Aliens
A Companion
Published on 31. October 2024
Book
Paperback/Softback
326 pages
978-1-80079-895-3 (ISBN)
Description
This book is the first of its kind to explore the role of aliens in popular culture from a global and multidisciplinary perspective. Space aliens are everywhere: from cinematic franchises, such as Star Wars, to bestselling novels; from religious cults to conspiracy theories; from UFO subcultures to SETI deep-space explorations. But until now, there has never been a comprehensive analysis of the role and significance of alien representations in popular culture across the globe. This book fills this gap. It discusses images of extraterrestrial intelligence in science fiction literature, cinema and video games. It addresses issues such aliens and media, the relationship between aliens and posthumanity, aliens and gender, and aliens in/as religion. Ranging from The War of the Worlds to Star Trek, and from India to Latin America, Africa to China, this collection offers a fresh look at the intriguing cultural phenomenon of our growing fascination with extraterrestrial life.
More details
Series
Edition
New edition
Language
English
Place of publication
Oxford
United Kingdom
Target group
Professional and scholarly
Edition type
New edition
Product notice
Paperback (trade)
Illustrations
36 Illustrations
Dimensions
Height: 229 mm
Width: 152 mm
Thickness: 18 mm
Weight
452 gr
ISBN-13
978-1-80079-895-3 (9781800798953)
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Persons
Elana Gomel is an academic, specialising in narratology of speculative fiction, and an award-winning fiction writer. Her academic books include Science Fiction, Alien Encounters, and the Ethics of Posthumanism: Beyond the Golden Rule (2014), The Palgrave Handbook of Global Fantasy (2023), and Serial Killers and Serial Spectators (2024).
Simon Bacon is a writer and film critic based in Poznan, Poland. He has written and edited over thirty books, including Horror: A Companion (2019), Eco-Vampires (2020), The Undead in the 21st Century: A Companion (2022) and The Palgrave Handbook of the Vampire (2024). He is the Series Editor for Genre Fiction and Film Companions and Vampire Studies: New Perspectives on the Undead with Peter Lang.
Content
Contents: Kevin J. Wetmore, Jr: "Christus Apollo" (Ray Bradbury, [1969] 1971) - Aliens and Salvation - Sandra Aline Wagner: The Sinking City (Frogwares, 2019) - Lovecraft's Aliens and Climate Crisis - Jaroslaw Boruszewski: "New Cosmogony" (Stanislaw Lem, 1979) - Lem's "Alienomorphic" Model of Communication - Esteban Vera Campillay: Starcraft Saga (Blizzard, 2010-2017) - The Xel'Naga and Perfection in Creation - Dimitra Nikolaidou: Project Fractal (Kostas Charitos, 2009) - Aliens at the Acropolis - Jonathan Hay: Binti (Nnedi Okorafor, 2015) - Africanfuturism and the Meduse - Silvia G. Kurlat Ares: Latin American Science Fiction (Various, 1871-present) - Aliens in the Latin American Imagination - Debaditya Mukhopadhyay: PK (Rajkumar Hirani, 2014) - Close Encounters with Bigots and Intolerance - Carl Wilson: Half-Life (Valve, 1998-2020) - Aliens in Gaming - Shawn Edrei: XCOM: Chimera Squad (Firaxis, 2020) - Roleplaying the Alien - Laura Thursby: "The War of the Worlds" (Orson Welles, 1940) - A Fantastic Alien Invasion - Henri Pitkaenen: Solo: A Star Wars Story (Ron Howard, 2018) - The Musical Alien - Lyle Rexer: H. R. Giger (1940-2014) - A Fur Teacup with Teeth - Fernando Gabriel Pagnoni Berns and Jorge Traversa: Alien Abduction: Incident in Lake County (Dean Alioto, 1998) - Adaption and the Alien - Teresa Cutler- Broyles: The Orions (Star Trek, 1966-2020) - Slave Girls in Space - Natalija Majsova: Per Aspera Ad Astra (Richard Viktorov, 1980) - The Non-Sentimental Female Alien - Shweta Basu: Kirk and Spock (1967-present) - Slash, Aliens and Desire - Charmaine Tanti: I, Vampire ( Jody Scott, 1984) - Lesbians, Vampires and Aliens - Melody Blackmore and Catherine Pugh: Starship Troopers (Paul Verhoeven, 1997) - Militarism and Dehumanisation - Anton Karl Kozlovic: The Day the Earth Stood Still (Robert Wise, 1951) - Alienating the Aliens - Paeivi Vaeaetaenen: The Ballad of Beta- 2 (Samuel R. Delany, 1964) - Representations of Race - Tommaso Remia: "The Dance of the Changer and the Three" (Terry Carr, 1973) - Posthuman (Un)translatability - Alec Charles: The Doctor (Various, 1963-present) - Loving the Alien - Sergio Fernandez Martinez: No Word from Gurb (Eduardo Mendoza, 1990 [Trans. 2007]) - Laughing with the Alien - Joan Ormrod: The War of the Worlds Adaptations (2013-2015) - Real Aliens and Post-Truth - Anik Sarkar: Save Yourselves! (Alex Huston Fischer and Eleanor Mitchell, 2020) - The Familiar and the (Un)tellurian Other - Owen Morawitz: Arrival (Denis Villeneuve, 2016) - Aliens Outside Time - Ildiko Limpar: Chaos Walking Trilogy (Patrick Ness, 2008-2010) - Rejecting the Anthropocene.