Alien Zone II: The Spaces of Science Fiction Cinema

Science fiction, more than any other film genre, allows cinema to exhibit its own distinctive matters of expression. Whether these be the state-of-the-art special effects technologies of 2001: A Space Odyssey, or the symbolic imagery of ruined cityscapes in Blade Runner, they allow the spectator to experience the totality of the audiovisual thrill.

While this remains in many ways the core defining feature of the genre, recent trends in the study of science fiction cinema have seen a shift of focus away from the specifically cinematic towards the more broadly cultural. New technologies of communication and vision, revolutionary developments in the delivery and reception of moving-image media, the increasing importance of the notion of space: all are forcing new and different ways of thinking about the genre.

Alien Zone II presents some of the most exciting new voices in the current debates. A companion volume to Alien Zone, it continues to pursue the critical and theoretical issues opened up in the earlier book and energetically explores fresh territory with an eye which is both reflective and interventionist: visionary cities, psycho-cybernetics, internet fandom, the convergence of science fiction literature and science action film, the body and its limits are just some of the subjects brought under its gaze.

Annette Kuhn’s books include Alien Zone: Cultural Theory and Contemporary Science Fiction Cinema; Cinema, Censorship and Sexuality; The Power of the Image: Essays on Representation and Sexuality; and Women’s Pictures: Feminism and Cinema. She is lecturer in Film and Television Studies at Glasgow University.