The success of George R.R. Martin's A Song of Ice and Fire novels and HBO's Game of Thrones series underscores the perennial popularity of medieval history-or rather ""medievalism,"" the idea of the Middle Ages. Medievalist movies, books and video games are lucrative property in the multi-billion-dollar entertainment industry, and Renaissance fairs, reenactment groups and historical martial arts clubs have become prominent in pop culture. Yet actual medieval history-especially medieval military...
The Handmaid's Tale and Philosophy (Popular Culture and Philosophy, #123)
In The Handmaid’s Tale and Philosophy, philosophers give their insights into the blockbuster best-selling novel and record-breaking TV series, The Handmaid’s Tale. The story involves a future breakaway state in New England, beset by environmental disaster and a plummeting birth rate, in which the few remaining fertile women are conscripted to have sex and bear children to the most powerful men, all justified and rationalized by religious fundamentalism. Among the questions raised by this riv...
Zombies have changed dramatically in the new millennium. They are no longer the comical, shuffling, mindless monsters of George Romero's Night of the Living Dead (1968). In works such as 28 Days Later... (2002) and World War Z (2013) they are fast, rabid, and absolutely terrifying in large hordes. In Warm Bodies (2013) and In the Flesh (2013-2015), they are thoughtful, sensitive, and capable of ethics and empathy. Audiences of this modern cinematic monster have changed, too, from teenaged camp a...
The next entry in Sterling's pop-culture psychology series features 20 essays and an exclusive interview with Rod Roddenberry, son of 'Star Trek' creator Gene Roddenberry. In a fun and accessible way, Star Trek Psychology delves deep into the psyches of the show's well-known and well-loved characters. It uses academic and scientific theories to analyse and answer such questions as 'Why do Trek's aliens look so human?' and How can the starship's holodeck be used for therapy?' This compilation exa...
Contains the official biograpy of the Crypt Keeper, a history of EC Horror Comics, 105 covers, and other stories, facts, and features relating to Tale from the Crypt.
Stranger Things and Philosophy (Popular Culture and Philosophy, #126)
Stranger Things and Philosophy is an important book, the first of its kind to examine the fantastical world of this award-winning, widely beloved, phenomenal show with a philosophical lens. This is important precisely because the show rests so heavily on a complex and thought-provoking mythos based around secretive government experiments and a parallel dimension that darkly reflects readers' own. The series as a whole has asked more questions than it has delivered answers, and the chapters in t...
Doctor Who is now officially the most popular drama on television, from humble beginnings on 23rd November 1963 and eventual resurrection in 2005, the show has always been a quintessential element of British popular culture. Eleven Doctors, a multitude of companions, and a veritable cornucopia of monsters and villains: Doctor Who has it all. The Brief Guide to Doctor Who puts all the first Eleven Doctors under the microscope with facts, figures and opinions on every Doctor Who story televised. T...
The Science of Witchcraft (The Science of)
by Meg Hafdahl and Kelly Florence
A scientific discovery of witches in fiction-Chilled Adventures of Sabrina, Sleeping Beauty, Wicked and so many more! Kelly Florence and Meg Hafdahl, authors of The Science of Women in Horror and co-hosts of the Horror Rewind podcast called "the best horror film podcast out there" by Film Daddy, present a guide to the history of witchcraft through the stories and characters we all know and love. Reveal the spellbinding science behind the legends and lore surrounding fiction's most iconic witch...
This is the ultimate unofficial guide to Stranger Things! Now updated with all new Season 4 content and Season 5 speculation! If you love 80s references, scary monsters, playing Dungeons and Dragons, riding your bike, hanging with your friends and saving the world, then this show is for you, and this guide is all you need! Now packed with even more fun facts about your favourite episodes, character profiles, new series speculation, awesome pi...
Dark, dangerous and transgressive, Bram Stoker's Dracula is often read as Victorian society's absolute Other-an outsider who troubles and distracts those around him, representative of the fears and anxieties of the age. This book is a study of Dracula's role of absolute Other as it appears on screen, and an investigation of popular culture's continued fascination with vampires. Drawing on vampire films spanning from the early 20th century to today, this book is an examination of how different ge...
