Science Fiction, Children's Literature, and Popular Culture: Coming of Age in Fantasyland (Contributions to the Study of Science Fiction and Fantasy)

In a constantly changing world, individuals are forever growing to meet the challenges and developments that emerge around them. In contemporary society, technology is at the heart of change. Literature, too, reflects the evolution of culture and increasingly represents and considers technology. And as children become young adults, their reading helps shape their understanding of the world. This book examines representative works of science fiction, children's literature, and popular culture to show how these works reflect the process of growing up in a technological world. The volume looks at the simple picture books and comic books that appeal to small children; the formulaic adventures that fascinate older children; the films and television programs that are watched by children and young adolescents; the music videos and programming that appeal to young adults; and the popular novels that interest older readers. Included are discussions of Superman, the Hardy Boys, Star Trek, science fiction films, and music videos. The book points to similarities among popular culture, science fiction, and children's literature and demonstrates the relevance of these works to contemporary society. Contents......Page 8 Acknowledgments......Page 10 Introduction......Page 12 1. How Charlie Made Children Hate Him: Fantasy and Reality in Stories for Small Children......Page 16 2. The Three Lives of Superman—And Everybody Else......Page 28 3. Mystery of the Amateur Detectives: The Early Days of the Hardy Boys......Page 34 4. Giving Horatio Alger Goosebumps, Or, From Hardy Boys to Hapless Boys: The Changing Ethos of Juvenile Series Fiction......Page 52 5. From the Back of the Head to Beyond the Moon: The Novel and Film This Island Earth......Page 64 6. Opposing War, Exploiting War: The Troubled Pacifism of Star Trek......Page 84 7. Even Better than the Real Thing: Advertising, Music Videos, Postmodernism, and (Eventually) Science Fiction......Page 94 8. Legends of the Fall: Going Not Particularly Far Behind the Music......Page 108 9. Hollywood Strikes a Pose: Seven Tales of Triumph, Treachery, and Travail in Old Tinseltown......Page 122 10. In Defense of Stone Tablets: Isaac Asimov Explains Why Science Fiction Is Skeptical about “New Information Technologies”......Page 136 11. Partial Derivatives: Popular Misinterpretations of H. G. Wells’s The Time Machine......Page 144 Bibliography......Page 158 B......Page 164 D......Page 165 G......Page 166 J......Page 167 M......Page 168 P......Page 169 S......Page 170 V......Page 171 Y......Page 172 Literature often is central to individual maturation. It typically reflects, in one way or another, the experiences of the reader and the larger strains of society. This book examines representative works of science fiction, children's literature, and popular culture as mirrors of what it means to grow up in the late 20th century world. That world is permeated by technology, and technology thus figures prominently in the process of growing up and in these literary works Examines representative works of science fiction, children's literature, and popular culture to explore the experience of growing up in contemporary society.