In 2017, the first episode of the science-fiction series The Orville premiered on Fox. So far, two seasons of the space adventure show that never denied its relatedness to 1990’s Star Trek, exist. The TV series immediately was described by critics as something between a parody, homage, fan fiction, Star Trek rip-off, and bad copy, […]
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Tag: American Studies
Pulp Empire: The Secret History of Comic Book Imperialism by Paul S. Hirsch (2021)
Comic books as media today would not raise much attention if they featured heavy use of violence or representations of vigilantes who take the law into their own hands. On the contrary, the media now is deeply absorbed into the popular canon of the US. “The comic book, whether in the form of a collectible […]
The Final Frontier: International Relations and Politics through … by Joel R. Campbell & Gigi Gokcek
Man’s curious nature that powered the exploration of the seas, jungles, and deserts of the planet finally also led him into extraterrestrial territories. However, long before the first satellite or test probe even got close to the moon, other ways of purely fictional exploration were at work. Prominent in the approach to understand and categorize […]
I Died a Million Times: Gangster Noir in Midcentury America by Robert Miklitsch (2021)
In his current title author Robert Miklitsch goes on a long excursion to introduce several classic 1950s movies to identify and, in a way, separate the gangster films of that period from the films noir. As not every gangster movie automatically was a film noir, neither did all contemporary noirs feature one or more gangsters. […]
Star Trek and the British Age of Sail: The Maritime Influence … by Stefan Rabitsch (2019)
The overwhelming success of Gene Roddenberry’s Star Trek stories to a large part is based on his good instincts to tell adventure stories in ways familiar to audiences, in this case man against nature (or the incalculable risks) while cruising uncharted regions not of the Pacific, but space. Author Stefan Rabitsch in eight chapters advocates […]
Crap: A History of Cheap Stuff in America by Wendy A. Woloson (2020)
To uncover the motivation behind the purchase of millions of basically purpose-free small “crap” objects, Wendy Woloson describes in great detail the giant industry behind the “novelties” and “labor saving inventions” that actually are little more than useless cutlery, buttons, dolls and other commodities. Objects that were originally produced only to convince buyers that they […]
Vigilantes: Private Justice in Popular Cinema by Kevin Grant (2020)
When in movies a crime is committed against a citizen and neither the police force nor judges seem able or willing to catch and punish the assailant, mostly two options are presented to the victim/protagonist: to accept that the law and its divisions can fail sometimes, or to start a crusade against the aggressor all […]
The Rise and Fall of American Science Fiction, from the 1920s to the 1960s by Gary Westfahl (2019)
Even though a title such as “The Rise and Fall” usually has readers prepared for a large, heavy volume that will provide audiences with loads of information amassed in a mostly boring manner, Westfahl’s book on a literary genre differs from that stereotype. In fact, the four major parts (and a short epilogue) read very […]
I’d Fight the World: A Political History of Old-Time, Hillbilly, and Country Music by Peter La Chape
American political campaigns without music or shows would be an impossibility today. Speaking about the 20th century, neither marching band tunes, nor folk songs or hymns were the musical style employed most by political representatives running for office, but country music, as author La Chapelle proves. He finds many more details of this particular relationship […]