From Alien To The Matrix : Reading Science Fiction Film

From Alien to The Matrix ‘I really enjoyed From Alien to The Matrix, it seemed like an incredibly necessary book – arming the geeks with tools to read films for the DVD generation – and possibly regeneration. Clear, simple text, in which an understanding of slash fiction is as important to the text as an encyclopaedic knowledge of a hundred years of written SF and what movies mean.’ Neil Gaiman ‘Roz Kaveney is the ideal guide to the contemporary SF landscape. She knows how to look at movies; she knows which movies to look at, and she has both an unerring eye for what is significant about everything she looks at and a prose style more than equal to the task of conveying sometimes complex ideas with clarity and wit. Her analyses of major franchises like The Terminator, The Matrix and (particularly) the Alien cycle are exemplary in their piercing perceptiveness, but From Alien to The Matrix brings the same acuity of vision to less obvious but equally vital movies like Small Soldiers, Strange Days and Galaxy Quest.’ Charles Shaar-Murray ‘From Alien to The Matrix is a terrific book. The author successfully redresses the unbalanced nature of popular culture and genre criticism in the field of science fiction. She overturns the theory (still widely held) that it is a debased genre and unworthy of serious critical study, while not wholly subscribing to the postmodern reaction that all popular culture is worthy of attention because it is “popular”. Well-chosen examples of genre films and associated aspects allow her to explore in considerable depth the text as well as the effects of the work on other genres. Above all, the author avoids the academic aridity of similar works by a combination of persuasive prose, massive erudition and unashamed passion. She actually likes this stuff and is unafraid to say so. She is also discerning enough to tell good genre work from bad – which is not as easy as many commentators think.’ Neil Norman From Alien to The Matrix Reading Science Fiction Film Roz Kaveney Published in 2005 by I.B.Tauris & Co Ltd 6 Salem Road, London W2 4BU 175 Fifth Avenue, New York NY 10010 www.ibtauris.com In the United States of America and in Canada distributed by Palgrave Macmillan, a division of St Martin’s Press 175 Fifth Avenue, New York NY 10010 Copyright © Roz Kaveney, 2005 The right of Roz Kaveney to be identified as the author of this work has been asserted by her in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988. All rights reserved. Except for brief quotations in a review, this book, or any part thereof, may not be reproduced, stored in or introduced into a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the publisher. ISBN EAN ISBN EAN 1 85043 805 6 Hardback 978 1 85043 805 2 Hardback 1 85043 806 4 Paperback 978 1 85043 806 9 Paperback A full CIP record for this book is available from the British Library A full CIP record for this book is available from the Library of Congress Library of Congress catalog card: available Typeset in Adobe Garamond by Steve Tribe, Andover Printed and bound in Great Britain by MPG Books Ltd,