Horror and Science Fiction Cinema and Society
American Culture and Politics in the Cold War and After Through the Projector Lens
- 254 pages
- English
- ePUB (mobile friendly)
- Available on iOS & Android
Horror and Science Fiction Cinema and Society
American Culture and Politics in the Cold War and After Through the Projector Lens
About this book
Examining how horror and science fiction films from the 1950s to the present invent and explore fictional "us-versus-them" scenarios, this book analyzes the different ways such films employ allegory and/or satire to interrogate the causes and consequences of increasing polarization in American politics and society.
Starting with the killer ants film with an anti-communist subtext Them! (1954) and concluding with Jordan Peele's social horror film with revenge-seeking homicidal doppelgƤngers Us (2019), Martin Harris highlights social and political contexts, contemporary reviews and responses, and retrospective evaluations to show how American horror and science fiction films reflect and respond to contemporary conflicts marking various periods in U.S. history from post-WWII to the present, including those concerning race, gender, class, faith, political ideology, national identity, and other elements of American society.
Horror and Science Fiction Cinema and Society draws upon cinematic sociology to provide a resourceful approach to American horror and science fiction films that integrates discussion of plot construction and character development with analyses of the thematic uses of conflict, guiding readers' understanding of how filmmakers create otherworldly confrontations to deliver real-world social and political commentary.
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Table of contents
- Cover Page
- Half-Title Page
- Endorsements Page
- Title Page
- Copyright Page
- Dedication Page
- Contents
- Introduction: āUs vs. Themā in Society and on the Screen
- 1 Defending the American Way of Life Against Them!
- 2 Surrendering Selfhood in Invasion of the Body Snatchers
- 3 Legend or Monster? Judging The Last Man on Earth
- 4 See No Evil, Hear No Evil, Speak No Evil: Racial Antipathy in Planet of the Apes
- 5 Divided We Fall: Conflict and Crisis in Night of the Living Dead
- 6 Quarantine, Containment, and Covering Up in The Crazies
- 7 āJust Another Stageā: Mainstreaming Feminism and the Backlash in The Stepford Wives
- 8 The Enemy Within: Alienās Oppositions
- 9 A Cop Movie With Aliens: Self-Reflexivity in The Hidden
- 10 āWe All Sell Out Every Dayā: Trickle-Down Ideology in They Live
- 11 Foregrounding Fascism: Starship Troopers and Satirical Adaptation
- 12 In-Groups and Out-Groups: Monsters Within and Monsters Without in The Mist
- 13 Cloverfield, 9/11, and the New Normal
- 14 Get Out and the Struggle to Escape America's Post-Racial Lie
- 15 Unity on the Surface, Division Underneath: Exploring American Discord in Us
- Appendix: Other āUs vs. Themā Horror Sci-Fi Films
- Index