesson for high school students.

Search

Recent Posts

  • Fantasy Book Review: The High Priestess by Val Tobin
  • Book Genres – What you Need to Know.
  • How to See Edits in Word Documents
  • Finding an Editor You Can Trust
  • Review of ‘The Guild Codex Spellbound Series’ by Annette Marie

View Posts by Category

Writing a novel? Feeling overwhelmed? Get new insight and inspiration with my FREE Novel Revision Checklist. 

DOWNLOAD  NOW

Subscribe to Blog via Email

Enter your email address to subscribe to this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.

Free Book Download  
Get Lethal Inheritance free when you sign up to my new release email list.  I won’t share your details and you can unsubscribe at any time.

My Latest Books

  • Fallout: Recovering from Abuse in Tibetan Buddhism
  • The Elements of Active Prose: Writing Tips to Make Your Prose Shine
  • The Locksmith's Secret
    Rated 5.00 out of 5

Alliance of Independent Authors

Alliance of Independent Authors

Click HERE to see all my books.

Books
Reviews, Writing, Cats & Contemplation
Editing

Click HERE to subscribe to my newsletter and get my fantasy novel Lethal Inheritance FREE. 

How to Meditate – the crucial points

See more

Hi I’m Tahlia Newland

I can help you express yourself and share your story with the world.

 

Do you want to write a really good story and have it professionally polished and published?

As an editor, I help you be the best writer you can possibly be. I strengthen your voice, support your vision and can assist you all the way to publication.

On my blog you’ll find book reviews, writer’s tips, contemplative articles on meditation and working with your mind, and occaisonally pictures of my Burmese cats.

If you’re interested mostly in my contemplative articles then  Sign up to the Living in Peace & Clarity Newsletter to get those articles delivered by email. And check out the resources on my Living in Peace and Clarity Page.

I do a lot of community work involving blogging and general support for Buddhist students processing revelations of abuse in their spiritual communities.  Please consider supporting me to continue this work.

Occiasonally, when inspired and not too busy with community work, I make masks.

All my books are

Visit my Mask & Steampunk Accessories Shop

2015-03-19 15.46.12
Blue Burmese
Like cats in stories? Check out my books. And click the photo to read the cat colomn.

Click Here for More Articles in This Series

Book reviews – sci fi, fantasy, literary fiction, Buddhist fiction and related non-fiction

Fantasy Book Review: The High Priestess by Val Tobin

Fantasy Book Review: The High Priestess by Val Tobin

The High Priestess: Persephone’s Return is the third book in Val Tobin’s Tales from the Unmasqued World Series, and in it she deepens and expands the stories from the previous two book. The book has two central story arcs based around characters we’ve met before. One arc follows Kelsey (a human) who is with Josh […]

More Posts from this Category

My gorgeous Burmese cats

Renovated Website & Cute Cat Series

Renovated Website & Cute Cat Series

Yesterday I did a photoshoot for my renovated website. Take a look around, particulary at the home page (Click on my name at the top to go there). It’s designed for editing clients with my books secondary because I need to focus on the part of this publishing business that actually earns me more than […]

More Posts from this Category

Seven of my novels have an Awesome Indies Seal of Excellence

Four of my books earned BRAG Medallions

I abide by the ethical author code

I'm an Ethical Author
Alliance of Independent Authors

Copyright

All material on this website is under copyright to Tahlia Newland and cannot be shared without written permission.

  • Editing Services
  • About Me
  • My Books
  • My Masks
  • Blog
  • Contact

Copyright © 2023 · Amoré Theme by Oh, Hello Designs on Genesis Framework · WordPress · Log in

FREE Novel Revision Checklist

Written a book? Need some help reviewing and revising it? Download my Novel Revision Checklist for step by step guidance.  

DOWNLOAD NOW

no thanks

{"cookieName":"wBounce","isAggressive":false,"isSitewide":true,"hesitation":"120","openAnimation":false,"exitAnimation":false,"timer":"","sensitivity":"","cookieExpire":"7","cookieDomain":"","autoFire":"","isAnalyticsEnabled":false}

Please note: I am closed for holidays from Christmas day until Jan 30th 2023. Dismiss

 

Loading Comments...