In the Shadow of the Bomb - The Legacy of the Cold War in Dr. Strangelove, End Zone, Crash and The Wire

Detective McNulty applies bite marks to a deceased man's body with a set of dentures in The Wire, illustrating how officialdom deals in falsehood. Dr. Strangelove lovingly describes the "doomsday machine" as being free from "human meddling," while it destroys the world, highlighting the absurdity of placing systems above any moral considerations. In Crash, Ballard survives a car accident only to be cared for by a paternal technology that tends only to his physical needs--a life of technical certitude bereft of beauty.
The Cold War, with its promise of imminent and purposeless doom, profoundly shaped the post-modern world in ways that are not yet appreciated. This study examines the Cold War zeitgeist and its aftermath as shown in fiction, film and television.

List of contents

Table of Contents

Preface

Introduction: The Cold War, a Forge for Capitalist Technocracy

I.¿Dr. Strangelove: The Secular Apocalypse and Its Technical Imperative

II.¿End Zone and Crash: Hollow Creeds and Monstrous Rituals

III.¿The Wire and Game Theory: "All in the Game"

Conclusion: Imagination Is Irrationality

Chapter Notes

Bibliography

Index

About the author

Niall Heffernan is a writer, researcher and teacher at University College Cork in Ireland. He teaches on American literature, film and culture, contemporary literature and dystopian fiction.

Product details

• Authors: Niall Heffernan
• Publisher: Ingram Publishers Services
• Languages: English
• Age Recommendation: from age 18
• Product format: Paperback / Softback
• Released: 03.04.2018
• EAN: 9781476664668
• ISBN: 978-1-4766-6466-8
• No. of pages: 209
• Dimensions: 152 mm x 229 mm x 11 mm
• Weight: 263 g
• Illustrations: Raster,schwarz-weiss
• Subjects: Humanities, art, music > Art > Theatre, ballet; Television, Social & cultural history, LITERARY CRITICISM / American / General, LITERARY CRITICISM / Modern / 21st Century, LITERARY CRITICISM / Subjects & Themes / General, Cold War, Social and cultural history, PERFORMING ARTS / Film / General, The Cold War, Literary companions, book reviews & guides, Cold wars and proxy conflicts, Literary companions, book reviews and guides