Post-August 1945 apocalypse: Imagined annihilation after atomic bombs

Abstract

The atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in August 1945 marked a fundamental rupture in human history, reshaping our collective imagination of catastrophe and extinction. This article examines how post-atomic discourse has developed an ‘annihilation imaginary’ – a cultural and aesthetic framework through which societies mediate the possibility of obliteration. Drawing on Anders's critique of technological alienation, I explore how narratives of apocalypse often serve as ideological mediations rather than radical critiques. While the prospect of environmental collapse, nuclear annihilation, or technological singularity dominates contemporary speculative thought, these imaginaries frequently reinforce rather than challenge the capitalist logic they seek to critique.