Tag Archives: science fiction

Doomsday America: The Pessimistic Turn of Post-9/11 Apocalyptic Cinema

May 16th, 2011 | Posted in apocalypticism, horror, post-apocalypticism, science fiction

Fears, and perhaps for some, joyful anticipation, of apocalyptic doom is in the air. This is perhaps most evident with Christian radio and television preacher Harold Camping’s prediction of the end of the world on May 21st. But this is nothing new, and science fiction and horror films have often involved depictions of apocalypse. But […]

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Avril Hannah-Jones on Faith and Fantasy: Behind the Scenes in the Church of Latter-Day Geeks

May 1st, 2011 | Posted in Christianity, fantasy, geek cultures, science fiction, The Inklings

In a recent post I commented on an Australian news item that went global, along with a certain level of controversy, as Pastor Avril Hannah-Jones combined her love for science fiction and fantasy with a service in her local church. Now that the controversy has died down, and her busy Easter service is behind her, […]

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Fan Culture Documentaries: Back to Space-Con, and Four Days at Dragon*Con

April 25th, 2011 | Posted in conventions, documentary, Dragon*Con, fan cultures, fantasy, geek cultures, liminality, science fiction, science fiction convention, Space-Con, Star Trek

This weekend I had the opportunity to watch two documentaries, Back to Space-Con, produced and directed by Tom Wyrsch of Garfield Lane Productions, and Four Days at Dragon*Con, produced and directed by Jack Walsh of Public Broadcasting in Atlanta. Taken together, these films tell the story of the development of science fiction and fantasy conventions, […]

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Invisible Universe: A History of Blackness in Speculative Fiction

April 21st, 2011 | Posted in cultural studies, documentary, fantasy, horror, race, science fiction

How have African Americans been represented in, played a part in, and contributed to speculative fiction? How have we come from depictions of African Americans in speculative fiction (defined broadly to include horror) in black exploitation horror like Blacula to more positive representations in the action-horror film Blade? These interesting questions and others are explored […]

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Elf Ears: New Trend in Body Modification

April 19th, 2011 | Posted in Body, Body modification, fantasy, science fiction

Today I became aware of a new trend in body modification, the creation of pointed ears reminiscent of those on Elves from Lord of the Rings, Avatar‘s Na’vi, and Star Trek‘s Vulcans. There is a lot of discussion and examples of it on the Internet, but an ABC News/Health online video provides an interesting, and […]

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Rise of the Planet of the Apes Poster and Trailer

April 16th, 2011 | Posted in Planet of the Apes, science fiction

Rupert Wyatt, the director for Rise of the Planet of the Apes, promises that the forthcoming film will be better than the Tim Burton effort of 2001. He also says it will mark a return to the social commentary of the original film of 1968. Read an interesting interview with him at Film School Rejects. […]

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Weta Digital Discusses Rise of the Planet of the Apes

April 13th, 2011 | Posted in Planet of the Apes, science fiction

I didn’t hear about it until after the event, but earlier today Weta Digital hosted a livestream chat about the special digital effects associated with the forthcoming Rise of the Apes that represents Twentieth Century Fox’s attempt at rebooting the Planet of the Apes franchise after the disappointing Tim Burton effort in 2001. A longer […]

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Church of the Latter-Day Geek Stirs Controversy Down Under

April 5th, 2011 | Posted in Christianity, fantasy, science fiction

I recently came across an interesting couple of news items related to a church in Australia that has scheduled a fantasy and science fiction service. The idea is the brainchild of the Uniting Church’s pastor, Avril Hannah-Jones, who is a fan of the fantastic in popular culture. From the Unsettled Christianity website: What started as […]

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Leslie Dale Feldman: Rod Serling’s Twilight Zone and Politics

March 30th, 2011 | Posted in fantasy, Rod Serling, science fiction, Twilight Zone

I am always on the lookout for good books that probe various aspects of the fantastic in popular culture in depth. Not long ago I came across such a book that looked at the political views of Rod Serling as expressed in his television show The Twilight Zone. The book is Spaceships and Politics: The […]

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PBS Documentary: Four Days at Dragon*Con

March 26th, 2011 | Posted in conventions, Dragon*Con, fan cultures, fantasy, geek cultures, science fiction

Thanks to the email list for the International Association for the Fantastic in the Arts I learned about a documentary that will be broadcast courtesy of American Public Television. The documentary is titled Four Days at Dragon*Con. From The APT website: Every Labor Day weekend, tens of thousands descend upon Atlanta for the largest convention […]

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