Tag Archives: social commentary

“WAR” completes great “APES” trilogy

The final film in the APES reboot trilogy, War for the Planet of the Apes, has been well received by audiences, fans, and critics alike. As a result, a lot has been written on the film that covers a lot of ground by way of commentary. I’ve written quite a bit about various aspects of […]

Planet of the Apes: Science Fiction of Social Fears

Social Research: An International Quarterly and Horror in Society

Kevin Wetmore, who I have interviewed on this blog previously on his book Post-9/11 Horror in American Cinema, let me know that the forthcoming issue of Social Research: An International Quarterly 84.1 (Winter 2014) has an interesting focus. It will explore horror in society.   Here is the Table of Contents: Endangered Scholars Worldwide pp. […]

Tablet: “What Science Fiction Tried To Teach Us About Jihad, and Why No One Listened”

There is an interesting item that appeared in Tablet: A New Read on Jewish Life titled “What Science Fiction Tried To Teach Us About Jihad, and Why No One Listened.” The subtitle explains a little further: “How Alejandro Jodorowsky muddled sci-fi by turning Frank Herbert’s ‘Dune’ into a New Age manifesto.” In the piece by […]

The Purge: Social Commentary for Right and Left

I finally had an opportunity to watch The Purge over the weekend. I heard good things about the film when it appeared in theaters, especially its phenomenal box office success, earning $87 million globally with a $3 million production budget. Part of the film’s success may have come from its political and social commentary. This […]

Elysium: Social Commentary and the Interpretive Factor in the System Reboot

This was the opening weekend for the science fiction film Elysium. It took the number one spot at the box office, bringing in $30 million. Since it was first announced, it has been a much-anticipated vehicle for director Neill Blomkamp, who has a successful track record in his previous genre venture District 9 as an […]

Star Trek: Into Darkness – An Action Film in a Space Suit Void of the Best of Science Fiction

Star Trek: Into Darkness came out this weekend, and as a result reviews have been varied. By and large they seem to be very positive, not only from moviegoers, but also from critics, although there have been some reviews that have been very negative. Unfortunately, with this post I must contribute to the latter category […]

The Walking Dead Continues to Wrestle with Darabont’s Ethical Concerns

After Frank Darabont’s unexpected and sudden departure from The Walking Dead at the beginning of production for Season 2 many fans wondered and worried whether the quality of the writing for the program would be compromised. Although some have expressed concerns about the allegedly slow pacing of this season in contrast with the first (a […]

Alien Impregnation in Science Fiction: The Mystical Pregnancy Trope

I recently shared this interesting video snippet at the TheoFantastique Facebook group page and thought it was worth including here. This piece was brought to my attention through Sociological Images in a piece titled “Pregnancy Porn: Alien Impregnation in Science Fiction.” The piece originally comes from Feminist Frequency: Conversations with Pop Culture. This feminist critique […]

Science Fiction and the Parasitic Human

Recently James Lee made national headlines when he entered the Discovery Channel building, took hostages, and threatened to kill them and blow up the building. Thankfully the situation ended with the hostages escaping unharmed and the only loss of life came with the gunman at the hands of law enforcement. In the wake of the […]

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