Black hole films and television—and we include time warps and wormholes in this study—often connect to the ideas of Heaven and Hell. The concept of hell (either “hellish-ness” or hell itself) is found inside the black hole in several of these films—Disney’s The Black Hole and Event Horizon, to name but two. The concept of hell and the philosophical foundations that relate to hell and dis-order also connect to Solaris, Sphere, multiple Doctor Who episodes, and most recently, High Life. Conversely, the concepts of spirituality or heaven, and their relationship with science, are also touched upon in many of these films, including Interstellar and Contact. In examining this sub-genre of films, we investigate the fascinating philosophical connections that tie these films together. Why do black hole films bring out “the devil inside?” What role does heaven and spirituality play in this sub-genre of films? How do the philosophical underpinnings of these films connect to the outside-the-text experiences of contemporary audiences? Using philosophical approaches that relate to the study of Heaven and Hell and an overall structuralist approach, we draw the connections between the films and the possible redemptive possibilities they provide.
About the presentersNicki L Michalski
PhD Wayne State University, 2001 associate professor, Department of Communication and Media, Lamar University member of the Honors College faculty primary research areas: rhetoric, popular culture pop culture classes taught: reality as fairytale, serial killers in popular culture, Tolkien studies, Martian Pictures (team-taught with my co-author O’Brien Stanley, based on our book from McFarland)
O'Brien Ostrom Stanley
O’Brien Stanley MFA, is a professor at Lamar University in Beaumont, Texas. Professor Stanley teaches courses in film production, popular culture, film appreciation, and film theory/film genre studies. Professor Stanley recently completed a book with Lamar University faculty members Nicki Michalski, Lane Roth, and Steven Zani. The book, Martian Pictures: Analyzing the Cinema of the Red Planet (2018, McFarland), examines the role that Mars-themed science fiction films play in popular culture.