James Chapman is Professor of Film Studies at the University of Leicester, UK. His previous books include The British at War: Cinema, State and Propaganda, 1939-1945(1998), and Licence To Thrill: A Cultural History of the James Bond Films (2nd edn 2007), both from I.B.Tauris. He is editor of the Historical Journal of Film, Radio and Television. Nicholas J. Cull is Professor of Public Diplomacy in the Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism at the University of Southern California in Los Angeles. His previous books include The Cold War and the United States Information Agency: American Propaganda and Public Diplomacy, 1945-1989(2008) and (with James Chapman), Projecting Empire: Imperialism and Popular Cinema (I.B.Tauris, 2009). He is president of the International Association for Media and History.

'I very much enjoyed the background that Chapman and Cull produced on these films. I managed to learn something new in every chapter. The authors did a masterful job in the selection of examples- a mix of the essential and the surprising- which nevertheless manage to cover many of the key periods in the genre's evolution on the screen. They make a strong case for why SF films need to be considered in their own right, and not simply as an extension of the literary version of the genre. All told, I suspect this book is going to be well received by fans and academics alike.' Henry Jenkins, co-author, Spreadable Media: Creating Value and Meaning in a Networked Culture.

• AcknowledgementsList of IllustrationsIntroductionDry Future: Just Imagine (1930)The Prophet and the Showman: Things to Come (1936)Screening Wells for Cold War America: The War of the Worlds (1953)The British Invasions: The Quatermass Experiment (1955), Quatermass 2 (1957) and Quatermass and the Pit (1967)Sex and the Single Robot: Forbidden Planet (1956)The Watershed: 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968)Monkey Business: Planet of the Apes (1968)Stretching the Genre: The Hellstrom Chronicle (1971)Future Imperfect: Logan’s Run (1976)No Time for Sorrows: Star Wars (1977)Rustbelt Messiah: RoboCop (1987)The Image as Hero: Avatar (2009)AfterwordFilmographyIndex

James Chapman is Professor of Film Studies at the University of Leicester, UK. His previous books include The British at War: Cinema, State and Propaganda, 1939-1945(1998), and Licence To Thrill: A Cultural History of the James Bond Films (2nd edn 2007), both from I.B.Tauris. He is editor of the Historical Journal of Film, Radio and Television. Nicholas J. Cull is Professor of Public Diplomacy in the Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism at the University of Southern California in Los Angeles. His previous books include The Cold War and the United States Information Agency: American Propaganda and Public Diplomacy, 1945-1989(2008) and (with James Chapman), Projecting Empire: Imperialism and Popular Cinema (I.B.Tauris, 2009). He is president of the International Association for Media and History.

'I very much enjoyed the background that Chapman and Cull produced on these films. I managed to learn something new in every chapter. The authors did a masterful job in the selection of examples- a mix of the essential and the surprising- which nevertheless manage to cover many of the key periods in the genre's evolution on the screen. They make a strong case for why SF films need to be considered in their own right, and not simply as an extension of the literary version of the genre. All told, I suspect this book is going to be well received by fans and academics alike.' Henry Jenkins, co-author, Spreadable Media: Creating Value and Meaning in a Networked Culture.

• AcknowledgementsList of IllustrationsIntroductionDry Future: Just Imagine (1930)The Prophet and the Showman: Things to Come (1936)Screening Wells for Cold War America: The War of the Worlds (1953)The British Invasions: The Quatermass Experiment (1955), Quatermass 2 (1957) and Quatermass and the Pit (1967)Sex and the Single Robot: Forbidden Planet (1956)The Watershed: 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968)Monkey Business: Planet of the Apes (1968)Stretching the Genre: The Hellstrom Chronicle (1971)Future Imperfect: Logan’s Run (1976)No Time for Sorrows: Star Wars (1977)Rustbelt Messiah: RoboCop (1987)The Image as Hero: Avatar (2009)AfterwordFilmographyIndex

James Chapman is Professor of Film Studies at the University of Leicester, UK. His previous books include The British at War: Cinema, State and Propaganda, 1939-1945(1998), and Licence To Thrill: A Cultural History of the James Bond Films (2nd edn 2007), both from I.B.Tauris. He is editor of the Historical Journal of Film, Radio and Television. Nicholas J. Cull is Professor of Public Diplomacy in the Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism at the University of Southern California in Los Angeles. His previous books include The Cold War and the United States Information Agency: American Propaganda and Public Diplomacy, 1945-1989(2008) and (with James Chapman), Projecting Empire: Imperialism and Popular Cinema (I.B.Tauris, 2009). He is president of the International Association for Media and History.

'I very much enjoyed the background that Chapman and Cull produced on these films. I managed to learn something new in every chapter. The authors did a masterful job in the selection of examples- a mix of the essential and the surprising- which nevertheless manage to cover many of the key periods in the genre's evolution on the screen. They make a strong case for why SF films need to be considered in their own right, and not simply as an extension of the literary version of the genre. All told, I suspect this book is going to be well received by fans and academics alike.' Henry Jenkins, co-author, Spreadable Media: Creating Value and Meaning in a Networked Culture.

• AcknowledgementsList of IllustrationsIntroductionDry Future: Just Imagine (1930)The Prophet and the Showman: Things to Come (1936)Screening Wells for Cold War America: The War of the Worlds (1953)The British Invasions: The Quatermass Experiment (1955), Quatermass 2 (1957) and Quatermass and the Pit (1967)Sex and the Single Robot: Forbidden Planet (1956)The Watershed: 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968)Monkey Business: Planet of the Apes (1968)Stretching the Genre: The Hellstrom Chronicle (1971)Future Imperfect: Logan’s Run (1976)No Time for Sorrows: Star Wars (1977)Rustbelt Messiah: RoboCop (1987)The Image as Hero: Avatar (2009)AfterwordFilmographyIndex