From viral outbreaks that reanimate corpses to chronic resource scarcity brought upon by Mankind’s avarice to play God, apocalyptic discourses have served as thought experiments wherein the structures and peace of the world as we know it crumbles apart. Before this bleak despairing landscape, people are reduced to raw survival instincts and the human condition is hence revealed. Through the medium of apocalyptic texts, we are not only able to reflect on the present, but also explore the trajectory of humans by identifying the objects that society values the most.

In pursuit of truly understanding the behaviours, hopes and fears of contemporary society, perhaps we must stray away from these fantastical scenarios of alien invasion and belligerent robots, and instead turn our attention to the visceral apocalypse of the Self. Rather than the environment around us, what if the destruction occurs on our physical body?

The term “disability” implies a condition of being less than, carrying the notion that something is wrong. “Weakness”, “dependence” and “incompetence” are other words that come to mind, revealing an able-bodied audience’s fear of disability. With its selection of and careful textual analysis of films that feature the loss of senses, this issue aims to explore how in apocalyptic contexts we can adapt to this loss, and even reclaim it as source of empowerment.

What does the loss of sight signify? Ashley How first explores how Bird Box (2018) explores visual disability, and how it exposes rampant societal stigmas against the blind and those suffering from mental health issues. However, through the notion of voluntary blindness and intentional loss of sight, this article on Bird Box explores changing new perceptions of disabilities, thus allowing for a reclamation of profound messages of empowerment as well as a criticism of the condition of current society.

Similarly, Gail Yan extends the idea of a changing societal perception regarding the loss of hearing in A Quiet Place (2018). When noise results in death, does deafness become more of a strength than a weakness? The film gradually blurs the line of distinction between the abled and disabled body in the apocalyptic environment, creating a paradox which then raises the question: what exactly constitutes an “abled” body?

He Ziqi hence builds upon this complex notion of an “abled” body in Mad Max: Fury Road (2015). In the exploration of the ‘Crip Theory’, she challenges the notion that Furiosa’s loss of her arm defines and stigmatizes her as a disabled individual. Hence, this article posits a more fluid definition of ‘normalcy’ and argues for a more inclusive society.

Lastly, Shona Tan examines the extensive loss of senses such as smell, taste, hearing and sight in Perfect Sense (2011) and the extent of the relationship between physical senses and human emotions. In a world where everyone simultaneously loses their senses, how does life go on? This article hence analyses how human connection via touch offers a form of reclamation of empowerment and meaning despite widespread loss.

Through these four articles, we seek to ultimately shed light on the stigma that disabled individuals face according to society’s current understanding. By subverting physical limitations to become a source of strength, redefining what constitutes ‘ability’ or ‘normalcy’, and presenting an optimistic response of adaptation in the wake of the loss of physical sense, we hope to better understand how sensory losses in the apocalyptic contexts can be reclaimed as sources of empowerment.