Science Fiction: Stories and Context Masri

Running head: ANNOTATED BIBLIOGRAPHY ON MEN IN BLACK
Annotated Bibliography on Men in Black
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ANNOTATED BIBLIOGRAPHY ON MEN IN BLACK
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1. Masri, H. (Ed.). (2008). Science Fiction: Stories and Context
Masri’s pioneer work presents a concise retrospective of the genre science fiction. Also, the
author presents a comprehensive discourse on the genre and it’s the cultural context surrounded
by the genre of science fiction. The collection of fictional stories, edited by Heather Masri, is
categorized into thematic sections, such as alien invasion or artificial life etc. and further, are
critically analyzed connecting the theoretical and applied motifs. Masri herself has opined in the
forewords of the book that the work might serve as a useful starting point of researching the
contextual background of the genre. By and large, the purpose of this anthology is to provide the
reader a social and cultural contextualization of science fiction as a mainstream genre. It
carefully analyzes the background, motifs and often neglected social and political connotations
of each story, constructing a solid foundation to study and understand science fiction as a work
of art. The significance of the book in the present context of researching lies in its effective
insight into understanding science fiction as a genre in itself.
2. Bökös, B. (2019). Human-Alien Encounters in Science Fiction: A Postcolonial
Perspective.
The purpose of this article by Bökös is to relate the human-alien encounter, as portrayed
by the mainstream science fiction movies, with existing social theories in order to understand
their thematic representation and contextual background. In this article, Bökös presents three
Hollywood movies, namely The Host, Avatar and The Body Snatchers, and subsequently
analyzes them in relation to postcolonial theories. In the due process, Bökös tries to revisit the
cultural and historical backgrounds of the two conflicting groups, i.e. the human and the aliens;
thereby examining the aftermath of their encounters as portrayed in those movies. The findings

ANNOTATED BIBLIOGRAPHY ON MEN IN BLACK
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and the assertions of this article is particularly important in understanding the present
representation of the movie Men in Black, as the film also uses the setting of human–alien
encounter, although from a unique perspective than Bökös’s. Men in Black depicts the aliens as
immigrants in the planet earth, and puts them under the purview of regular law and order. Hence,
the contextualization of the thematic focus is necessary to understand while examining the
movie. To this end, Bökös’s perspective might offer significant insight.
3. Valenti, M. (2018). More than a Movie: Ethics in Entertainment
In this book, Valenti reviews and examines the impact of films as a creative media on
society. The discourse further extends to a critical evaluation of the ethical responsibility of
media as a significant player of society. Valenti includes the representation of women,
stereotypes, violence, sex and portrayal of the USA in the eyes of the international audience.
Also, he discusses the extent of freedom of expression as maintained by the media, as well as the
impact on children. The essence of the entire discourse rests on his central question “Does
Influence Imply Responsibility?”. The importance of the ethical analysis of media’s role in
public life relates to the present discussion as a poignant parameter of analyzing representation,
stereotyping, as well as the depiction of violence in a movie. The movie Men in Black essentially
portrays the aliens as ‘others’ in context of society and governance, not to ignore the use of
violence in the movie, it is important to determine whether the filmmakers exercise their creative
liberty within the limits of ethical responsibility.
4. RogerEbert.com (1997). Men In Black movie review & film summary (1997)
The notable critic website describes the movie Men in Black as big budget action
movie, although not intending to convey any serious social or political message. The
movie revolves around the story of Agent M (played by Tommy Lee Jones) and Agent J