Duarte, José2017-05-252017-05-252015BELLS – Belgrade English Language and Literature Studies. Vol. VII. Belgrade. 2015. 75-931821-31381821-4827http://hdl.handle.net/10451/27802‘Hitting the road’ has always been a significant act in the American culture, since it represents the opportunity for a new life. In most road movies, the road is often depicted either in a positive way or, in contrast, as the escape route for outlaws. Nevertheless, the road can similarly represent a place of violence and destruction, functioning ‘either as a utopian fantasy of homogeneity and national coherence, or as a dystopic nightmare’ (Cohan and Hark 1997: 3). The aim of this article is to analyze (post) apocalyptic road movies as critical dystopian narratives that present a horrific future while simultaneously functioning as a metaphor for the present, by pointing to dreadful, but possible alternative realities that, nonetheless, are not devoid of hope.engJourneyRoad movies(Post) apocalyptic cinemaScience fictionjournal article10.18485/bells.2015.7.4