Vivid Tomorrows: On Science Fiction and Hollywood (Paperback)

Acknowledgments vi
Prologue: Science Fiction and Cinema: Saving the Future
by Believing There Will Be One 1
Part One: A Flickering Light on the World
 1. The ­Self-Preventing Prophecy: How a Dose of Nightmare Might Tame Tomorrow's Perils 9
 2. Society and Citizens Are Fools! The Favorite Cliché of Cinema and Fiction 15
 3. 2001: A Space Odyssey: Shining Light on How Far We've Come 27
 4. Living in a Science Fictional World: Biology and Destiny and Life 'n' Such 32
 5. A Quirky ­Must-See Guide to Science Fiction Movies 44
Part Two: Admirable (But Flawed) Blockbusters
 6. J'accuse George Lucas … or Zola Meets Yoda 51
 7. Avatar. Just Avatar. 75
 8. The Lord of the Rings: J.R.R. Tolkien vs. the Modern Age 89
Part Three: Grinding Axes
 9. Roll Over, Frank Miller: Street Kids Are Better Than Those 300 Spartans! 101
10. Atlas Shrugged: The Hidden Context of the Book and Film 107
11. Demigods and "Chosen Ones" … Would It Hurt If Humanity Got to Play, Too? 117
12. Getting Science Fictional About a Better World: Marxists and Feminists and Feudalists and Libertarians, Oh My! 122
Part Four: Heroes and Villains
13. Name That Villain: Bad Guys and Aliens in ­Sci-Fi Movies 135
14. King Kong Is Back! The Ape in the Mirror 141
15. The Matrix: Tomorrow May Be Different 148
16. A ­Mini-Rant: Why All Those Zombies Mean You'd Better Vote! 159
17. Buffy the ­Old-Fashioned Hero 162
Part Five: Dark Visions and Hope
18. Dune: What This Classic Teaches About "Point of View" 165
19. The Postman: The Book vs. the Movie 172
20. Man Against Machine: Surrogates, Clones and Dittos 177
21. Gravity: Unbearable Lightness … but Solid Storytelling 198
22. Great Opening Lines from Science Fiction Tales 202
23. From Metaphor to Movie Magic—or Why We're Such Good Liars 205
Chapter Notes 221
Index 225