Projecting Tomorrow
Science Fiction and Popular Cinema
Published on 18. December 2012
Book
Hardback
272 pages
978-1-78076-409-2 (ISBN)
Description
Cinema and science fiction were made for each other. The science fiction genre has produced some of the most extraordinary films ever made, yet science fiction cinema is about more than just special effects. It has also provided a vehicle for filmmakers and writers to comment on their own societies and cultures. This new exploration of the genre examines landmark science fiction films from the 1930s to the present. They include genre classics such as "Things to Come", "Forbidden Planet" and "2001: A Space Odyssey" alongside modern blockbusters "Star Wars" and "Avatar". Chapman and Cull consider both screen originals and adaptations of the work of major science fiction authors. They also range widely across the genre from pulp adventure and space opera to political allegory and speculative documentary - there is even a science fiction musical. Informed throughout by extensive research in US and British archives, the book documents the production histories of each film to show how they made their way to the screen - and why they turned out the way they did.
Reviews / Votes
'I very much enjoyed the background that Chapman and Cull produced on these films. I managed to learn something new in every chapter. The authors did a masterful job in the selection of examples- a mix of the essential and the surprising- which nevertheless manage to cover many of the key periods in the genre's evolution on the screen. They make a strong case for why SF films need to be considered in their own right, and not simply as an extension of the literary version of the genre. All told, I suspect this book is going to be well received by fans and academics alike.' Henry Jenkins, co-author, Spreadable Media: Creating Value and Meaning in a Networked Culture.More details
Series
Language
English
Place of publication
United Kingdom
Publishing group
Bloomsbury Publishing PLC
Illustrations
24 bw integrated
Dimensions
Height: 234 mm
Width: 156 mm
ISBN-13
978-1-78076-409-2 (9781780764092)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions
E-Book
01/2013
1st Edition
I.B. Tauris
€29.99
Available for download
E-Book
01/2013
I.B. Tauris
€29.99
Available for download
Persons
James Chapman is Professor of Film Studies at the University of Leicester, UK. His previous books include The British at War: Cinema, State and Propaganda, 1939-1945(1998), and Licence To Thrill: A Cultural History of the James Bond Films (2nd edn 2007), both from I.B.Tauris. He is editor of the Historical Journal of Film, Radio and Television. Nicholas J. Cull is Professor of Public Diplomacy in the Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism at the University of Southern California in Los Angeles. His previous books include The Cold War and the United States Information Agency: American Propaganda and Public Diplomacy, 1945-1989(2008) and (with James Chapman), Projecting Empire: Imperialism and Popular Cinema (I.B.Tauris, 2009). He is president of the International Association for Media and History.
Content
Acknowledgements List of Illustrations Introduction 1. Dry Future: Just Imagine (1930) 2. The Prophet and the Showman: Things to Come (1936) 3. Screening Wells for Cold War America: The War of the Worlds (1953) 4. The British Invasions: The Quatermass Experiment (1955), Quatermass 2 (1957) and Quatermass and the Pit (1967) 5. Sex and the Single Robot: Forbidden Planet (1956) 6. The Watershed: 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968) 7. Monkey Business: Planet of the Apes (1968) 8. Stretching the Genre: The Hellstrom Chronicle (1971) 9. Future Imperfect: Logan's Run (1976) 10. No Time for Sorrows: Star Wars (1977) 11. Rustbelt Messiah: RoboCop (1987) 12. The Image as Hero: Avatar (2009) Afterword Filmography Index