Gender in Science Fiction Films 1964-1979

<p> The 1950s era of science fiction film effectively ended when space flight became a reality with the first manned orbit of Earth in 1962. As the genre's wildly speculative depictions of science and technology gave way to more reality-based representations relations between male and female characters reflected the changing political and social climates of the era.</p><p> Drawing on critical analyses film reviews and cultural commentaries this book examines the development of science fiction film and its representations of gender from the groundbreaking films of 1968--including <I>2001: A Space Odyssey Barbarella</I> and <I>Planet of the Apes</I>--through its often overlooked Middle Period which includes such films as <I>Colossus: The Forbin Project</I> (1970) <I>The Stepford Wives</I> (1975) and <I>A Boy and His Dog</I> (1975).</p><p> The author examines intersections of gender and race in <I>The Omega Man</I> (1971) and <I>Frogs</I> (1972) gender and dystopia in <I>Soylent Green</I> (1973) and <I>Logan's Run</I> (1976) and gender and computers in <I>Demon Seed</I> (1977). The big-budget films of the late 1970s--<I>Close Encounters of the Third Kind Alien</I> and <I>Star Wars</I>--are also discussed.</p>