Science Fiction, Fantasy, and Politics

As Europe’s leading critic on transmedia culture, Dan Hassler-Forest’s Science Fiction, Fantasy, and Politics guides us through the landscapes of contemporary film, television, and video. From Tolkien to Afro-futurism, from Raymond Williams to Hardt and Negri, Hassler-Forest delivers a set of sharp commentaries on the hazards of capitalist mythologies and pitfalls of post-capitalist desires in these alternative lifeworlds. -- Stephen Shapiro, Professor, Dept. of English & Comparative Literary Studies, University of Warwick
Science Fiction, Fantasy, and Politics explores the intersection between world-building as practiced in speculative fiction and the desire to imagine (or constrain) alternatives to contemporary capitalism. He writes knowingly, affectionately, yet critically, about franchises as diverse as Battlestar Galactica, Game of Thrones, Hunger Games, and The Walking Dead, mapping the ways each embodies contradictions at the heart of neoliberal capitalism -- contradictions that surface in terms of their formal properties as transmedia franchises, their commercial contexts, and the consumer practices they inspire. -- Henry Jenkins, Provost's Professor of Communication, Journalism, Cinematic Arts, and Education at the University of Southern California, Author of Convergence Culture: Where Old and New Media Collide
Science Fiction, Fantasy, and Politics offers a wide ranging analysis of transmedia storyworlds and fan culture, covering branding, ‘Quality TV’, the HBO effect, political revolution, race and gender … [The book] is certainly an interesting and worthwhile read. * Participations: The International Journal of Audience and Reception Studies *