A Critical Companion to Steven Spielberg offers a comprehensive, detailed study of the works of Steven Spielberg. Spielberg's early productions stand as landmarks in contemporary cinema, and his involvement with film spans all cinematic genres. Today, Spielberg enjoys an immense and enduring popularity around the globe, and his productions have attracted (and continue to attract) both public and critical attention. This book investigates several distinct areas of Spielberg's works and addresses the different approaches and the range of topics invited by the multidimensionality of his oeuvre. The eighteen chapters in this book use different methodologies, offering a variegated and compelling picture of Spielberg's films, from his earliest works such as Duel (1971) and The Sugarland Express (1974) to his most recent productions, such as The BFG (2016), The Post (2017), and Ready Player One (2018).
Adam Barkman is professor of philosophy and chair of the Philosophy Department at Redeemer University College. Antonio Sanna teaches English language and literature in Sassari, Italy.
Part I: The Artist and Philosopher Chapter 1: "One of the Phenomenal Debut Films in the History of Movies": The Sugarland Express as Expression of Spielberg's 'Movie Sense' and as Contribution to a Genre Cycle, David LaRocca Chapter 2: Adapting Objects: Spielberg and the Art of Making Strange, Paul Johnson Chapter 3: Fear and Wonder: The Lived-Body Experience of Spielberg's Cinema, Adam Daniel Chapter 4: Galloping into the Jaws of Death: The Psychology of Animal Symbolism in Jaws and War Horse, Jennifer L. McMahon Chapter 5: A Million Light Years from Home: Spielberg's Extraterrestrials, Transhumanism, and Constructions of Alterity, Elizabeth Lowry Chapter 6: Of Children and Redrums: The Influence of Stanley Kubrick on A.I. and Minority Report, Elsa Colombani Part II: The Dreamer Chapter 7: Poiesis and Miracles: From Something Evil to "The Mission," Fernando Gabriel Pagnoni Berns, Mariana Soledad Zarate, and Eduardo Veteri Chapter 8: Deus ex Machina: Spielberg's Fantastic Visions of Tragedy and Grace, Joshua Sikora Chapter 9: A Modern Pythia: The Oracle in Minority Report, Sabine Planka Chapter 10: The Politics of Nostalgia: Reconstructing Epic Heroism in Spielberg's Amblin' and Always, Christian Jimenez Chapter 11: Piracy, Boy Heroes, and the Importance of Playing the Game in Spielberg's Hook and The Adventures of Tintin, Sue Matheson Chapter 12: Categorizing E.T., Christopher H. Ketcham Part III: The Historian Chapter 13: "I Thought You Were an American": Spielberg, 1941, and Saving Private Ryan, Sean O'Reilly Chapter 14: Testimonies of the Past: Spielberg's Moral Exploration of Racial Discrimination," Michael Versteeg Chapter 15: Writing Postmodern Histories in Hollywood: The Portrayal of the Male Characters in Catch Me If You Can, Bridge of Spies, and The Post, Orsolya Karacsony Chapter 16: Dignified Professor and Intrepid Adventurer: Two Facets of Indiana Jones, Carl Sobocinski Chapter 17: "We Spared No Expense": Practical Utopias in Jurassic Park, The Terminal, and Ready Player One," Carl Sweeney Chapter 18: Trivialization, Displacement, and Historical Amnesia: The Work of Innocence and Embrace in Empire of the Sun and War of the Worlds, Naaman K. Wood and David J. Strickler
No serious scholar of film should be without this important book dealing with such a significant film maker and cultural icon as Steven Spielberg. The book provides comprehensive and in-depth treatment of the man and his work-both in relation to his person and history-as well as his actual films. A must have. -- Bill Anderson, Professor of Religious Studies at Concordia University of Edmonton This edited collection is of great importance to film studies. The contributors have a wide variety of perspectives and topics and cover the most recent film releases. They represent a young cohort of scholars and they unite to analyze Spielberg's cinema at the highest level and to embed his work into the long tradition of the civilized arts. -- Frederick Wasser, professor of television and radio, Brooklyn College CUNY
