Description
Book SynopsisDuring the 1950s and early 1960s, the American film industry produced a distinct cycle of films situated on the boundary between horror and science fiction. Steffen Hantke argues that these films have long been understood as allegories of the Cold War. Setting out to question, expand, and correct this critical argument, Hantke follows shifts and adjustments prompted by recent scholarly work.
Trade ReviewA vital and engaging look at the political contexts surrounding 1950s sci-fi films. Hantke showcases the importance of neglected films like
Invasion U.S.A. and
I Married a Monster from Outer Space while expertly tracing new patterns across the genre."" - Blair Davis, author of
The Battle for the Bs: 1950s Hollywood and the Rebirth of Low-Budget Cinema""With admirable scope and lucidity,
Monsters in the Machine insightfully analyzes sci-fi films of the postwar period to expose the cultural politics and political ethos of an era dominated by the aura of World War II and the nuclear shadow it cast over Henry Luce's 'American Century.' Providing rich touchstones for the major tensions and contradictions that informed the grotesque mechanisms of the Cold War,
Monsters in the Machine should be required reading for any course on American Cold War culture."" - Alan Nadel, author of
Containment Culture: American Narratives, Postmodernism, and the Atomic Age and
Flatlining on the Field of Dreams: Cultural Narratives in the Films of President Reagan's America
