Von Sternberg
About this ebook
Editor Steven M. Sanders and a group of outstanding scholars in philosophy, film studies, and other fields raise science fiction film criticism to a new level by penetrating the surface of the films to expose the underlying philosophical arguments, ethical perspectives, and metaphysical views. Sanders’s introduction presents an overview and evaluation of each essay and poses questions for readers to consider as they think about the films under discussion.
The first section, “Enigmas of Identity and Agency,” deals with the nature of humanity as it is portrayed in Blade Runner, Dark City, Frankenstein, Invasion of the Body Snatchers, and Total Recall. In the second section, “Extraterrestrial Visitation, Time Travel, and Artificial Intelligence,” contributors discuss 2001: A Space Odyssey, The Terminator, 12 Monkeys, and The Day the Earth Stood Still and analyze the challenges of artificial intelligence, the paradoxes of time travel, and the ethics of war. The final section, “Brave Newer World: Science Fiction Futurism,” looks at visions of the future in Metropolis, The Matrix, Alphaville, and screen adaptations of George Orwell’s 1984.
About the author
John Baxter, codirector of the annual Paris Writers Workshop, is the author of Immovable Feast: A Paris Christmas and We’ll Always Have Paris: Sex and Love in the City of Light, as well as biographies of many Hollywood luminaries including Federico Fellini, Luis Buñuel, Steven Spielberg, Ken Russell, George Lucas, Woody Allen, Stanley Kubrick, and Robert DeNiro. He lives in Paris, France.
