Industrial Society And The Science Fiction Blockbuster

Author : Mark T. Decker
Publisher : McFarland
Page : 217 pages
File Size : 54,5 Mb
Release : 2016-02-23
Category : Performing Arts
ISBN : 9780786499113

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Industrial Society and the Science Fiction Blockbuster by Mark T. Decker Pdf

Can blockbuster films be socially relevant or are they just escapist diversions to entertain the masses and enrich the studios? Not every successful film contains thoughtful commentary, but some that are marketed as pure entertainment do seriously engage social issues. Popular science fiction films of the late 1970s and early 1980s--such as George Lucas' Star Wars trilogy, Ridley Scott's Alien and Aliens, and James Cameron's Terminator films--present a critique of our engagement with technology in a way that resonates with 1960s counterculture. As challengers of the status quo's technological underpinnings, Luke Skywalker, Ellen Ripley and Sarah Connor echo the once-popular social criticism of philosopher Herbert Marcuse and speak directly to the concerns of people living in a technologically complex society. The films of Lucas, Scott and Cameron made money but also made us think about the world we live in.

Author : Mark T. Decker
Publisher : McFarland
Page : 217 pages
File Size : 49,9 Mb
Release : 2016-03-01
Category : Performing Arts
ISBN : 9781476623870

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Industrial Society and the Science Fiction Blockbuster by Mark T. Decker Pdf

Can blockbuster films be socially relevant or are they just escapist diversions to entertain the masses and enrich the studios? Not every successful film contains thoughtful commentary, but some that are marketed as pure entertainment do seriously engage social issues. Popular science fiction films of the late 1970s and early 1980s--such as George Lucas' Star Wars trilogy, Ridley Scott's Alien and Aliens, and James Cameron's Terminator films--present a critique of our engagement with technology in a way that resonates with 1960s counterculture. As challengers of the status quo's technological underpinnings, Luke Skywalker, Ellen Ripley and Sarah Connor echo the once-popular social criticism of philosopher Herbert Marcuse and speak directly to the concerns of people living in a technologically complex society. The films of Lucas, Scott and Cameron made money but also made us think about the world we live in.

Author : Scott Donahue-Martens,Brandon Simonson
Publisher : Lexington Books
Page : 209 pages
File Size : 51,5 Mb
Release : 2022-09-08
Category : Religion
ISBN : 9781978713307

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Theology, Religion, and Dystopia by Scott Donahue-Martens,Brandon Simonson Pdf

Dystopia, from the Greek dus and topos “bad place,” is a revelatory genre and concept that has experienced a meteoric rise in popularity at the start of the twenty-first century. This book addresses approaches to the study of dystopia from the academic fields of theology and religious studies. Following a co-written chapter where Scott Donahue-Martens and Brandon Simonson argue that dystopia can be understood as demythologized apocalyptic, ten unique contributions each engage a work of popular culture, such as a book, movie, or television show. Topics across chapters range from the critical function of dystopia, social location and identity, violence, apocalypse and the end of everything, sacrifice, catharsis, and dystopian existentialism. This volume responds to the need for theological and religious reflection on dystopia in a world increasingly threatened by climate change, pandemics, and global war.

Author : Shawn Malley
Publisher : Liverpool Science Fiction Text
Page : 248 pages
File Size : 51,7 Mb
Release : 2018
Category : Literary Criticism
ISBN : 9781786941190

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Excavating the Future by Shawn Malley Pdf

A cultural study of an array of popular North American science fiction film and television texts, Excavating the Future explores the popular archaeological imagination and the political uses to which it is being employed by the U.S. state and its adversaries.

