Alien Zone II: The Spaces of Science Fiction Cinema

Science fiction, more than any other film genre, allows cinema to exhibit its own distinctive matters of expression. Whether these be the state-of-the-art special effects technologies of 2001: A Space Odyssey, or the symbolic imagery of ruined cityscapes in Blade Runner, they allow the spectator to experience the totality of the audiovisual thrill.

While this remains in many ways the core defining feature of the genre, recent trends in the study of science fiction cinema have seen a shift of...