Death in Classic and Contemporary Film: Fade to Black

Front Matter....Pages i-ix
Introduction: When the Lights Go Down....Pages 1-15
Front Matter....Pages 17-17
A Terror Management Analysis of Films from Four Genres: The Matrix, Life is Beautiful, Iron Man 2, and Ikiru....Pages 19-36
The End is Near: Mortality Salience in Apocalyptic Films....Pages 37-52
Front Matter....Pages 53-53
Little Murders: Cultural Animals in an Existential Age....Pages 55-71
Icons of Stone and Steel: Death, Cinema, and the Future of Emotion....Pages 73-90
Consumed in the Act: Grizzly Man and Frankenstein....Pages 91-103
Black Swan/White Swan: On Female Objectification, Creatureliness, and Death Denial....Pages 105-117
Death, Wealth, and Guilt: An Analysis of There Will be Blood....Pages 119-134
The Birth and Death of the Superhero Film....Pages 135-150
Front Matter....Pages 151-151
Bergman and the Switching Off of Lights....Pages 153-165
Kubrick and Death....Pages 167-183
Haneke’s Amour and the Ethics of Dying....Pages 185-196
Front Matter....Pages 197-197
Visions of Death: Native American Cinema and the Transformative Power of Death....Pages 199-216
From Despair and Fanaticism to Awe: A Posttraumatic Growth Perspective on Cinematic Horror....Pages 217-229
Conclusion: Cinematic Death Benefits....Pages 231-245
Back Matter....Pages 247-263