Christine Cornea,
Science Fiction Cinema: Between Fantasy and Reality.
Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press, 2007
ISBN: 978-0-7486-1642-8
Au$49.95 (pb)
308pp
(Review copy supplied by Edinburgh University Press)
In the foreword to her new book, Science Fiction Cinema: Between Fantasy and Reality, Christine Cornea makes it clear that its fundamental purpose is to “place the thematic and formal concerns raised by science fiction films within wider cultural and historical contexts” (x). It is certainly the case that, despite a plethora of books examining Science Fiction (SF) cinema in relation to a particular period, no broad based academic text has ever attempted a complete examination of the genre’s development in this context. No doubt this is primarily due to the immensity of covering more than 100 years of film and its relation to more than 100 years of human history. To refer to such a project as ambitious would seem to be a significant understatement.
It is quite a wonderful surprise then, to find that Cornea has done an admirable job in summarising what she perceives to be the major moments of the genre, their historical and cultural contexts, and the most prominent critical theory surrounding these moments. Furthermore, the clarity of her writing style makes concepts easy to digest, as do her in-depth examinations of key films in relation to each concept. Of course, covering all this in 300 pages places severe limitations on how deeply each period and critical concept can be explored. Thus, the book functions best as a cue for further research, serving as an informative introduction to the genre for the uninitiated and holding fairly limited interest for those in the know.
Cornea also takes the novel approach of concluding each chapter with an interview of a writer, director, special effects technician or actor whose opinions are relevant to the topic. This means an interview with Verhoeven for the chapter on masculinity in 80s SF; Stan Winston for the technology of SF etc. The benefit here is one of an alternative perspective – the non-academic approach of the interviewees contrasting with, and contextualising, the critical theory that makes up the body of each chapter.
The book is effectively split into two four-chapter parts. The first four chapters are largely spent outlining the historical development of American SF cinema, occasionally diverging into the contributions and influences of Asian, European and Australian SF on the USA and vice versa. The focus on America is not arbitrary however, with the premise of the book being that SF is primarily of American origin. These first four chapters are in chronological order, tracing the genre from the silent era to the present.
Chapter one deals with the literary origins of the genre as well as providing a cursory examination of what could retrospectively be perceived to be some of its earliest filmic examples, like Melies’ Le Voyage dans la lune (France 1902) and Fritz Lang’s Metropolis (Germany 1927).
The second chapter covers SF cinema after WWII. It details the most popular arguments regarding the effect on the genre of the nuclear threat; the wider paranoia regarding the Cold War; and finally the changes in the nuclear family resulting from cultural shifts following WWII.
The counter-cultural movement of the late 60s is largely the subject of the third chapter, exploring concepts of transcendence and psychedelic imagery in films like 2001: A Space Odyssey (USA 1968), and the way in which these ideas became distorted in the 70s, transforming into the self-interest and consumerism that resulted in blockbusters like Star Wars (USA 1977) and dire dystopian visions like Logan’s Run (USA 1976).
The fourth chapter details the patriarchal nature of SF cinema under a new conservatism in the 80s. Cornea explores the way this new conservatism was expressed in big blockbusters like E.T. (USA 1982) and hyper-masculine cyborg movies like Robocop (USA 1987) and The Terminator (USA 1984).
The last four chapters are used to different effect, each detailing the impact that the evolution of gender, race, performance and technology have had on the genre. Having traced the history of the genre in the first four chapters, these last four allow Cornea the opportunity to more closely examine changes in specific areas over time, particularly in the way these films represent women and issues of race; the way technology has radically altered the genre; as well as the way approaches to performance have altered the character of the genre.
It is perhaps the chapter on performance studies that proves most interesting, given that the field is relatively undeveloped in terms of SF as well as cinema in general. The concept of external and internal performance proves itself to be a constructive way of approaching SF film especially – with notions of man and machine fusing, alternative worlds, and artificial intelligence altering our conceptions of what it is to be human and/or alive. The examination of David Cronenberg’s Crash (USA 1996) in terms of performance proves to be one of the highlights of the book – detailing perfectly the way in which performance can be used to construct meaning in a text.
Overall, Cornea has managed to provide an informative overview of the development of American SF in terms of its historical and cultural context whilst never neglecting to include the influences of international film on the genre. Given the broad nature of the book, its primary function will be as an introductory text, and here it succeeds with flying colours.
James Curnow,
Monash University, Australia.
Created on: Thursday, 17 July 2008