Thursday 10 June 2010

AMERICAN SCIENCE FICTION FILM AND TELEVISION (BERG)

From Berg, publishers of the indispensable Visions of England by Paul Dave, comes this definitive and accessible critical history of late twentieth century American science fiction in movies and television.

In American Science Fiction Film and Television, film and media studies specialist Lincoln Geraghty explores one of the most popular genres on the big and small screens through the specificity of American production. And how its themes and trends reflect important historical, sociological and political events or phenomenons in American life, from the Cold War to after 9/11.

The interest of Geraghty's book is double: his work is a relevant analysis of how key moments of modern American history are echoed in essential sci-fi films or television series, and it is also an excellent introduction to on screen science fiction itself. A genre naturally dominated by American production as Hollywood is the leader of the Entertainment industry.

Lincoln Geraghty's developments are punctuated by boxed text critical presentations of aptly chosen movies or series which illustrate his themes: Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1956), The Twilight Zone (1959-1964), Star Trek (1966-1969), Soylent Green (1973), The Matrix (1999), Battlestar Galactica (2003-2009), etc. The author's exploration includes science fiction in 60s spy series or British TV production.

Particularly interesting are the chapter on dystopian Science Fiction, a clever look at Batteries not included (1987), or the emergence of Star Trek: The Next Generation (1987-1994) with the evolution of the American television industry at the end of the 80s. American Science Fiction Film and Television is built on a huge research work and can be enjoyed by fans, specialists, academics or simply by readers with a curiosity for the genre.

http://www.bergpublishers.com/?TabId=5230&v=1858270
http://us.macmillan.com/americansciencefictionfilmandtelevision
http://www.amazon.com/s/?index=books&keywords=1845207963&tag=macmillan-20

Visions of England:

http://tattard2.blogspot.com/2008/05/visions-of-england.html
http://www.bergpublishers.com/?tabid=2022

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