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Abstract

This paper examines strategies for surviving world catastrophes as portrayed in science fiction novels and films. Sci-fi is treated as a mirror of shifting social attitudes toward global threats. By analysing survivor characters, the paper asks: who is more likely to survive a catastrophe, and under what circumstances? Covering works from 1945 to the present in the US and UK, the study considers three types of global catastrophe—nuclear, biological, and environmental. Findings reveal a shift from collective and governmental responses to individual strategies, and from reliance on planning to the ability to cope with unexpected events.