Science Fiction Film

Science Fiction Film develops a historical and cultural approach to the genre that moves beyond close readings of iconography and formal conventions. It explores how this increasingly influential genre has been constructed from disparate elements into a hybrid genre.*

Science Fiction Film goes beyond a textual exploration of these films to place them within a larger network of influences that includes studio politics and promotional discourses. The book also challenges the perceived limits of the genre - it includes a wide range of films, from canonical SF, such as *Le voyage dans la lune, Star Wars and Blade Runner, to films that stretch and reshape the definition of the genre. This expansion of generic focus offers an innovative approach for students and fans of science fiction alike.

Autorentext

Keith M. Johnston is Lecturer in Film and Television Studies at the University of East Anglia and author of Coming Soon: Film Trailers and the Selling of Hollywood Technology.

Inhalt

Introduction

Section 1: What is Science Fiction?

1. Genre Theory and Science Fiction
2. Reading Science Fiction
3. Science Fiction and Technology

Section 2: Genre History

4. Pre-History, 1895-1950
5. Defining the Genre, 1950-70
6. Science Fiction as Blockbuster, 1970-90
7. Science Fiction as Mainstream, 1990-2010

Section 3: Selling Science Fiction

8. 'Adventure Dramas of the Future': Advertising Genre
9. Genre and Spectacle: The Science Fiction Trailer
10. Audience and Genre: Science Fiction and the Internet

Conclusion
*Annotated Guide to Further Reading
*Selected Filmography
*Bibliography
*Index