{"title":"Jan Johnson-Smith","description":null,"products":[{"product_id":"american-science-fiction-tv-book-jan-johnson-smith-9781860648823","title":"American Science Fiction TV","description":"From \"The Next Generation\" and \"The X-Files\", to \"Farscape\" and \"Enterprise\", sci-fi television series in the US have multiplied since the 1980s. Jan Johnson-Smith shows how, in line with national political upheavals, this vibrant and perplexing genre set about expanding the myth of the Western frontier into deep space. She looks at the \"sense of wonder\" or sublime that infuses much Frontier art and science fiction, and traces a possible historical precedent to the genre in the fabulous and heroic journeys of the Classical epic. She discusses narrative styles and their influences, from the overarching narrative of \"Babylon 5\" to the episodic formula of \"The Outer Limits\", considers how experimental series such as \"Twin Peaks\" challenge conventional structures, and how and why sci-fi television has adopted new technologies. She also explores the juxtaposition of arcane language and technological jargon in modern American sci-fi television, revealing the extraordinarily alien, yet curiously familiar arena it creates.","brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"GB \/ VERY_GOOD \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":49512047018257,"sku":"GOR002883962","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"GB \/ GOOD \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":50730325967121,"sku":"GOR003476038","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/1860648827.jpg?v=1751027686"},{"product_id":"american-science-fiction-tv-book-jan-johnson-smith-9780819567383","title":"American Science Fiction TV","description":"From The Next Generation and The X-Files to Farscape and Enterprise, science fiction television shows have millions of devoted fans. American Science Fiction TV is the first full-length study of this popular genre. Writing with the clarity of a scholar and the enthusiasm of a fan, Jan Johnson-Smith shows how science fiction television has displaced the Western in the American cultural imagination. As advances in special effects have made science fiction television technically feasible on a more lavish scale than ever before, visual style has become as important as narrative--sometimes even more important--in expressing the meaning of the genre. The main part of the book uses case studies of several key science fiction series, including Space: Above and Beyond, StarGate SG-1, and Babylon 5, to exemplify particular narrative patterns and visual styles. The case studies explore themes such as politics, ideology, race and ethnicity, gender difference, militarism, and the use of science fiction narratives as allegories of present-day social and political concerns. American Science Fiction TV opens an important new area of genre studies and will be of interest to scholars and fans alike.","brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"- \/ - \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":53396497105169,"sku":null,"price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"US \/ GOOD \/ SBYB","offer_id":53396498055441,"sku":"CIN0819567388G","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/9780819567383.jpg?v=1775851352"}],"url":"https:\/\/www.worldofbooks.com\/collections\/author-books-by-jan-johnson-smith.oembed","provider":"World of Books ","version":"1.0","type":"link"}