Jefferson, North Carolina : McFarland & Company, Inc., Publishers, [2014]
Holdings
Details
Description
ix, 287 pages : illustrations; 26 cm.
Summary
"As the gap between science fiction and science fact has narrowed, films that were intended as pure fantasy at the time of their premier have taken on deeper meaning. Examining the parallel histories of psychiatry, neuroscience and cinema, this book shows how science fiction films offer insightful commentary on the scientific and philosophical developments of their times"--
Introduction: Iron man, "extremis" and analysis -- Neuroscience fiction film in post-psychoanalytic society -- Movies and the mind (and the rebirth of the brain) -- The legacy of 19th century literature -- Automatons, androids, replicants and robocops -- Human-ape brain exchanges, Darwinian debates and the "monkey gland man" -- Sputnik, space aliens and brains from outer space -- Science fiction in social problems films -- Brain drains, brain chips and brain machines -- Flashbacks, flash-forwards and flash drives -- Memory, mentation and medication: before birth and after Alzheimer's -- Dream scenes: from silent cinema to Salvador Dali to CGI -- Video games, virtual reality and "reality testing" -- Drugs, dystopias and utopias -- Computers, consciousness and control -- Conclusion: Hive minds, herds and Jung's collective unconscious.