Bøger i Critical Explorations in Science Fiction and Fantasy serien

Analyses the use of Joseph Campbell's monomyth in twenty-six films and two SciFi Channel miniseries released and aired between 1960 and 2009. Organised into an Introduction and nine chapters, this study examines the monomyth in the context of Campbell's The Hero with a Thousand Faces (1949) and then discusses the use of this versatile plot structure in these twenty-six films and two miniseries.

Explores the connections between mythopoeic fantasy and the critical apparatuses of ecocriticism and posthumanism. Beginning with S.T. Coleridge's theories of the imagination as embodied in The Rime of the Ancient Mariner, the book moves on to explore standard mythopoeic fantasists such as George MacDonald, C.S. Lewis, and J.R.R. Tolkien. Taking a step outside these mythopoeic fantasists, the concluding chapters discuss Algernon Blackwood and Ursula Le Guin.

Spaces, as well as a sense of place or belonging, play major roles in many science fiction works. This book focuses especially on science fiction that includes depictions of the future that include, but move beyond, dystopias and offer us ways to imagine reinventing ourselves and our perspectives; especially our links to and views of new environments.

Many believe that Robert A. Heinlein was the most important American science fiction writer of the 20th century. This is the first detailed critical examination of his entire career. It looks at each piece of fiction (and a few pieces of sf-related non-fiction) that Heinlein wrote, chronologically by publication, in order to consider what each contributes to his overall accomplishment.

Presents the genre of mythopoeic fantasy from a holistic perspective, arguing that this subgenre of fantasy literature is misunderstood as a result of decades of incomplete and reductionist literary studies.

Recognizes science fiction as a modern expression of Gnosticism, rejecting bodily concerns for an exclusive emphasis on spirituality. This book covers such topics as HG Wells, science fiction in academia, and the role of genre in storytelling.

Examines how women authors have explored fantasy fiction in ways that connect with feminist narrative theories.

Considers the development of science fiction for children and teens between 1950 and 2010, exploring why it differs from science fiction aimed at adults. This book sheds light on changing attitudes toward children and teenagers, toward science education, and toward the authors' expectations and sociological views of their audience.

Suzette Hayden Elgin's Native Tongue trilogy, Suzy McKee Charna's Holdfast series, and Margaret Atwood's The Handmaid's Tale are analyzed, with a focus on how they cover the interrelated categories of gender, race and class, along with their relationship to classic literary dualism and the dystopian narrative.

Reversing a common science fiction cliche, Farscape follows the adventures of the human astronaut John Crichton after he is shot through a wormhole into another part of the universe. Here Crichton is the only human being, going from being a member of the most intelligent species on our planet to being frequently considered mentally deficient by the beings he encounters in his new environment.

Addresses a broad range of topics in the BBC science fiction television series Doctor Who, both old (1963-1989) and new (2005-present). There are essays on how the show is viewed and identified with, fan interactions with each other, reactions to changes, the wilderness years when it wasn't in production. Essays then look at the ways in which the stories are told. After discussing the stories and devices and themes, the essays turn to looking at the Doctor's female companions and how they evolve, are used, and changed by their journey with the Doctor.

Examines the British contribution to science fiction film and TV. The editors provide a conceptual introduction placing the essays within their critical context. Essay topics include the Hammer horrors of the 1950s, the various incarnations of Doctor Who, Stanley Kubrick's A Clockwork Orange, and such 21st-century productions as 28 Days Later and Torchwood.

While Kim Stanley Robinson is best known for his hard science fiction works ""Red Mars"", ""Green Mars"" and ""Blue Mars"", the epic trilogy exploring ecological and sociological themes involved in human settlement of the Red Planet. This book examines Robinson's use of alternate history and politics, both in his many novels and in his short stories.

This book explores how contemporary fantastic fiction by women writers responds to the past and imagines the future. The first two chapters look at revisionist rewritings of fairy tales and historical texts; the third and fourth focus on future-oriented narratives including dystopias and space fiction. Writers considered include Margaret Atwood, Octavia E. Butler, Angela Carter, Ursula K. Le Guin, Doris Lessing, and Jeanette Winterson, among others. The author argues that an analysis of how past and future are understood in women's fantastic fictions brings to light an "ethics of becoming" in the texts--a way of interrupting, revising and remaking problematic power structures that are tied to identity markers like class, gender and race. The book reveals how fantastic fiction can be read as narratives of disruption that enable the creation of an ethics of becoming.

A study of French-language science fiction from Canada that provides an introduction to the subgenre known as 'SFQ' (science fiction from Quebec). It demonstrates how these multivolume narratives of colonization and postcolonial societies exploit themes typical of postcolonial literatures.

A collection of critical essays that study the novel, ""Llilith"". It covers topics such as MacDonald's rhetorical strategy as a writer of prose romance, the implications of the novel's famous 'endless ending,' and the significance of ""Lilith"" in the development of modern fantasy.

Examining ""Star Trek"" from various critical angles, this collection of essays provides insights into the myriad ways that the franchise has affected the culture it represents, the people who watch the series, and the industry that created it.

Released in May 1977, the original ""Star Wars"" movie inaugurated the age of the movie blockbuster. It also redefined the use of cinematic special effects, creating a new textual universe that now stretches through three decades, two trilogies and generations of fascinated viewers. This book presents an analysis of the ""Star Wars"" trilogies.

The 13 essays in this volume explore Stephenie Meyer's wildly popular Twilight series in the contexts of literature, religion, fairy tales, film, and the gothic. Several examine Meyer's emphasis on abstinence, considering how, why, and if the author's Mormon faith has influenced the series' worldview. Others look at fan involvement in the Twilight world, focusing on how the series' avid following has led to an economic transformation in Forks, Washington, the real town where the fictional series is set. Other topics include Meyer's use of Quileute shape-shifting legends, Twilight's literary heritage and its frequent references to classic works of literature, and the series' controversial depictions of femininity.

Explores representations of girlhood and young womanhood in recent English-language children's fantasy by focusing on two fantastic body transformation types: invisibility and age-shifting. Drawing on recent feminist and queer theory, the study discusses the tropes of invisibility and age-shifting as narrative devices representing gendered experiences. The transformations offer various perspectives on a girl's changing body and identity and provide links between real-life and fantastic discourses of gender, power, invisibility and aging.

Provides a study of Tolkien's life and influences through an analysis of ""The History of Middle Earth"". This title presents a biography and an analysis of the major influences in Tolkien's early life. It deals with elements common to Tolkien's popular works, including cosmogony, theogony, cosmology, metaphysics, and eschatology of Middle Earth.