Seeing the Apocalypse: Essays on Bird Box is the first volume to explore Josh Malerman’s best-selling novel and its recent film adaptation. The essays in this collection offer an interdisciplinary approach to Bird Box, one that draws on the fields of gender studies, cultural studies, and disability studies.

Introduction: The Body’s Apocalyptic VulnerabilityBrandon Grafius and Gregory Stevenson1Bird Box and the Imperative of SightKen Junior Lipenga2Feeling the (Post)Apocalypse: The Affective Dimensions of Bird BoxRachel Elizabeth Barraclough3The Blind Leading the Blindfolded: Representing Disability in Contemporary Horror FilmsRebecca L. Willoughby4Making the End of the World Great Again: Birdbox, Borders, and the Refugee CrisisLeland Merritt5Mother, Monster Within/Monster, Mother Without: Bird Box and Maternal FearAmy Hagenrater-Gooding 6Bird Box, WR Bion, and the SublimeAndrew Slade7“It’s Too Bad We’re Not Horses”: The Animal as Witness in Bird BoxDragoslav Momcilovic8The Horror of Smartphones and Voice Assistants: Technophobia and Disability in Bird Box and A Quiet PlacePaul Muhlhauser and Marya Kuratova9Consumed by Memes: How Bird Box Reflects the Current Acceptance and Anxiety Toward Internet-Distributed Film and TelevisionHeidi Ippolito

Bird Box was more than just a popular Netflix film, it was a global phenomenon. Seeing the Apocalypse: Essays on Bird Box brings together an interdisciplinary group of scholars to shed light on the ways the film connected with social anxieties around disability, community, technology, and other issues. This volume provides invaluable insights into not only Bird Box but also the broader trend of apocalyptic horror in the 21st century.