Apocalypse Cinema

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by Stephen Prince

Type: Studies
Subject: Genre > Science Fiction
Keywords: science fiction, fears, danger
Publishing date: 2021
Publisher: Rutgers University Press
Collection: Quick Takes: Movies and Popular Culture
Language: English

Relative size

Physical desc.

Hardcover • 156 pages
4 ½ x 7 inches (11.5 x 18 cm)

ISBN

978-1-9788198-5-6

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Book Presentation:
Vivid images of the apocalypse proliferate throughout contemporary cinema, which pictures the death of civilization in wildly different ways. Some films imagine a future where humanity is wiped out entirely, while others envision humans as an endangered species, enslaved by alien invaders or hunted by zombie hordes.

This book provides a lively overview of apocalypse cinema, including alien invasions, nuclear annihilation, asteroid collisions, climate change, and terrifying plagues. Covering pivotal films from the silent era to the present day, including Metropolis, Invasion of the Body Snatchers, Dr. Strangelove, Contagion, and Avengers: Endgame, Stephen Prince explores how these dark visions are rooted in religious and prophetic traditions, and he considers how our love for apocalypse cinema is tied to fundamental existential questions and anxieties that never go out of fashion.

About the Author:
STEPHEN PRINCE (1955 - 2020) was a professor of cinema at Virginia Tech in Blacksburg. He authored numerous books, including Digital Visual Effects in Cinema: The Seduction of Reality and A Dream of Resistance: The Cinema of Kobayashi Masaki (both Rutgers University Press).

Press Reviews:
"From stories of cosmic catastrophes and space invaders to nuclear and natural disasters, Stephen Prince provides here an expertly-crafted, lively account of the apocalyptic visions made possible only by the movies."

— Carl Plantinga

"From stories of cosmic catastrophes and space invaders to nuclear and natural disasters, Stephen Prince provides here an expertly-crafted, lively account of the apocalyptic visions made possible only by the movies."

— Carl Plantinga

See the publisher website: Rutgers University Press

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