Neuroscience in Science Fiction Films

by Sharon Packer M.D.

Overview

As the gap between science fiction and science fact has narrowed, films that were intended as pure fantasy at the time of their premier have taken on deeper meaning. This volume explores neuroscience in science fiction films, focusing on neuroscience and psychiatry as running themes in SF and finding correlations between turning points in "neuroscience fiction" and advances in the scientific field. The films covered include The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, The Island of Dr. Moreau, Robocop, The Stepford Wives, The Mind Snatchers and iconic franchises like Terminator, Ironman and Planet of the Apes. Examining the parallel histories of psychiatry, neuroscience and cinema, this book shows how science fiction films offer insightful commentary on the scientific and philosophical developments of their times.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780786472345
Publisher:	McFarland & Company, Incorporated Publishers
Publication date:	11/20/2014
Pages:	300
Product dimensions:	6.90(w) x 9.90(h) x 0.70(d)
Age Range:	18 Years

About the Author

Sharon Packer, M.D., is a New York City psychiatrist and an assistant clinical professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences at Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai.

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

Acknowledgements  ix
Preface  1
Introduction  5
One. Neuroscience Fiction Film in ­Post-Psychoanalytic Society  13
Two. Movies and the Mind (and the Rebirth of the Brain)  22
Three. The Legacy of 19th Century Literature  46
Four. Automatons, Androids, Replicants and RoboCops  61
Five. Human-Ape Brain Exchanges, Darwinian Debates and the “Monkey Gland Man”  80
Six. Sputnik, Space Aliens and Brains from Outer Space  98
Seven. Science Fiction in Social Problem Films  125
Eight. Brain Drains, Brain Chips and Brain Machines  141
Nine. Flashbacks, ­Flash-Forwards and Flash Drives  164
Ten. Memory, Mentation and Medication: Before Birth and After Alzheimer’s  177
Eleven. Dream Scenes: From Silent Cinema to Salvador Dalí to CGI  191
Twelve. Video Games, Virtual Reality and “Reality Testing”  206
Thirteen. Drugs, Dystopias and Utopias  216
Fourteen. Computers, Consciousness and Control  233
Conclusion: Hive Minds, Herds and Jung’s Collective Unconscious  239
Afterword  241
Filmography  245
Chapter Notes  249
Bibliography  259
Index  271

Editorial Reviews

a treasure of interesting information awaits the curious and committed reader!”—Metapsychology Online Reviews; “contributes important new ideas and analyses to the study of brain-centric, neuroscience-focused SF film...interesting and insightful...recommended”—SRFA Review.

From the Publisher