Science Fiction Cinema in the Twenty-First Century : Transnational Futures, Cosmopolitan Concerns

Recent films are increasingly using themes and conventions of science fiction such as dystopian societies, catastrophic environmental disasters, apocalyptic scenarios, aliens, monsters, time travel, teleportation, and supernatural abilities to address cosmopolitan concerns such as human rights, climate change, economic precarity, and mobility. This book identifies and analyses the new transnational turn towards cosmopolitanism in science fiction cinema since the beginning of the twenty-first century. The book considers a wide selection of examples, including case studies of films such as Elysium , In Time , 2012 , Andrew Niccol’s The Host , Codependent Lesbian Space Alien Seeks Same , and Cloud Atlas. It also questions the seeming cosmopolitanism of these narratives and exposes how they sometimes reproduce social hierarchies and exploitative practices. Dealing with diverse, interdisciplinary concerns represented in cinema, this book in the Studies in Global Genre Fiction series will be of interest to readers and scholars working in the fields of science fiction, film and media studies, cosmopolitanism, border theory, popular culture, and cultural studies. It will also appeal to fans of science fiction cinema and literature. Cover Half Title Series Page Title Page Copyright Page Dedication Table of Contents List of Figures Acknowledgments Introduction: Transnational Futures, Cosmopolitan Concerns Chapter 1 Systemic Dystopias through a Cosmopolitan Lens: Contesting Global Neoliberalism Chapter 2 Greening Apocalypse: Eco-Conscious Disaster and the Biopolitics of Climate Change Chapter 3 Love for the Alien Same: Interplanetary Romance and Kinship as Harbingers of Ambivalent Cosmopolitanism Chapter 4 The Cosmopolitan Potential of Connections across Time and Space Conclusion Works Cited Index This book critically analyses the role of transnational interactions and cosmopolitan ideals in the science fiction cinemas of twenty-first century.