The inauguration of Earth Day and creation of the US Environmental Protection Agency in 1970 af‐ firmed a growing public and political interest in the US in a wide range of environmental issues. In response, the American science fiction film genre also turned its attention toward issues surrounding environmental degradation, population growth, and global warming, with the timely release of films like SILENT RUNNING (1972), SOYLENT GREEN (1973) and DAY OF THE ANIMALS (1977). The lecture will trace
the engagement with environmental concerns in American science fiction film from the 1970s through to more recent examples like THE DAY AFTER TOMORROW (2004), AVATAR (2009), OBLIVION (2013) and INTERSTELLAR (2014). In particular it will focus upon this film genre’s repeated use of the post‐ apocalyptic narrative to signal the importance, magnitude and global reach of issues surrounding the environment.

Christine Cornea is lecturer with the Department of Film, Tele‐ vision and Media Studies at the University of East Anglia in the UK. Her teaching and research has broadly been concerned with the cultural significance of popular cinema and television genres. Recent work has specifically revolved around questions of race, gender/sexuality, screen performance, industrial aes‐ thetics and practices in film and television. While her approach draws upon both historical and theoretical traditions, current work has also focused upon the use of qualitative research, in particular the practitioner interview. She has published widely on science fiction, including articles in Velvet Light Trap, Quar‐ terly Review of Film and Video, Genders, The Biochemist.
Selected publications: Science Fiction Cinema. Between Fantasy and Reality (2007); Genre and Per‐ formance (ed., 2010); Dramatising Disaster (co‐ed. 2013) and Science Fiction, Ethics and the Human Condition (co‐ed., forthcoming 2016).

Vortrag, Freitag, 22.1., 11.15 (Sektion 1: Visionen)