Outer Space and Popular Culture

1. Front Matter

   Pages i-viii

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2. The Influence of Mass Media on Society’s Views of Space Travel During the Cold War

   • Nicolas Ringas

   Pages 1-14

3. Space and Media

   • Eunice Pieterse

   Pages 15-24

4. The Use of Space in a Meaningful Manner as Part of Popular Culture in the Form of the Science Fiction Film

   • Anton de Waal Alberts

   Pages 25-33

5. The Role of Space in Aesthetic and Practical Design of Automobiles: A Look at Five Examples

   • James Wilson

   Pages 35-46

6. Space Robots

   • Karmini Konar

   Pages 47-56

7. Artificial Gravity in Popular Culture

   • Carl Eriksen

   Pages 57-62

8. Youngsters, Dreams and Motivation for Space Exploration

   • Nasir Mehmood

   Pages 63-70

9. Clowns in Space: An Introduction to Circus Aliens and Spaced-Out Comic Performers

   • Anna-Sophie Jürgens

   Pages 71-89

10. Keeping the Torch Burning for ‘Good Science’ in Popular Culture: Video Games, Space, and Education

    • André Siebrits

    Pages 91-106

11. Regarding Influences of Space on Popular Culture via the Medium of Science Fiction

    • Neal Prins

    Pages 107-116

12. Unspoiled Space: The Use of Space in Popular Culture as a Caution Against Environmental Degradation on Earth

    • David Lindgren

    Pages 117-128

13. Predictions of Science Fiction That Came True

    • Mónica Estébanez Camarena

    Pages 129-144

14. Seven Billion Deer in the Headlights

    • Bas Martens

    Pages 145-157

15. Hope at the Frontier: Firefly and the Value of Space Exploration

    • Mehak Sarang

    Pages 159-165

16. The Space Activities of Animals in African Fairy Tales in Light of International Space Regulations

    • Annette Froehlich

    Pages 167-177

This book provides detailed insights into how space and popular culture intersect across a broad spectrum of examples, including cinema, music, art, arcade games, cartoons, comics, and advertisements. This is a pertinent topic since the use of space themes differs in different cultural contexts, and these themes can be used to explore various aspects of the human condition and provide a context for social commentary on politically sensitive issues. With the use of space imagery evolving over the past sixty years of the space age, this is a topic ripe for in-depth exploration. The book also discusses the contrasting visions of space from the late 19th and early 20th centuries and the reality of today, and analyzes space vehicles and habitats in popular depictions of space from an engineering perspective, exploring how many of those ideas have actually been implemented in practice, and why or why not (a case of life imitating art and vice versa). As such, it covers a wide array of relevant and timely topics examining intersections between space and popular culture, and offering accounts of space and its effect on culture, language, and storytelling from the southern regions of the world.

• Space Law
• Space Policy
• ESPI
• Space Popular Culture
• Space Legislation
• Space Exploration in Arrica

• Department of Electrical Engineering/SpaceLab, University of Cape Town, Rondebosch, South Africa

  Annette Froehlich

Policies and ethics