From Alien to The Matrix: Reading Science Fiction Film

Roz Kaveney9781850438052, 1850438056

Roz Kaveney, an expert in science fiction literature and film, has written an entertaining and enlightening new read on the genre. She explores the history of science fiction film and literature, the recurring themes and characters across the genre, development of special effects technology and the advent of CGI, the business and culture of movie franchises, and the legitimization of “geek culture” through the blockbuster successes of sci-fi movies. Films discussed include Dark City, Strange Days, the Star Wars series, the Terminator films, the Alien quartet, and Galaxy Quest.

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Table of contents :
EEn……Page 1
From Alien to the Matrix: Reading Science Fiction Film……Page 2
Copyright Info……Page 6
TOC……Page 7
Acknowledgements……Page 8
1. Waking into Dream – Competence Cascades, Thick Texts and the Universalization of the Greek Aesthetic……Page 9
2. Director as Parodist – Paul Verhoeven’s Starship Troopers……Page 17
3. Comedy 1 – Galaxy Quest……Page 29
4. The Decline and Fall of the Alien Invasion……Page 44
5. Comedy 2 – Small Soldiers and the Joke of the Robot……Page 59
6. Who Are You? Cognitive Dissonance and Lots of Really Big Guns……Page 69
7. The Mirrored Gaze – James Cameron’s and Kathryn Bigelow’s Strange Days……Page 89
8. Creation as Product – The Paradox of Franchises……Page 115
A Franchise Case Study – Alien and its sequels……Page 134
Alien – ‘We live, as we dream–alone.’……Page 135
Aliens – ‘Get away from her–you bitch.’……Page 152
Alien3 – ‘We set out to make a release date and not to make a movie.’–Jon Landau……Page 178
Alien Resurrection – ‘At least there’s part of you that’s human.’……Page 191
Index……Page 209
Index of Films……Page 207