Post Apocalypse Survivor

The aesthetics of the post apocalypse survivor may differ depending on the situation that the survivor finds themselves in. That being said there are many common elements among all forms of the theme. The genre of disaster films has been popular throughout much of the 20th century and has continued to be popular into the 21st century. The genre has even expanded into the video game industry forming many products similar to the one featured in the picture above.

Often times a disaster will hit so suddenly that a survivor will have little time to prepare. Therefore, common clothing to be seen in this aesthetic will be everyday casual clothing, or whatever the survivor was wearing at the time of the disaster. The Walking Dead is a great example of this.

In other situations the survivor will be wearing more baggy clothing, and will be carrying bags or backpacks. This signifies that the survivor has had more time to gather equipment and to prepare themselves. This is most apparent in the film Mad Max: Fury Road as shown on the image above on the right.

In almost all post apocalyptic films the survivor is depicted carrying a weapon of sorts. Generally they will be carrying a firearm like the image above taken from the Terminator Salvation. In some cases the weapon is not necessarily a firearm. Sometimes the survivor can be carrying less conventional weapons such as axes, baseball bats, or even chainsaws like in the zombie survival game Left 4 Dead.

Sometimes the survival aesthetic can take on a more militaristic form. Survivors can be depicted wearing gas masks, army boots, and even armor. This is more common in the popular post apocalyptic game Fallout.

Hints of this element can be seen in other images as well. Both the pea coat in the terminator image and the gas mask in the featured image allude to survivors having to become more militarized.

Overall the survival aesthetic is an interesting theme in popular culture and provides a unique view into what the world would be like given different situations.

Sources:

http://ragreynolds.net/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/The-Last-of-Us1.jpg

http://www.taringa.net/posts/imagenes/14348913/The-Walking-Dead-Zone-Wallpaper.html

http://www.theatlantic.com/entertainment/archive/2015/05/fury-road/393353/

http://terminator.wikia.com/wiki/File:Fhd009TRS_Anton_Yelchin_001.jpg

http://kotaku.com/5365746/left-4-dead-2s-dark-carnival-chainsaws-on

http://www.minecraftforum.net/forums/mapping-and-modding/skins/1203107-req-fallout-rp