American Science Fiction Film and Television [Paperback]

American Science Fiction Film and Television presents a critical history of late 20th Century SF together with an analysis of the cultural and thematic concerns of this popular genre.

Science fiction film and television were initially inspired by the classic literature of HG Wells and Jules Verne. The potential and fears born with the Atomic age fuelled the popularity of the genre, upping the stakes for both technology and apocalypse. From the Cold War through to America's current War on Terror, science fiction has proved a subtle vehicle for the hopes, fears and preoccupations of a nation at war.

The definitive introduction to American science fiction, this is also the first study to analyse SF across both film and TV. Throughout, the discussion is illustrated with critical case studies of key films and television series, including The Day the Earth Stood Still, Planet of the Apes, Star Trek: The Next Generation, The X-Files, and Battlestar Galactica.

Lincoln Geraghty is Principal Lecturer in Film Studies and Subject Leader for Media Studies in the School of Creative Arts, Film and Media at the University of Portsmouth. He is author of Living with Star Trek: American Culture and the Star Trek Universe, editor of The Influence of Star Trek on Television, Film and Culture, and co-editor of The Shifting Definitions of Genre: Essays on Labelling Films, Television Shows and Media.

Introduction: American Science Fiction Culture * Conflict and Consensus: The Cold War and the Space Race * Pushing the Frontiers of Reality: Science Fiction and the Counterculture * Unsettling Visions of America's Future Present: Dystopian Science Fiction * Hopes and Fears: Aliens, Cyborgs and the Science Fiction Blockbuster * Beyond Truth and Reason: Politics and Identity in Science Fiction * American Science Fiction Post 9/11* Filmography * Bibliography * Index

Using both film and television, Geraghty deftly explores the ways science fiction has debated US ideologilãI