Race, Gender, and Sexuality in Post-Apocalyptic TV and Film
Also by Barbara Gurr Reproductive Justice: The Politics of Healthcare for Native American Women
Race, Gender, and Sexuality in Post-Apocalyptic TV and Film Edited by Barbara Gurr
RACE, GENDER, AND SEXUALITY IN POST-APOCALYPTIC TV AND FILM Selection and editorial content Barbara Gurr 2015 Individual chapters their respective contributors 2015 Softcover reprint of the hardcover 1st edition 2015 978-1-137-50150-9 All rights reserved. No reproduction, copy or transmission of this publication may be made without written permission. No portion of this publication may be reproduced, copied or transmitted save with written permission. In accordance with the provisions of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988, or under the terms of any licence permitting limited copying issued by the Copyright Licensing Agency, Saffron House, 6-10 Kirby Street, London EC1N 8TS. Any person who does any unauthorized act in relation to this publication may be liable to criminal prosecution and civil claims for damages. First published 2015 by PALGRAVE MACMILLAN The authors have asserted their rights to be identified as the authors of this work in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988. Palgrave Macmillan in the UK is an imprint of Macmillan Publishers Limited, registered in England, company number 785998, of Houndmills, Basingstoke, Hampshire, RG21 6XS. Palgrave Macmillan in the US is a division of Nature America, Inc., One New York Plaza, Suite 4500, New York, NY 10004-1562. Palgrave Macmillan is the global academic imprint of the above companies and has companies and representatives throughout the world. E-PUB ISBN: 978-1-137-49333-0 ISBN 978-1-349-57041-6 ISBN 978-1-137-49331-6 (ebook) DOI 10.1007/978-1-137-49331-6 Distribution in the UK, Europe and the rest of the world is by Palgrave Macmillan, a division of Macmillan Publishers Limited, registered in England, company number 785998, of Houndmills, Basingstoke, Hampshire RG21 6XS. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data is available from the Library of Congress. A catalogue record for the book is available from the British Library.
This book is dedicated to Mary Shelley, Octavia Butler, Marge Piercy Han Solo, William Adama, Doctor Who Dr. Joan Joffe Hall, who first introduced me to feminist science fiction Morgan Dorm, for (oddly formative) hours and hours of Star Trek and Cheers My mom, the librarian, who never put a book down or told me to And, always, To Hailey and Charlie Proceeds from the sale of this edition go to support Girls Who Code because what they do is important. You would think so too check em out at girlswhocode.com
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Contents Acknowledgments ix Introduction: After the World Ends, Again 1 Barbara Gurr Part I The More Things Change, the More They Stay the Same... 15 1 Organisms and Human Bodies as Contagions in the Post-Apocalyptic State 17 Robert A. Booth 2 Masculinity, Race, and the (Re?)Imagined American Frontier 31 Barbara Gurr 3 Gender in the Aftermath: Starbuck and the Future of Woman in Battlestar Galactica 45 Tracey Raney and Michelle Meagher 4 The Visibility and Invisibility of Class, Race, Gender, and Sexuality in The Hunger Games 59 Mary C. Burke and Maura Kelly 5 Post-Apocalyptic Inequalities: Race, Class, Gender, and Sexualities in Firefly 71 J. Sumerau and Sarah L. Jirek Part II The Future in Flux 85 6 Queer Resistance in an Imperfect Allegory: The Politics of Sexuality in True Blood 87 Stacy Missari 7 Woman as Evolution: The Feminist Promise of the Resident Evil Film Series 99 Andrea Harris
viii Contents 8 Cops and Zombies: Hierarchy and Social Location in The Walking Dead 113 Melissa F. Lavin and Brian M. Lowe 9 We Don t Do History : Constructing Masculinity in a World of Blood 125 Amanda Hobson 10 The Apocalypse Is No-Thing To Wish For: Revisioning Traumatic Masculinities in John Hillcoat s The Road 137 Brent Strang 11 Propagation and Procreation: The Zombie and the Child 149 James Berger Afterword (Afterward) 165 Barbara Gurr Appendix: What Else Is Out There? 169 Kirk Lustila Notes on Contributors 177 Index 181
Acknowledgments My first thanks, always, go to Creator. My second, always, to my husband, who continues after all these years to listen to me rant when I need to and is kind enough to always tell me I m perfectly reasonable. In the post- apocalypse you re the one I want by my side, baby. The scholars who contributed to this book are all people I like it s been a genuine pleasure to meet them, work with them, and get to know them a little better. Their work here and elsewhere is an intellectual turn-on and I m eager for more. Thank you to each of you who wrote, revised, and revised again, figured out the citation style, met the deadlines, and contributed your thoughtful, insightful, and exciting expertise to this volume. My special thanks to Melissa Lavin for her extraabove-and-beyond efforts from beginning to end. My thanks also go to the editors and production assistants at Palgrave Macmillan for the steady hand, the endless patience, and the support for this project. This book began in a class I taught for the University of Connecticut s Women s, Gender and Sexuality Studies Program. The class was titled, quite accidentally, Settler Science Fiction and it was hands down one of the best classes I ve ever been a part of, peopled by sharp, committed feminist students who taught me way more than I could have possibly taught them. They have all since gone on to do their own fabulous and no doubt feminist things, but I hope someday they ll pick this up and know that I still think of them with love and appreciation. Speaking of undergraduate students, my deep appreciation also goes to the Women s, Gender and Sexuality Studies students who helped me edit this manuscript, keeping me as close to deadlines as anyone has ever managed to keep me (which is to say, not terribly close). In alphabetical order: Caroline Alexander, Lucas DeCastro, Austin Heffernan, and Giorgina Paiella. I would be remiss here if I did not also mention Kirk Lustila, who contributed the Appendix and it s a good thing, as his expertise as a consumer of numerous different media platforms far outshines my own. I want to close by thanking several people who likely don t even know how they ve contributed to this volume, or, perhaps, even to my life: Mike Morris,
x Acknowledgments whose commitment to and knowledge of both the superhero universe and the Star Trek universe are nothing short of inspirational, and whose kindness and wit sustain me from afar; Janessa Wilson, whose righteous rage keeps me on task and who is raising her daughters to define their own lives with power and dignity; Jennifer Clark, whose sheer determination to surround herself with books reminds me over and over that we live our lives literally and figuratively through the power of stories; and Dan Miller, for innumerable conversations about the merits of feminist literature over innumerable cappuccinos who knew, back then, that they would turn into a book indulging my science fiction obsession? Well, they did. I have been so fortunate in my life to have encountered such amazing people. The contributors and I hope this book is fun. We hope it s insightful. Most of all, we hope it encourages for you, dear reader, a critical analysis not only of popular culture and speculative fiction, but of the raced, gendered, and sexed customs, practices, and institutions which currently define and delimit so much of US society. We know that for many, the apocalypse has come and gone or is ongoing. When the dust settles, the disease is contained, and the zombies are destroyed, we hope that there is cooperation rather than competition, memory that is empowering but not tyrannical, and, somehow, lots of coffee. So say we all.