Author : Nathan Abrams,Gregory Frame
Publisher : Oxford University Press
Page : 281 pages
File Size : 48,5 Mb
Release : 2023-03-27
Category : Performing Arts
ISBN : 9780197556023

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Alien Legacies by Nathan Abrams,Gregory Frame Pdf

The 1979 film Alien has left an indelible mark on popular culture. Directed by Ridley Scott, at the time known primarily for making advertisements, and starring then-unknown actor Sigourney Weaver in the lead role, it transcended its humble origins to shock and disturb audiences upon its initial release. Its success has led to three direct sequels, two prequels, one "mashup" franchise, a series of comic books, graphic novels, novelizations, games, and an enormous and devoted fanbase. For forty years, Alien and its progeny have animated debate and discussion among critics and academics from a wide variety of fields and methodological perspectives. This book brings together scholars from diverse disciplinary backgrounds to explore Alien through a contemporary lens. The chapters here demonstrate the extent to which its effects and reception are deeply multifaceted, with the Alien franchise straddling the lines between "high" and "low" culture, playing with generic categories, crossing media boundaries, and animating theoretical, critical, and political debates. Chapters touch on female agency and motherhood, the influence of H.R. Giger, the viscerality of Alien's body horror, the narrative tradition of the Female Gothic, the patriarchal gaze in the Alien video games, and the rise of in-universe online marketing campaigns. In so doing, the volume aims to debate Alien's legacy, consider its current position within visual culture, and establish what the series means--and why it still matters--forty years since its birth.

Author : Lisa Maurice,Tovi Bibring
Publisher : Bloomsbury Publishing
Page : 265 pages
File Size : 44,8 Mb
Release : 2022-01-13
Category : Social Science
ISBN : 9781350212848

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Gender, Creation Myths and their Reception in Western Civilization by Lisa Maurice,Tovi Bibring Pdf

This volume offers an instructive comparative perspective on the Judaic, Christian, Greek and Roman myths about the creation of humans in relation to each other, as well as a broad overview of their enduring relevance in the modern Western world and its conceptions of gender and identity. Taking the idea that the way in which a society regards humanity, and especially the roots of humanity, is crucial to an understanding of that society, it presents the different models for the creation and nature of mankind, and their changing receptions over a range of periods and places. It thereby demonstrates that the myths reflect fundamental continuities, evolutions and developments across cultures and societies: in no context are these more apparent than with regard to gender. Chapters explore the role of gender in Graeco-Roman and Judaeo-Christian creation myths and their reception traditions, demonstrating how perceptions of 'male' and 'female' dating back to antiquity have become embedded in, and significantly influenced, subsequent perceptions of gender roles. Focusing on the figures of Prometheus, Pandora, Adam and Eve and their instantiations in a broad range of narratives and media from antiquity to the present day, they examine how variations on these myths reflect the concerns of the societies producing them and the malleability of the stories as they are recast to fit different contexts and different audiences.

Author : Paol Anderson
Publisher : Simon and Schuster
Page : 43 pages
File Size : 40,7 Mb
Release : 2014-09-03
Category : Fiction
ISBN : 9781633557178

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Industrial Revolution by Paol Anderson Pdf

Industrial Revolution is a great adventure of interstellar mining, intrigue, and the petty politics and rampant passions of man, which cannot be left behind when he ventures to make his fortune in deep space. Deftly accompanied by the illustrations of Leo Summers, Industrial Revolution gives us everything we came to love from the great 1960s SF adventures: brave men, beautiful women, strange worlds, and a little bit of the unexpected.

Author : Geoff King
Publisher : Bloomsbury Publishing
Page : 224 pages
File Size : 41,7 Mb
Release : 2000-11-24
Category : Social Science
ISBN : 9780857716972

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Spectacular Narratives by Geoff King Pdf

What is the appeal of the contemporary Hollywood blockbuster? The sheer scale and impact of big special effects sequences is part of the attraction of films such as Independence Day, Jurassic Park, Titanic or Mission Impossible. But they also offer other appeals, including the dynamics of narrative. Spectacular Narratives is the first serious book-length treatment of the contemporary blockbuster, including the digital-effects-based spectacle, space fictions, the action film, war spectaculars, the recent wave of disaster movies and films evoking new technologies such as virtual reality. Consideration is also given to the impact of profitable spin-offs such as film-related theme park rides and computer games. Geoff King argues against the view that an emphasis on the spectacular has led to an erosion of the importance of narrative in Hollywood. Instead, he suggests, even the most spectacular and effects-led contemporary blockbuster offers a blend of appeals, mixing elements of spectacle and narrative. Narrative is explored at the levels of both linear story-telling and underlying thematic patterns, a particular emphasis being placed on the persistence of elements of the myth/ideology of the American frontier. Close textual analysis is combined with consideration of the industrial and social contexts of contemporary Hollywood in a readable, original and rewarding book on the cinema that dominates markets across the globe.

