Description
Book SynopsisWith in-depth explorations of six contemporary American and British films and shows, this pioneering volume spotlights black female characters who play central, subversive roles in science fiction, fantasy, and horror.
Trade ReviewWhere No Black Woman Has Gone Before does not pretend to be a comprehensive account of black women in speculative film and television, as Mafe makes clear, but it is the first book-length study of black femininity in this area...By attending to the visual and linguistic coding of black and female characters, Mafe exposes biases less explicit than plain exclusion. * Times Literary Supplement *
Where No Black Woman Has Gone Before initiates a dialogue about black women in speculative film and television...a compelling contribution to the scholarship on speculative cinema and television, and will serve well scholars, students, and teachers in the field. * Journal of American Culture *
Mafe's coda strikes a good balance between reflection and optimism while pointing to possible future directions black women in television and film may go. Mafe's goal of bringing light to subversive portrayals in speculative film and television is laudable and well executed. * Popular Culture Studies Journal *
Where No Black Woman Has Gone Before makes a genuine contribution as a pioneering effort in the study of race and gender in sf film and television. * Science Fiction Studies *
Where No Black Woman Has Gone Before is concise and accessible with five well-written and theorized chapters…Mafe's narrow focus on representations of black women in non 'obvious block buster films' and in supporting roles raises insightful and useful points about the difference between superficial dismissible black female characters versus complex well-rounded black female characters...Mafe's arguments are sound and her reading of the texts convincing. * Journal of Popular Culture *
Ambitious...Mafe’s argument highlights the need for more black female characters in speculative fiction...this text is a first step in the analysis of black female characters in speculative fiction and how difficult it is to find representation when the examples are few and far between. * Journal of the Fantastic in the Arts *
[
Where No Black Woman Has Gone Before] contributes to the discourse of race and genre in scholarship by expanding upon the complex position of black female characters in film and television that come under the broad banner of 'speculative fiction'...The strength of Mafe's book…lies in her way of reading these films and the black female characters in them. She endorses a mode of spectatorship that allows the conservative and radical tendencies of these films to exist side by side. By doing so, she suggests ways in which black female protagonists can be deconstructive figures, but also open spaces for new styles and tropes in sf. * Science Fiction Film and Television *
Table of Contents
- Acknowledgments
- Introduction: To Boldly Go
- Chapter 1. Seeking a Friend for the End of the World: 28 Days Later
- Chapter 2. Last One Standing: Alien vs. Predator
- Chapter 3. The Black Madonna: Children of Men
- Chapter 4. Thank Heaven for Little Girls: Beasts of the Southern Wild
- Chapter 5. Intergalactic Companions: Firefly and Doctor Who
- Coda: Final Frontiers
- Notes
- Works Cited
- Index
