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The aliens are here : extraterrestrial visitors in American cinema and television / Fraser A. Sherman

Author:
Sherman, Fraser A.
Published:
Jefferson, North Carolina : McFarland & Company, Inc., Publishers, [2022]
Copyright Date:
©2022
Physical Description:
1 online resource
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Contents:
They came from beyond : a short history of the UFO phenomenon -- The biggest story that could ever happen to our world : alien invasion films -- They come in peace : friendly alien visitors -- Now and then we all are aliens : ET infiltrators and body snatchers -- Might for right, not might makes right : alien superheroes -- The invasion has already happened : UFO abductions -- Strangers in a strange land : the alien immigrant -- Cuckoos from space : spacemen, rape and human/alien hybrids -- When ancient astronauts attack : gods from outer space on screen -- Destroy all monsters before they destroy us : monsters from space -- Loving the alien : interplanetary love stories -- Little aliens everywhere : children, teenagers and spacemen -- Laugh, spaceman, laugh : alien visitor comedies -- Government denies knowledge : UFO cover-ups and the Men in Black -- Another kind of alien hybrid : the genre mashup.
Summary:
"They have taken the form of immigrants, invaders, lovers, heroes, cute creatures that want our candy or monsters that want our flesh. For more than a century, movies and television shows have speculated about the form and motives of alien life forms. Movies first dipped their toe into the genre in the 1940s with Superman cartoons and the big screen's first story of alien invasion (1945's The Purple Monster Strikes). More aliens landed in the 1950s science fiction movie boom, followed by more television appearances (The Invaders, My Favorite Martian) in the 1960s. Extraterrestrials have been on-screen mainstays ever since. This book examines various types of the on-screen alien visitor story, featuring a liberal array of alien types, designs and motives. Each chapter spotlights a specific film or TV series, offering comparative analyses and detailing the tropes, themes and cliches and how they have evolved over time. Highlighted subjects include The Eternals, War of the Worlds, The X-Files, John Carpenter's The Thing and Attack of the 50-Foot Woman"--
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ISBN:
9781476647623 (electronic bk.)
1476647623 (electronic bk.)
9781476685045
Bibliography Note:
Includes bibliographical references and index.
View MARC record | catkey: 39979363