Planet of the Apes as American Myth: Race and Politics in the Films and Television Series

by Eric Greene

Overview

How do political conflicts shape popular culture? This book explores that question by analyzing how the Planet of the Apes films functioned both as entertaining adventures and as apocalyptic political commentary. Informative and thought provoking, the book demonstrates how this enormously popular series of secular myths used images of racial and ecological crisis to respond to events like the Cold War, the race riots of the 1960s, the Civil Rights movement, the Black Power movement, and the Vietnam War. The work utilizes interviews with key filmmakers and close readings of the five Apes films and two television series to trace the development of the series' theme of racial conflict in the context of the shifting ideologies of race during the sixties and seventies. The book also observes that today, amid growing concerns over race relations, the resurgent popularity of Apes and Twentieth Century--Fox's upcoming film may again make Planet of the Apes a pop culture phenomenon that asks who we are and where we are going.

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Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780786426638
Publisher:	McFarland & Company, Incorporated Publishers
Publication date:	03/31/2006
Edition description:	New Edition
Pages:	261
Sales rank:	520,797
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x 0.53(d)
Age Range:	18 Years

About the Author

Stanford Law School graduate Eric Greene is a civil rights activist and writer in Los Angeles.

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

Preface     
Introduction     

1. Planet of the Apes     
2. Return to the Planet of the Apes     
3. Urban Riots and Ape Revolution     
4. “Ape Has Killed Ape”     
5. Conclusion: Television, Comics, Toys and Comebacks     
Afterword: Beyond the Planet of the Apes     

Notes     
Filmography     
Bibliography     
Index     

Editorial Reviews

[the author] makes an utterly plausible case for his theory...you’ll be scratching your head in humbled agreement”—Entertainment Weekly; “engaging study.... Recommended”—SFRA Review; “interesting and accessible.... The filmography is exceptionally detailed”—Classic Images; “looks deeply into the films’ social commentary and message of racial distress”—Tuff Stuff’s Collect! “one of the finest scholarly film books I’ve ever read...amazing”—Reflections on Film/TV; “well researched and multifaceted”—Cashiers du Cinemart.

From the Publisher

interesting and accessible.... The filmography is exceptionally detailed

Classic Images

engaging study.... Recommended

SFRA Review

[the author] makes an utterly plausible case for his theory...you'll be scratching your head in humbled agreement

Entertainment Weekly