What happened to the world in The Last of Us

What happened to the world in The Last of Us? My master’s student prepared an interesting paper on the subject.

Master’s thesis topic and short description

This is the author’s analysis, historical, symbolic and ethical, of The Last of Us universe and its characters. Thesis title: Post-apocalyptic motifs in contemporary audiovisual culture based on the video game and television series The Last of Us. The author – I’ll keep his name to myself – also compared the series and the computer game. He worked with the method we developed at the Institute of Media Education and Journalism at Cardinal Stefan Wyszynski University in Warsaw.

What happened to the world in The Last of Us? Work structure

The first chapter is a study of apocalyptic themes in culture. It begins with an analysis of the Apocalypse of St. John. Then we learn about selected literary and painterly as well as cinematic references. The second chapter is a discussion of the universe and the main characters of The Last of Us. The third chapter is the author’s historical, symbolic and ethical analysis of the world of the series and the computer game. The whole is completed with an introduction, conclusion and bibliography.

The Great Red Dragon and the Woman Clothed with the Sun
Pełzająca śmierć
Post-apocalyptic motifs appear very often in our culture. W. Blake, 1805-1810, The Great Red Dragon and the Woman Clothed with the Sun, United Kingdom. Z. Beksinski, 1970s, Creeping death, Poland.

What happened to the world in The Last of Us? My rating

Good work in terms of content. The author demonstrated cultural erudition, knowledge of the Bible and ancient mythologies. He well rearranged examples of apocalyptic themes in painting, literature, cinematography. Most noteworthy is his historical, symbolic and ethical analysis of The Last of Us series. He also makes comparisons with the computer game, discussing the universe and characters of the protagonists.