The Monomyth in American Science Fiction Films: 28 Visions of the Hero's Journey (Critical Explorations in Science Fiction and Fantasy)

by Donald E. Palumbo

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This volume analyzes the use of Joseph Campbell's monomyth in twenty-six films and two SciFi Channel miniseries released and aired in the fifty year period between 1960 and 2009. In addition to serving as the underlying plot structure in the initial Star Wars trilogy - Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope (1977), Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back (1980), and Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi (1983) - these films include The Time Machine (1960), Logan's Run (1976), Time After Time (1979), Escape from New York (1981), Tron (1982), Dreamscape (1984), The Last Starfighter (1984), Dune (1984), The Terminator (1984), Back to the Future (1985), Total Recall (1990), The Matrix (1999), and each of the first eleven Star Trek Films: Star Trek: The Motion Picture (1979), Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan (1982), Star Trek III: The Search for Spock (1984), Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home (1986), Star Trek V: The Final Frontier (1989), Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country (1991), Star Trek: Generations (1994), Star Trek: First Contact (1996), Star Trek: Insurrection (1998), Star Trek: Nemesis (2002), and Star Trek (2009). The two Sci Fi miniseries discussed are Frank Herbert's Dune (2000) and Frank Herbert's Children of Dune (2003). Organized into an Introduction and nine chapters, this study examines the monomyth in the context of Campbell's The Hero with a Thousand Faces (1949) and then discusses the use of this versatile plot structure in these twenty-six films and two miniseries.
  • ISBN13 9780786479115
  • Publish Date 28 February 2015 (first published 1 January 2014)
  • Publish Status Active
  • Publish Country US
  • Imprint McFarland & Co Inc
  • Format Paperback
  • Pages 204
  • Language English