Paul Meehan
Print ISBN: 978-0-7864-3325-4
Ebook ISBN: (isbn not yet available)
64 photos, filmography, notes, bibliography, index
272pp. hardcover (7 x 10) 2008
Price: $55.00
Description
This critical study traces the common origins of film noir and science fiction films, identifying the many instances in which the two have merged to form a distinctive subgenre known as Tech-Noir. From the German Expressionist cinema of the late 1920s to the present-day cyberpunk movement, the book examines more than 100 films in which the common noir elements of crime, mystery, surrealism, and human perversity intersect with the high technology of science fiction. The author also details the hybrid subgenre’s considerable influences on contemporary music, fashion, and culture.
Table of Contents
Acknowledgments vi
Preface 1
1. Things to Come Seen Through a Scanner Darkly: The World of Tech-Noir 3
2. Metropolis of the Homunculus: The German Silent and Early Sound Period, 1916–1932 19
3. Mad Doctors and Mobsters: American Sci-Fi/Horror Films, 1932–1949 47
4. Atom-Age Noir: Tech-Noir and Film Noir in the Atomic Fifties, 1950–1961 88
5. Eating Soylent Green in Alphaville: Genesis of a Subgenre, 1961–1979 115
6. Blade Runners, Terminators and Neuromancers: Cyberpunk Cinema, 1980–1989 150
7. Masters of the Matrix: The Triumph of Black Tech, 1990–2006 192
Conclusion
Genre Splice: Night and the Mega-City 235
Filmography 239
Chapter Notes 249
Bibliography 251
Index 253
About the Author
Paul Meehan has also written on UFOs in cinema, and is a contributor to the Noir City Sentinel, the journal of the Film Noir Foundation. He lives in San Francisco.
Paul Meehan
Print ISBN: 978-0-7864-3966-9
Ebook ISBN: (isbn not yet available)
68 photos, filmography, notes, bibliography, index
238pp. softcover 2009
Price: $39.95
Description
Cinema is ideally suited to the world of psychic phenomena. A technique as simple as a voice-over can simulate mental telepathy, while unusual lighting, set design, or creative digital manipulation can conjure clairvoyant visions, precognition, or even psychokinesis.
This book analyzes the depiction of paranormal powers in film, examining how movies like Star Wars, Independence Day, The Green Mile, and dozens of others both reflect and influence the way modern society thinks about psychic abilities. The theme is explored in nearly 100 films from a variety of genres including drama, comedy, horror, science fiction, crime melodrama, and children’s films, providing a concise review of the history and concepts of mainstream cinematic parapsychology.
Table of Contents
Preface 1
1. A Brief History of the Paranormal in Fact and Fiction 9
2. Early Paranormal Films 26
3. ESP in Drama, Comedy and Children’s Films 37
4. Paranormal Crime and Melodrama 59
5. The Dark Side of ESP: Horror and Fantasy 75
6. Alien ESP 106
7. Psi-Fi: Psychic Science Fiction Blockbusters 141
8. Remote Viewing, Black Psi-Ops and Paranoia 177
Conclusion 206
Filmography 211
Chapter Notes 219
Bibliography 221
Index 223
About the Author
Paul Meehan has also written on UFOs in cinema, and is a contributor to the Noir City Sentinel, the journal of the Film Noir Foundation. He lives in San Francisco.
Farah Mendlesohn
Series Editors Donald E. Palumbo and C.W. Sullivan III
Print ISBN: 978-0-7864-3503-6
Ebook ISBN: (isbn not yet available)
appendices, notes, bibliography, index
283pp. softcover 2009
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Price: $45.00
Description
Science fiction is often considered the genre of ideas and imagination, which would seem to make it ideal for juveniles and young adults; however, the ideas are often dispensed by adults. This book considers the development of science fiction for children and teens between 1950 and 2010, exploring why it differs from science fiction aimed at adults. In a broader sense, this critical examination of 400 texts sheds light on changing attitudes toward children and teenagers, toward science education, and toward the authors’ expectations and sociological views of their audience.
