Book Review: Subversive Sci-Fi: Reflections on Futuristic Films That Broke the Rules edited by Prof. Christopher McGothlin, M.Ed.
Disclaimer: I contributed to the Kickstarter for this book.
In over a century of movies that can be considered “science fiction” of one sort or another, there have been a number that challenged the status quo in one way or another. This book is a collection of essays by various authors on forty-one of those films.
After an editorial introduction, the essays are mostly in chronological order by when the movie was released, from Metropolis (1927) to Crimes of the Future (2022). Each movie is discussed for what it did that was new (innovative effects!) or different (taboo subjects!) or otherwise “broke the rules” (going behind the distributor’s back!) A note here–all these essays spoil things about the movies they’re discussing, sometimes in great detail.
It’s an interesting assortment of movies, some acknowledged classics, some flops–a couple are even pretty bad. There’s a Disney film, a couple of anime features, representatives from Soviet and Bollywood movies…even a movie or two you may not have known was science fiction.
Given the variety of authors, the quality of essays also varies. I was especially fascinated by the essay on Ghost in the Shell (1995) which talks about the perspective of a woman who has chronic pain on the central character, a full-body cyborg. The least interesting essay for my taste was on Blood Machines (2020) which read more like a complaint about other movies than an examination of the one under discussion.
While these are scholarly essays, bright teenagers should have little difficulty following them. (Given that some of the movies are about taboo subjects, parents might want to check the book out before giving it to younger readers.) The book is currently available either as a downloadable PDF or print-on-demand. I especially liked the hardcover version of the physical book as the cover does not take fingerprints too easily, unlike some other POD books I’ve read recently.
Highly recommended to science fiction movie fans–this one would make a good gift for the one in your life who also likes books.
