"We Who Wander This Wasteland in Search of Our Better Selves": Survivalism, Community, and Identity Within the Post-Apocalyptic Subculture at Wasteland Weekend
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Date
2021-11-23
Authors
Pace, Rebecca
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Publisher
University of Oregon
Abstract
Initially a Mad Max-themed car show, Wasteland Weekend has become a yearly gathering where wanderers of “The Wastes” convene for a week in the Mojave Desert to escape, barter, and celebrate their survival in a post-apocalyptic alternative realm. Individuals who attend, known as “Wastelanders,” share a fundamental concept of a post-apocalyptic world based on a popular culture film franchise, resulting in the creation of a subculture that champions survivalism through community and self-actualization. Through information gathered from fieldwork research and participant observation, this multi-disciplinary folkloric exploration draws upon the scholarship in the areas of subcultural formation, ritual and festival studies, the carnivalesque, bricolage, post-apocalypticism, and identity transformation. By exploring the personal motivations and communal attributes central to the Wastelander subculture, this thesis analyzes influences on cultural expression shaping the discussion surrounding the Wastelander identity and the underlying motivation behind attending Wasteland Weekend.