Louise O'Neill: Cannibalism, survival, and the idea of civilisation

"We can all guess at what we would do but until it actually happens, no one can know for sure"

Photo: Cathal Noonan

In the opening scene of the TV series Yellowjackets, a girl in a thin white nightdress is running through a snow-covered forest, tracking bloody footsteps behind her. There is an eerie sound of cawing and shrieking, coming closer and closer, until she falls into a deep pit. Impaled by the spikes hidden there, she dies. 

We’re not sure if she is fleeing or if she has been hunted, but by the end of the episode, we do know that her body is hanging upside down and drained of blood. It is roasted over a fire before eaten by other teen girls in pink Converse, animal skin robes, and antler crowns.