Table of Contents
Acknowledgments vii
Introduction 1
1. What Do We Mean When We Say “Science Fiction”? 9
2. Red Herrings and Living-Room Elephants: How We Understand Children and Children’s Reading 22
3. Science, Information Density and the SF Reader 49
4. Trajectories and Periodicity: Expectations of the Child in Science Fiction 83
5. Socialization and the Gendered (Future) Society 112
6. You Gotta Have a Theme; or, the Paucity of Plots 135
7. Best Practice Now 175
Appendix A. Index to Out of this World 199
Appendix B. The Survey Questionnaire 203
Appendix C. Analysis of the Survey, by Zara Baxter and Farah Mendlesohn 205
Appendix D. The Golden Age of Science Fiction Is Three: Science Fiction Picture Books 228
Chapter Notes 243
Bibliography 249
Index 263
About the Author
Farah Mendlesohn teaches science fiction and fantasy literature at Middlesex University in London. Donald E. Palumbo is a professor of English at East Carolina University in Greenville, North Carolina. He lives in Greenville. C.W. Sullivan III is in the English department at East Carolina University in Greenville, North Carolina.
Edited by Donald E. Morse and Kalman Matolcsy
Series Editors Donald E. Palumbo and C.W. Sullivan III
Foreword by Brian Aldiss
Print ISBN: 978-0-7864-4942-2
Ebook ISBN: (isbn not yet available)
index
[192]pp. softcover 2011
Price: $35.00
Not Yet Published, Available Spring/Summer 2011
Description
Robert Holdstock was a prolific writer whose oeuvre included horror, fantasy, mystery and the novelization of films, often published under pseudonyms. These twelve critical essays explore the varied output of Holdstock by displaying his works against the backdrop of folk and fairy tales, dissecting their spaciotemporal order, and examining them as psychic fantasies of our unconscious life or as exempla of the sublime. The individual novels of the Mythago Wood sequence are explored, as is Holdstock’s early science fiction and the Merlin Codex series.
About the Author
Donald E. Morse is a professor at the University of Debrecen and is Emeritus professor at the University of Oakland in Michigan. He is the author of a dozen books and over 100 scholarly articles. Kalman Matolcsy is a translator, poet, composer, and also a professor at the University of Debrecen. He has written numerous scholarly articles on the literature of horror, fantasy and science fiction.
Donald E. Palumbo is a professor of English at East Carolina University in Greenville, North Carolina. He lives in Greenville. C.W. Sullivan III is in the English department at East Carolina University in Greenville, North Carolina.
Marek Oziewicz
Series Editors Donald E. Palumbo and C.W. Sullivan III
Foreword by Brian Attebery
Print ISBN: 978-0-7864-3135-9
Ebook ISBN: (isbn not yet available)
notes, bibliography, index
271pp. softcover 2008
Description
This work presents the genre of mythopoeic fantasy from a holistic perspective, arguing that this central genre of fantasy literature is largely misunderstood as a result of decades of incomplete and reductionist literary studies. The author asserts that mythopoeic fantasy is not only the most complete literary expression of a worldview based on the existence of supernatural or spiritual powers but that the genre is in a unique position to transform social consciousness with a renewed emphasis on anticipating the future. The author lays out theoretical foundations for his argument in the first four chapters and then demonstrates how the works of fantasy authors Ursula K. LeGuin, Lloyd Alexander, Madeleine L’Engle, and Orson Scott Card exemplify his argument in the remaining four chapters.
Table of Contents
Acknowledgments v
Foreword by Brian Attebery 1
Introduction 3
1. The Confusion over Fantasy and the Confusions of the Theoretical Era 13
2. Reductionist and Holistic Criticisms in a Battle of Worldviews 39
3. Mythopoeic Fantasy as a Modern Genre 65
4. Twentieth-Century Rehabilitation of Myth and the Search for a New Story 91
5. Rediscovering Harmony: Ursula K. Le Guin’s Earthsea Sequence (1964–2001) 118
6. Bridging the Past with the Future: Lloyd Alexander’s Prydain Chronicles (1964–1973) 144
7. Integrating Science and Spirituality: Madeleine L’Engle’s Time Quartet (1962–1986) 171
8. Reconnecting with Nature: Orson Scott Card’s Tales of Alvin Maker (1987–2003) 198
Conclusion 225
Chapter Notes 229
Works Cited 245
Index 259
About the Author
Marek Oziewicz is assistant professor of literature and director of the Center for Children’s and Young Adult Fiction at the Institute of English Studies, University of Wroclaw in Poland.
Donald E. Palumbo is a professor of English at East Carolina University in Greenville, North Carolina. He lives in Greenville. C.W. Sullivan III is in the English department at East Carolina University in Greenville, North Carolina.
