Drone Visuals: Urban Wasteland and Apocalyptic Memory

Drones have been widely applied in citizen journalism and media communication. During the COVID-19 pandemic, videographers used drone cameras to document lockdown cities, with their footage going viral across social media. This study examines “ghost town” drone imagery as both a documentary witness to disaster and the expression of postapocalyptic vision mediated through nonhuman agency. By analyzing these visuals, I interrogate how drone documentation reveals an “apocalyptic memory”—a temporal bridge linking historical precedents to speculative futures. Central to this inquiry is how drone visuals construct urban wastelands while evoking mourning through a negative sublime, manifested in grotesque and uncanny aesthetics. In addition, I investigate how drone documentation demonstrates nonhuman agency through a relational framework, analyzing human–machine interactions and broader social dynamics. Grounded in these observations, the research engages with contemporary postapocalyptic imaginaries, particularly those reflecting existential anxieties stemming from environmental crises.