The End of the World, Hollywood, and the Endurance of Military Violence: Elysium and World War Z

Bloodsworth-Lugo and Lugo-Lugo explore how the militarization of the United States is depicted in two films released over a decade after 9/11—Elysium and World War Z—and how this militarization reflects racialized anxieties in this country. Following the events of 9/11, the administrations of G.W. Bush, Obama, and Trump have promoted an increasing militarization of US society, which has included the handling and surveillance of minoritized bodies, including undocumented, black, brown, and Muslim bodies, and have fostered fear and anxiety of racialized others.