Science fiction films have been popular since the beginning of cinema. The themes contained in them are timeless, and the inventiveness with which they have been approached is impressive. This interesting analysis connects this form of popular culture to larger themes at play in American society. The themes discussed in this one are appropriate, but perhaps not particularly the most significant, dwelling as they do almost exclusively with the tensions present in the new social history's emphasis on race, ethnicity, class, and gender. Individual chapters single out race and gender for analysis, even as these themes are also brought to bear in all of the other chapters as well. Nothing is real wrong with this approach, but I would have been more enthralled with a broader introduction to a significant genre of film. This is especially the case when it seeks to offer a more general overview.



Were I to write such a book the themes of the new social history would be present no doubt, but I think the larger allegorical aspects of science fiction, the political commentary of governance and polity, the social criticism, the campaigns for reform, and the like quite critical to the story. While I don't want to press this too far, recognizing that Christine Cornea has offered a useful book overall, much more could have been done. I'm hesitant to downgrade the book too much because of what it did not deliver that I had expected, for "Science Fiction Cinema" is still a very fine work; I am seeking that broadly analytical, short, succinct, and engaging overview.

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