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Category Archives: social commentary
Social Research: An International Quarterly and Horror in Society
Kevin Wetmore, who I have interviewed on this blog previously on his book Post-9/11 Horror in American Cinema, let me know that the forthcoming issue of Social Research: An International Quarterly 84.1 (Winter 2014) has an interesting focus. It will explore horror in society. Here is the Table of Contents: Endangered Scholars Worldwide pp. […]
Tablet: “What Science Fiction Tried To Teach Us About Jihad, and Why No One Listened”
There is an interesting item that appeared in Tablet: A New Read on Jewish Life titled “What Science Fiction Tried To Teach Us About Jihad, and Why No One Listened.” The subtitle explains a little further: “How Alejandro Jodorowsky muddled sci-fi by turning Frank Herbert’s ‘Dune’ into a New Age manifesto.” In the piece by […]
The Purge: Social Commentary for Right and Left
I finally had an opportunity to watch The Purge over the weekend. I heard good things about the film when it appeared in theaters, especially its phenomenal box office success, earning $87 million globally with a $3 million production budget. Part of the film’s success may have come from its political and social commentary. This […]
Elysium: Social Commentary and the Interpretive Factor in the System Reboot
This was the opening weekend for the science fiction film Elysium. It took the number one spot at the box office, bringing in $30 million. Since it was first announced, it has been a much-anticipated vehicle for director Neill Blomkamp, who has a successful track record in his previous genre venture District 9 as an […]
The New Yorker: Into Darkness a ‘Drone Allegory?’
The New Yorker featured an interesting essay today titled “Is ‘Star Trek Into Darkness’ a Drone Allegory?” The essay dovetails with some of my criticism of the film shared in a previous post. In particular, this essay by Amy Davidson notes that in addressing counter-terrorism issues the setup in the movie has promise, but in […]
Star Trek: Into Darkness – An Action Film in a Space Suit Void of the Best of Science Fiction
Star Trek: Into Darkness came out this weekend, and as a result reviews have been varied. By and large they seem to be very positive, not only from moviegoers, but also from critics, although there have been some reviews that have been very negative. Unfortunately, with this post I must contribute to the latter category […]
The Walking Dead Continues to Wrestle with Darabont’s Ethical Concerns
After Frank Darabont’s unexpected and sudden departure from The Walking Dead at the beginning of production for Season 2 many fans wondered and worried whether the quality of the writing for the program would be compromised. Although some have expressed concerns about the allegedly slow pacing of this season in contrast with the first (a […]
Alien Impregnation in Science Fiction: The Mystical Pregnancy Trope
I recently shared this interesting video snippet at the TheoFantastique Facebook group page and thought it was worth including here. This piece was brought to my attention through Sociological Images in a piece titled “Pregnancy Porn: Alien Impregnation in Science Fiction.” The piece originally comes from Feminist Frequency: Conversations with Pop Culture. This feminist critique […]
“WAR” completes great “APES” trilogy
The final film in the APES reboot trilogy, War for the Planet of the Apes, has been well received by audiences, fans, and critics alike. As a result, a lot has been written on the film that covers a lot of ground by way of commentary. I’ve written quite a bit about various aspects of […]