This book studies American science fiction films depicting invasions of the USA and Earth by extra- terrestrials within the context of imperialism from 1950–2020. It shows how such films imagine America and its allies as objects of colonial control. This trope enables filmmakers to explore the ethics of American interventionism abroad either by defending the status quo or by questioning interventionism. The study shows how these films comment on American domestic hegemonic practices regarding racial or gender hierarchies, as well as hegemonic practices abroad. Beginning with the Cold War consensus in the 1950s, the study shows how hegemony at home and abroad promotes division in the culture.
Author(s): Mark E. Wildermuth
Publisher: Palgrave Macmillan
Year: 2022
Language: English
Pages: 317
City: Cham
Acknowledgments
Contents
Chapter 1: Introduction
The Origins and Evolution of Reverse Invasion/Reverse Colonial Narratives
Method and Organization
Works Cited
Chapter 2: An Overview of the History of American Imperialism and the American Security State
The Inception of American Imperialism
The Earliest American Security States
The Next Stage in the American Twentieth-Century Security State: Détente and Beyond
The Reagan Era: After Détente and After the Apocalypse
The 1990s: An Interregnum?
The Post-9/11 Neo-imperialist Security States
Later 9/11 Security States: The Obama and Trump Administrations
Works Cited
Chapter 3: The First Postwar Security State Invasion Films, 1950–1956
The Thing from Another World (1951)
The Day the Earth Stood Still (1951)
War of the Worlds (1953)
Earth Versus the Flying Saucers (1956)
Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1956)
Works Cited
Chapter 4: Invasion Films in the 1960s Post-Camelot Security State
Robinson Crusoe on Mars (1964)
H.G. Wells’ First Men in the Moon (1964)
The Bamboo Saucer (1968)
2001: A Space Odyssey (1968)
Works Cited
Chapter 5: Nixon, Post-détente, and Invasion Films in the 1970s
The Andromeda Strain (1971)
Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977)
Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1978)
Alien (1979)
Star Trek: The Motion Picture (1979)
Works Cited
Chapter 6: Invasion Films and the Reagan Era
John Carpenter’s The Thing (1982)
E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (1982)
Aliens (1986)
Predator (1987)
Communion (1989)
Works Cited
Chapter 7: Invasion Films and the 1990s Interregnum
Fire in the Sky (1993)
Body Snatchers: The Invasion Continues (1993)
Alien3 (1992)
Alien Resurrection (1997)
Independence Day (1996)
Star Trek: First Contact (1996)
Men in Black (1997)
Starship Troopers (1997)
The X-Files: Fight the Future (1998)
Work Cited
Chapter 8: Invasion Narratives After 9/11: The Bush and Obama Regimes
War of the Worlds (2005)
Cloverfield (2008)
Star Trek (2009)
District 9 (2009)
Battle: Los Angeles (2011)
Prometheus (2012)
Works Cited
Chapter 9: Invasion Films After 9/11 in the Trump Regime
Alien Covenant (2017)
Arrival (2016)
Captive State (2019)
Works Cited
Chapter 10: Conclusions
Works Cited
Index
