Americana at the end of the world: Defining American identity in the wastelands of the Fallout franchise

Fallout was first released as a video game in 1997. Since then, multiple successful sequels and spin-offs have been developed and released, and in 2024 Fallout was adapted into a television series by Amazon Prime. Exploring both the video game franchise and the television series, this article highlights two conflicting nostalgias which arise in Fallout : the idealization and replication of the 1950s, and rugged individualism based on reproductions of the cowboy era and the ‘old west’. This article explains the juxtaposition of the 1950s-esque vaults and the irradiated ‘wild west’ surface, and how Fallout uses satire to emphasize the nostalgic leanings of American culture. Approaching the franchise through critical nostalgia and cultural studies, this article argues that Fallout satirizes one form of nostalgia while enshrining another: in its searing parody of the glorification of the 1950s, it instead promotes rugged individualism, which is another nostalgic desire deeply rooted in US culture.