Supernatural: The Official Cookbook
by Julie Tremaine and Jessica Torres
Filled with delicious recipes inspired by the hit television series, this cookbook allows fans to experience the world of Supernatural like never before. Whether you're a seasoned chef, beginner cook, or diner food enthusiast like the Winchester Brothers, Supernatural: The Official Cookbook brings a variety both savory and sweet recipes from the show to life. When they aren't keeping humanity safe from all kinds of otherworldly threats, Dean and Sam often take time to eat and devise their next...
Stargate Atlantis and Beyond: In Their Own Words Volume 2
by Edward Gross
Re-enter the Stargate! The casts and crews of Stargate Atlantis, Universe and Origins, in new and archive interviews, look back at the beloved sci-fi spin-offs. The long-running science-fiction series Stargate SG-1 spawned the spin-offs Stargate Atlantis, Stargate Universe, and Stargate Origins, and those three shows get their moment in the spotlight with Stargate Atlantis And Beyond: In Their Own Words, the follow-up to the popular book, Stargate: In Their Own Words. Once again written by Ed...
The Fifty-Year Mission: The Next 25 Years:From The Next Generation to J. J. Abrams
by Edward Gross and Mark A Altman
This is the true story behind the making of a television legend. There have been many books written about Star Trek, but never with the unprecedented access, insight and candor of authors Mark A. Altman and Edward Gross. The Fifty-Year Mission: The Next 25 Years is an incisive, no-holds-barred oral history telling the story of post Original Series Star Trek, told exclusively by the people who were there, in their own words - sharing the inside scoop they've never told before - unveiling the oft...
Behind some of the most popular works of science fiction, fantasy, and horror there are forgotten stories of female creators. It's no secret that genres like science fiction, fantasy, horror, and more, have evolved from niche interest to mainstream staple in the last few decades. However, the countless women who have been instrumental in creating and shaping those genres for the last fifty-plus years have largely gone largely unrecognized -- until now. Pop Culture Pioneers explores and pays resp...
Doctor Who - The David Tennant Years. An Episode Guide (On Screen) (On Screen)
by . Jamie Hailstone
When David Tennant took over as the Tenth Doctor in 2005, the rejuvenated science fiction series was still in its infancy, having just completed its first series. Under the direction of showrunner Russell T. Davies, Doctor Who had burst back onto our screens after a lengthy absence and while it was more popular than ever, there was always a question of how audiences would react to one of the show's central concepts - the regeneration of the lead character itself. Fortunately, the casting of Ten...
This edited collection brings together an introduction and 13 original scholarly essays on AMC's The Walking Dead. The first group of essays addresses the pervasive bloodletting of the series: What are the consequences of the series' unremitting violence? Essays explore violence committed in self-defence, racist violence, mass lawlessness, the violence of law enforcement, the violence of mourning, and the violence of history. The second half of the collection explores an equally urgent question:...
Star Trek, from the beginning, has empowered women, creating feminist icons. Deep Space Nine's Nana Visitor looks at how – and the enduring, ongoing impact. Nana Visitor played Major Kira Nerys on Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, evolving her into one of the franchise’s – and pop-culture history’s – most formidable female characters. But Visitor wasn’t first; other Star Trek actresses paved the way. In the new book, A Woman’s Trek, Visitor speaks with and pays tribute to those who came before her....
In Westworld and Philosophy, philosophers of diverse orientations and backgrounds offer their penetrating insights into the questions raised by the popular TV show, Westworld. Is it wrong for Dr. Robert Ford (played by Anthony Hopkins) to "play God" in controlling the lives of the hosts, and if so, is it always wrong for anyone to "play God"? Is the rebellion by the robot "hosts" against Delos Inc. a just war? If not, what would make it just? Is it possible for any dweller in W...
Provides a history and criticism of an important disrupting force in early science-fiction television programming. Joanne Morreale highlights the differences of The Outer Limits (ABC 1963-65) from typical programs on the air in the 1960s. Morreale argues that the show provides insight into changes in the television industry as writers turned to genre fiction-in this case, a hybrid of science fiction and horror-to provide veiled social commentary. The show illustrates the tension between networ...
'LOVING this new coffee table book chronicling the entire Series Of Unfortunate Events production... You can even peel off the label on the cover, but don't 'cuz, you know, my face..!'Neil Patrick Harris The perfect companion to Netflix's adaptation of A Series of Unfortunate Events, The Incomplete History of Secret Organizations is a fourth-wall-breaking deep dive into the hilariously twisted saga and the creative team that brought it to life on the screen. Discover a host of insider secre...