Post-apocalyptic settings hold a perennial allure. Whether it is our innate instinct for survival that makes imagining such scenarios so compelling or simply a fascination with destruction, desolate and dilapidated downtowns have become prevalent depictions on screen. Amazon Prime’s new series Fallout, the latest show adapted from a video game, is another addition to this venerable backdrop, seamlessly blending a dystopian future with the timeless appeal of mid-century aesthetics.
Fallout marries two favorites of moviegoers: the sleek, post-war mid-century design aesthetic and the bleak, dystopian wasteland of a post-apocalyptic civilization. This world is replete with radiation-afflicted mutants, roaming robots, and newly emerged factions of survivors vying for control over remnant resources.
The broad premise of this dystopian future centers on a post-nuclear war world divided into the Vault Dwellers and the survivors on the surface. The Vaults were a vast technological triumph developed by the shady tech firm Vault-Tec, which sought to capitalize on Cold War anxieties by selling dwellings in a network of impenetrable underground communities.
A prominent theme throughout the series is the blind trust people place in tech firms, heralding their growth and new products as self-evident boons for society with little critical thought. It’s hard to watch without drawing the obvious parallels to today’s flourishing field of artificial intelligence.
Walton Goggins portrays Cooper Howard, a famous Hollywood actor known for his roles in westerns and his ardor for outing communists. The story unfolds through interlaced vignettes, depicting events before and after the nuclear war that eradicated civilization. Howard serves as a bridge between these eras, having survived the blast and navigating the subsequent radiation-plagued aftermath as a bounty hunter.
Howard begins to doubt the altruism of the tech world when his wife, Barb (Frances Turner), a high-ranking official at Vault-Tec, becomes an evangelist for survival in a then-hypothetical post-nuclear world. She brags about securing a “top spot” for her family among the Vaults. At a family dinner, Howard questions the seemingly arbitrary and contradictory rules to the anti-communist freedoms he cherishes: “No dogs? Who makes the rules?”
Meanwhile, the spirit and soul of Fallout is Lucy (Ella Purnell). Born inside the Vault system in a post-nuclear-war world, she grew up in a technocratic society under the tutelage of clueless scientists. The Vault Dwellers, akin to a parody of aloof liberal politicians governing large urban cities such as San Francisco or New York, believe all of life’s problems can be distilled, reasoned, and solved scientifically. In an early scene, after imprisoning a group of raiders — surface dwellers who had clandestinely broken into the Vault and attempted to massacre everyone inside — the Vault leaders hold a public town hall, debating how to rehabilitate their would-be killers by teaching them Shakespeare or calculus.
When these raiders kidnap her father, Lucy bravely decides to venture to the surface to rescue him, gradually realizing how contrived and artificial her sheltered life in the Vault truly was. As any well-written character should, Lucy encounters a fleet of unknown obstacles and setbacks, making numerous mistakes as she acclimatizes to this brave new world. She isn’t some indestructible gunslinger; instead, she is portrayed with realistic vulnerability and growth, navigating the harsh realities of the wasteland with determination and resilience.
Among the show’s artistic triumphs is the way it juxtaposes a smooth and sinuous soundtrack of 1950s jazz music with an otherwise macabre aesthetic. Despite its lighthearted dialogue, when violence ensues (and it often does), it is bolded and capitalized. Fallout isn’t quite a gory horror fest, but it often makes most conventional war movies seem tame by comparison. The contrast between the serene, nostalgic music and the brutal, stark violence creates a unique and unsettling atmosphere that enhances the narrative’s effect.
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Adapting a video game for television poses myriad challenges. Unbound by linear narratives, video games are fully immersive experiences set in sprawling worlds where player decisions affect the storyline. There will always be people who disagree with a particular interpretation of Fallout because everyone plays the game differently; accordingly, “their Fallout” will always be different from someone else’s. This inherent variability makes it difficult to create a single adaptation that satisfies every fan’s unique experience.
However, Fallout navigates these challenges by focusing on universal themes and compelling mysteries. Questions about the ulterior motives of tech giants, the fate of the survivors on the surface, and the evolving dynamics between different factions create a narrative that is rich with intrigue and suspense. These lingering questions and mysteries grip players and compel them to keep playing. Or, in the case of its adaptation, leave you anxiously awaiting season two.
Harry Khachatrian (@Harry1T6) is a film critic for the Washington Examiner’s Beltway Confidential blog and a computer engineer in Toronto, pursuing his MBA.
