Neuroscience in Science Fiction Films (Paperback)

Sharon Packer

ISBN 10: 0786472340 / ISBN 13: 9780786472345

Published by McFarland & Co Inc, Jefferson, NC, 2014

Paperback. 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. This volume explores neuroscience in science fiction films, focusing on neuroscience and psychiatry as running themes in SF and finding correlations between turning points in "neuroscience fiction" and advances in the scientific field. The films covered include The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, The Island of Dr. Moreau, Robocop, The Stepford Wives, The Mind Snatchers and iconic franchises like Terminator, Ironman and Planet of the Apes. 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. Traces the intertwining paths of SF film, psychiatry, and neuroscience, showing how they cross-pollinate one another, sometimes predicting scientific advances or paradigm shifts in psychiatry. Starting with the pre-film era, this book highlights the literary origins of 20th century cinematic scientists. Shipping may be from multiple locations in the US or from the UK, depending on stock availability. Seller Inventory # 9780786472345

Synopsis:

This volume focuses on neuroscience and psychiatry as running themes in SF--tracing tropes to 19th century literary inspirations that reverberate to this day. It finds correlations between turning points in "neuroscience fiction" and advances in the scientific field, using film to pinpoint paradigm shifts in psychiatric theory and practice.

As the gap between science fiction and science fact narrows, films that were intended as pure fantasy take on deeper meaning. The films covered include The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, The Island of Dr. Moreau, Robocop, The Stepford Wives, The Mind Snatchers and iconic franchises like Terminator, Ironman and Planet of the Apes, plus Donovan's Brain, The Brain that Wouldn't Die and other iconic examples from "classic SF". By 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.

Through SF film, readers come to understand why some generations revere the "mind" while other generations applaud the "brain" (and why such shifts are not always sequential). The extra-long chapter on 1950s SF--the era of "classic SF"--shows how big-brained aliens (BBAs) of "B-movies" call attention to brain-based behavior, just after the inventer of the lobotomy won a Nobel Prize. 

About the Author: Sharon Packer, M.D., is a New York City psychiatrist and an assistant clinical professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences at Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai.

Her most recent book is Neuroscience in Science Fiction Films (2015), which she began when she was an Asst. Clinical Professor of Psychiatry & Behavioral Sciences at Albert Einstein College of Medicine. Her other books include Dreams in Myth, Medicine and Movies (2012); Movies and the Modern Psyche (2007); Superheroes and Superegos: the Minds behind the Masks (2010); Cinema's Sinister Psychiatrists (2012); and a co-edited, two-volume A History of Evil in Popular Culture: What Hannibal Lecter, Stephen King and Vampires Reveal about America (2014). She has written many more book chapters and reviews, plus articles for the academic and lay press. Her Psychiatric Times series on "Why Psychiatrists are Physicians First" explains her philosophy of psychiatric medicine. Other articles, such as, "What Wordsworth Knew: Daffodils as Antidepressants," reflect her longstanding interest in the intersection between medicine, psychiatry & the arts. Her articles on "European Ergot Epidemics and Jewish Mystical Movements" (and related topics) and "Spider-Man's Symbiote and the Early AIDS Epidemic" reflect her focus on the History of Medicine.

Bibliographic Details

Title: Neuroscience in Science Fiction Films (...
Publisher: McFarland & Co Inc, Jefferson, NC
Publication Date: 2014
Binding: Paperback
Condition: new