Sounds of the Future: Essays on Music in Science Fiction Film

Covering titles ranging from Rocketship X-M (1950) to Wall-E (2008), these insightful essays measure the relationship between music and science fiction film from a variety of academic perspectives. Thematic sections survey specific compositions utilized in science fiction movies; Broadway's relationship with the genre; science fiction elements in popular songs; the conveyance of subjectivity and identity through music; and such individual composers as Richard Strauss (2001: A Space Odyssey) and Bernard Herrmann (The Day the Earth Stood Still).

Mathew J. Bartkowiak is an assistant professor at the University of Wisconsin at Marshfield-Wood County. His research interests include popular culture studies, music, social change and development, and the counterculture. His work can be found in such publications as The Journal of Popular Culture and the Journal for the Study of Radicalism.