Author : David Siegel Bernstein
Publisher : Prometheus Books
Page : 338 pages
File Size : 44,7 Mb
Release : 2017-10-10
Category : Science
ISBN : 9781633883703

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Blockbuster Science by David Siegel Bernstein Pdf

If you've ever wondered how much real science goes into movies like Gravity, novels like The Martian, and television shows like Doctor Who, this is the book for you. Written by an author who is both a data scientist and a science fiction writer, this entertaining and accessible book uses popular science fiction movies, stories, and TV shows to explain the science behind popular narrative concepts like time travel, lightsabers, AI, genetic mutation, asteroids, cyborgs, black holes, alien invasion, the zombie apocalypse, and more. What could be a more fun way to explore the world of science than through its use—accurately or fantastically—in science fiction entertainment: movies, books, and TV shows? Learn about relativity through Orson Scott Card's Ender's Game and the movie Interstellar; black holes and wormholes in connection with Contact and Planet of the Apes; theories about the origin of life as reflected in Battlestar Galactica, Star Trek: The Next Generation, and The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy; computer science and artificial intelligence in reference to A.I. Artificial Intelligence; and much, much, more. Written with wit, clarity, and a great sense of fun, Blockbuster Science will inspire science fiction fans to get excited about real science while also putting an engaging pop culture spin on science for any curious reader.

Author : David Siegel Bernstein
Publisher : Rowman & Littlefield
Page : 392 pages
File Size : 53,5 Mb
Release : 2017-10-10
Category : Science
ISBN : 9781633883703

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Blockbuster Science by David Siegel Bernstein Pdf

If you've ever wondered how much real science goes into movies like Gravity, novels like The Martian, and television shows like Doctor Who, this is the book for you. Written by an author who is both a data scientist and a science fiction writer, this entertaining and accessible book uses popular science fiction movies, stories, and TV shows to explain the science behind popular narrative concepts like time travel, lightsabers, AI, genetic mutation, asteroids, cyborgs, black holes, alien invasion, the zombie apocalypse, and more.What could be a more fun way to explore the world of science than through its use-accurately or fantastically-in science fiction entertainment: movies, books, and TV shows?Learn about relativity through Orson Scott Card's Ender's Game and the movie Interstellar; black holes and wormholes in connection with Contact and Planet of the Apes; theories about the origin of life as reflected in Battlestar Galactica, Star Trek: The Next Generation, and The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy; computer science and artificial intelligence in reference to A.I. Artificial Intelligence; and much, much, more.Written with wit, clarity, and a great sense of fun, Blockbuster Science will inspire science fiction fans to get excited about real science while also putting an engaging pop culture spin on science for any curious reader.

Author : Sean Redmond
Publisher : Columbia University Press
Page : 369 pages
File Size : 55,7 Mb
Release : 2005-01-19
Category : Performing Arts
ISBN : 9780231501842

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Liquid Metal by Sean Redmond Pdf

Liquid Metal brings together 'seminal' essays that have opened up the study of science fiction to serious critical interrogation. Eight distinct sections cover such topics as the cyborg in science fiction; the science fiction city; time travel and the primal scene; science fiction fandom; and the 1950s invasion narratives. Important writings by Susan Sontag, Vivian Sobchack, Steve Neale, J.P. Telotte, Peter Biskind and Constance Penley are included.

Author : Andrew Maynard
Publisher : Mango
Page : 256 pages
File Size : 52,9 Mb
Release : 2018-11-15
Category : Science
ISBN : 1633539075

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Films from the Future by Andrew Maynard Pdf

