Abstract
This chapter explores the strange appeal of apocalyptic narratives that predict the world’s destruction. First, Joyce approaches the question from a sociological and psychological perspective, showing how apocalyptic narratives appeal primarily to oppressed groups. The chapter then explains why white American evangelicals see themselves as being oppressed and how their religious beliefs have contributed to the rise in apocalyptic discourses. The chapter then examines the rhetorical structure of apocalyptic narratives, arguing that their appeal lies in providing insight into history’s direction, certainty about the roles and identities of subjects, a binary division between good and evil, and the promise that evil will be destroyed.
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Joyce, S. (2018). The Appeal of the Apocalypse. In: Transmedia Storytelling and the Apocalypse. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-93952-0_3
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