Invasions USA

Zusatztext

<span><span>Out of more than 180 science fiction films produced in the United States between 1950 and 1959, twenty were concerned with the notion of an invasion. Of these, a select number used the invasions as metaphors of issues that were of importance to America at the time, such as assaults upon individuality and marriage and debates about the supremacy of the human race. The invasion may be real (</span><span>The Day the Earth Stood Still</span><span> and</span><span>War of the World</span><span>s), dreamed (</span><span>Invaders from Mars</span><span>), or the result of a mental breakdown, as seems to be the case in</span><span>Invasion of the Body Snatchers</span><span>. Real or not, all of these massive disturbances to the status quo convey the same anxiety: In the 1950s, many Americans felt that things in their world werent quite right, and this sense of unease was expressed in the countrys art, notably these films.<br><br>In</span><span>Invasions USA: The Essential Science Fiction Films of the 1950s</span><span>, Michael Bliss examines movies that stripped away the veneer of normality during a decade often portrayed as the last innocent period in American history. From a boys nightmares about his alien-controlled parents and a young womans fears that her fiancé has been replaced by an emotionless alien to an extraterrestrial visitor who comes to warn mankind about its self-destructive ways, the stories of these films offer a variety of messages, both subtle and overt.<br><br>With detailed discussions and analyses of the films in question, this book examines a unique group of movies with profound messages. By exploring depictions of insecuritieswhether personal or politicalBliss shows how science fiction films spoke to American audiences deeply troubled by their circumstances.</span><span>Invasions USA</span><span> will appeal to science fiction buffs and film aficionados interested in this significant phenomenon in movie and cultural history.</span></span>

Autorenportrait

<span><span>Of the twenty or so science fiction films produced in America during the 1950s, there is a fascinating subset of nine films that do more than portray an invasion. These films use the invasions as metaphors for assaults against the integrity of various things such as the self, marriage, and notions involving the supremacy of the human race. Combining both appreciation and critical analyses, this book studies the following films: </span><span>The Day the Earth Stood Still, I Married a Monster from Outer Space, The Incredible Shrinking Man</span><span>, </span><span>Invaders from Mars, Invasion of the Body Snatchers, It Came from Outer Space, Kronos, The Thing from Another World, </span><span>and </span><span>War of the Worlds.</span></span>

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