Hard Science Fiction Films that Predict the Future--#1 Amazon New Release Dr. Andrew Maynard, physicist and leading expert on socially responsible development of emerging and converging technologies, brings science fiction movies to life. Films from the Future analyzes what society once thought was impossible, threading together advances in science and technology that are radically changing our world and have the potential to impact our lives in unknown and unpredictable ways. Over the last half-century, humanity has seen technology grow at an alarming pace. The jump from room-filling processors to pocket-size super computers is just the beginning. Artificial intelligence, gene manipulation, cloning, and inter-planet travel are all ideas that seemed like fairy tales but a few years ago. And now their possibility is very much here. But are we ready to handle these advances? As Maynard explains, "What these movies do rather well is provide us with a glimpse around the corner of our collective near future, to help us see what might be coming down the pike and start thinking how we might respond to it. Viewed in the right way--and with a good dose of critical thinking--science fiction movies can help us think about and prepare for the social consequences of technologies we don't yet have, but that are coming faster than we imagine." Films from the Future looks at twelve movies that take readers on a journey through the worlds of biological and genetic manipulation, human enhancement, cyber technologies, and nanotechnology. Readers will gain a broader understanding of the complex relationship between science and society. The movies mix old and new, and the familiar and unfamiliar, to provide a unique, entertaining, and ultimately transformative take on the power of emerging technologies, and the responsibilities they come with. Films from the Future is an essential guide to navigating a future dominated by complex and powerful new technologies.

Author : David S. Roh,Betsy Huang,Greta A. Niu
Publisher : Rutgers University Press
Page : 0 pages
File Size : 45,7 Mb
Release : 2015-04-17
Category : Performing Arts
ISBN : 9780813575551

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Techno-Orientalism by David S. Roh,Betsy Huang,Greta A. Niu Pdf

What will the future look like? To judge from many speculative fiction films and books, from Blade Runner to Cloud Atlas, the future will be full of cities that resemble Tokyo, Hong Kong, and Shanghai, and it will be populated mainly by cold, unfeeling citizens who act like robots. Techno-Orientalism investigates the phenomenon of imagining Asia and Asians in hypo- or hyper-technological terms in literary, cinematic, and new media representations, while critically examining the stereotype of Asians as both technologically advanced and intellectually primitive, in dire need of Western consciousness-raising. The collection’s fourteen original essays trace the discourse of techno-orientalism across a wide array of media, from radio serials to cyberpunk novels, from Sax Rohmer’s Dr. Fu Manchu to Firefly. Applying a variety of theoretical, historical, and interpretive approaches, the contributors consider techno-orientalism a truly global phenomenon. In part, they tackle the key question of how these stereotypes serve to both express and assuage Western anxieties about Asia’s growing cultural influence and economic dominance. Yet the book also examines artists who have appropriated techno-orientalist tropes in order to critique racist and imperialist attitudes. Techno-Orientalism is the first collection to define and critically analyze a phenomenon that pervades both science fiction and real-world news coverage of Asia. With essays on subjects ranging from wartime rhetoric of race and technology to science fiction by contemporary Asian American writers to the cultural implications of Korean gamers, this volume offers innovative perspectives and broadens conventional discussions in Asian American Cultural studies.

Author : Anonim
Publisher : Unknown
Page : 674 pages
File Size : 48,5 Mb
Release : 2004
Category : Philology, Modern
ISBN : MINN:31951P009075469

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Publications of the Modern Language Association of America by Anonim Pdf

Author : Andrew Maynard
Publisher : Mango Media Inc.
Page : 246 pages
File Size : 48,8 Mb
Release : 2018-11-15
Category : Performing Arts
ISBN : 9781633539068

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Films from the Future by Andrew Maynard Pdf

“Deftly shows how a seemingly frivolous film genre can guide us in shaping tomorrow’s world.” —Seth Shostak, senior astronomer, SETI Institute Artificial intelligence, gene manipulation, cloning, and interplanetary travel are all ideas that seemed like fairy tales but a few years ago. And now their possibilities are very much here. But are we ready to handle these advances? This book, by a physicist and expert on responsible technology development, reveals how science fiction movies can help us think about and prepare for the social consequences of technologies we don’t yet have, but that are coming faster than we imagine. Films from the Future looks at twelve movies that take us on a journey through the worlds of biological and genetic manipulation, human enhancement, cyber technologies, and nanotechnology. Readers will gain a broader understanding of the complex relationship between science and society. The movies mix old and new, and the familiar and unfamiliar, to provide a unique, entertaining, and ultimately transformative take on the power of emerging technologies, and the responsibilities they come with.