CFP: The Golden Age(s) of Screen Science Fiction (6/1/14; 10/29-11/1/14)

From: Cynthia Miller <[email protected]>

CALL FOR PAPERS
CFP: The Golden Age(s) of Screen Science Fiction
An area of multiple panels for the 2014 Film & History Conference:
Golden Ages: Styles and Personalities, Genres and Histories
October 29-November 2, 2014
The Madison Concourse Hotel and Governor=92s Club
Madison, WI (USA)
DEADLINE for abstracts: June 1, 2014

AREA: The Golden Age(s) of Screen Science Fiction

Defining the Golden Age of screen science fiction is both complex and =
contentious. The 1930s offered viewers the exuberant serials like The =
Phantom Empire and Flash Gordon Conquers the Universe, as well darkly =
atmospheric tales of science gone wrong like Frankenstein, The Invisible =
Man, and Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. The 1950s established science =
fiction's claim to be a cinema of ideas, with high-gloss "adult" =
productions like The Day the Earth Stood Still and Forbidden Planet. =
James Cameron's The Abyss and the CGI-driven SF films that followed it =
in the early 1990s renewed screen science fiction's reputation for =
spectacle, and references to the 2000s as a golden age of television =
drama routinely cite SF series such as Firefly, Fringe, and the =
reimagined Battlestar Galactica as evidence. How do we define these =
purported golden ages in screen SF and understand their =
interrelationship?  Has science fiction on screen yet to find its Golden =
Age?

This area invites 20-minute papers dealing with all aspects of how the =
concept of a "Golden Age" relates to science fiction in film, =
television, and other moving-image media. Because golden ages are, =
almost by definition, culturally specific, papers that explore screen SF =
from outside the United States are especially welcome.

Possible topics include, but are not limited to, the following:

=95 Defining golden ages in screen SF: quality v. quantity, word v. =
image, spectacle v. ideas=20
=95 Films or television series that defined the (or a) golden age of =
Screen SF
=95 Screen SF's golden age(s) and the march of special effects
=95 Golden ages in non-US science fiction film or television
=95 Fan discourse and the framing of golden ages
=95 Adapting the "Golden Age" of print (or comic-book) SF for the screen
=95 Was there a golden age of children's SF television?

Proposals for complete panels (three related presentations) are also =
welcome, but they must include an abstract and contact information, =
including an e-mail address, for each presenter. For updates and =
registration information about the upcoming meeting, see the Film & =
History website (www.filmandhistory.org).


Please e-mail your 200-word proposal by 1 June 2014, to the area chair:

A. Bowdoin Van Riper
[email protected]

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