Genre film is routinely dismissed – if not outright ignored – by snobbish critics and awards shortlists, but remains ripe for scholarly discussion, as SCIENCE FICTION AMERICA: ESSAYS ON SF CINEMA proves.
Edited by David J. Hogan, this volume of 22 essays – mostly insighftul – turns its eye on the classics and the stinkers of sci-fi screen efforts of the past 75 years. The theme is best summarized by the first line of Hogan’s introduction: “Science fiction illuminates our public faces and our secret lives.” In other words, it’s the old “art imitates life” argument, but argued in a way that’s bound to be entertaining to any fan of fantastic cinema.
Gary D. Rhodes examines the treatment of religion in THE BLACK HOLE, while Bryan Senn tells us that, albeit in polar-opposite tones, ROLLERBALL and DEATH RACE 2000 both suggest that violence breeds further violence. You’ll also read of the overt sexual themes in DR. JEKYLL AND MR. HYDE, that LOGAN’S RUN is getting too real for comfort and a Jungian dissection of THE OMEGA MAN. Plus, there are chapters on such beloved cultural touchstones as GODZILLA, ALIEN, TV’s SUPERMAN and the FLASH GORDON serials.
My favorite of the bunch is Chase Winstead’s “Two Faces of Voyeurism,” examining the leering, orb-poppin’ desires behind two vastly different B-films: Roger Corman’s X: THE MAN WITH X-RAY EYES and Doris Wishman’s NUDE ON THE MOON. I’m not sure if I like it because it’s well-written – tying in a history of men’s magazines to the flicks – or because of the topless still of MOON queen Marietta.
All of SCIENCE FICTION AMERICA is amply illustrated with photographs from and vintage ads of the films discussed, so this book is not a stuffy, tight-collared affair. Sure, it’s not exactly light reading, either, but anyone wanting to know more about the social impact on science fiction cinema is going to expect to have to think a little, anyway. –Rod Lott
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