Award Winner
Winner, Mythopoeic Scholarship Award in Myth and Fantasy Studies--The Mythopoeic Society
Deborah Painter
Foreword by Joe Moe
Print ISBN: 978-0-7864-4884-5
Ebook ISBN: (isbn not yet available)
88 photos, appendix, bibliography, index
224pp. hardcover (7 x 10) 2011
Price: $45.00
Book Launch February 2011
Description
Forrest J Ackerman (1916-2008) was an author, archivist, agent, actor, promoter, and editor of the iconic fan magazine Famous Monsters of Filmland; a founder of science ction fandom; and one of the world’s foremost collectors of sci- , horror and fantasy lms, literature, and memorabilia. This biography begins with a foreword by Joe Moe, Ackerman’s caregiver and close friend since 1982. It documents Ackerman’s lifelong dedication to his work in both literature and lm; his interests, travels, relationships and associations with famous personalities; and his lasting impact on popular culture. Primary research material includes letters given by Ackerman to the author during their long friendship, and numerous reminiscences from Ackerman’s friends, fans and colleagues.
Table of Contents
Acknowledgments viii
Foreword: Marching to the Beast of a Different Dreamer by Joe Moe 1
Preface 5
1. Forry’s Background, Family and Early Years 11
2. “I Couldn’t Sleep with Marlene Dietrich!” 26
3. Sergeant Ack-Ack 41
4. The 1950s—Forry’s Rise to Fame 49
5. The 1960s—Forrest J Ackerman, Movie Actor 64
6. The 1970s—Colleges, Conventions and Creatures 86
7. The 1980s—The Best of Times, the Worst of Times 101
8. The 1990s—Pinnacles of Achievement 117
9. The 2000s—Documentarian and Octogenarian 151
Five Personal Reminiscences (Powell, Knight, Atkins, Hawk, Morrow) 181
Chapter Notes 201
A Brief Bio-Bibliography 203
Bibliography 207
Index 209
About the Author
Deborah Painter has written articles for such magazines as Filmfax and Horse and Horseman. She is an environmental services director for REMSA Incorporated and lives in Norfolk, Virginia.
Edited by John Perlich and David Whitt
Print ISBN: 978-0-7864-4562-2
Ebook ISBN: (isbn not yet available)
notes, bibliographies, index
212pp. softcover 2010
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Price: $39.95
Quantity:
Available for immediate shipment
Description
Contemporary myths, particularly science fiction and fantasy texts, can provide commentary on who we are as a culture, what we have created, and where we are going. These nine essays from a variety of disciplines expand upon the writings of Joseph Campbell and the hero’s journey. Modern examples of myths from various sources such as Planet of the Apes, Wicked, Pan’s Labyrinth, and Spirited Away; the Harry Potter series; and Second Life are analyzed as creative mythology and a representation of contemporary culture and emerging technology.
Table of Contents
Acknowledgments vii
Preface: “There and Back Again…” 1
Contrasting Colors
1. Sorting Heroic Choices: Green and Red in the Harry Potter Septology
(KIRSTIN CRONN-MILLS and JESSICA SAMENS) 5
2. The Complexity of Evil in Modern Mythology: The Evolution of the Wicked Witch of the West
(JASON EDWARDS and BRIAN KLOSA) 32
3. Polysemous Myth: Incongruity in Planet of the Apes
(RICHARD BESEL and RENEÉ SMITH BESEL) 51
New Champions
4. The Hero with the Thousand-and-First Face: Miyazaki’s Girl Quester in Spirited Away and Campbell’s Monomyth
(DEE GEORTZ) 67
5. The Odyssey of Madame Souza: A Heroine’s Quest in The Triplets of Belleville
(DAVID WHITT) 83
6. Rethinking the Monomyth: Pan’s Labyrinth and the Face of a New Hero(ine)
(JOHN PERLICH) 100
No Boundaries
7. Actors and Their Mythic Heroes: From the Doctor to Captain Kirk
(DJOYMI BAKER) 129
8. Running Free in Angelina Jolie’s Virtual Body: The Myth of the New Frontier and Gender Liberaton in Second Life
(ELLEN GORSEVSKI) 146
9. So Where Do I Go from Here? Ghost in the Shell and Imagining Cyborg Mythology for the New Millennium
(JAY SCOTT CHIPMAN) 167
Epilogue: “Always in Motion Is the Future…” 193
About the Contributors 197
Index 199
About the Author
John Perlich is a professor of communication studies at Hastings College in Hastings, Nebraska. David Whitt is an associate professor of communication at Nebraska Wesleyan University in Lincoln, Nebraska.
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