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An essay, highlighting the 20th and 21st century cultural concerns, including contemporary anxieties about the female body as they relate to two texts that are difficult to classify generically, Marge Piercy's novel, Woman on the Edge of Time, and Zack Snyder's film, Sucker Punch, is presented. It reports the practice of creating fictional worlds which mix science fiction with reality is symptomatic of a cultural disruption.

This chapter addresses monstrosity in terms of its discursive power, discussing its representation and performance in Zack Snyder's 2006 film 300. On one hand, performances of monstrosity can be seen to provide a manageable inscription of otherness in the discursive construction of the social space within the film's diegesis and, by extension, of the one we inhabit and thus concur to establish the split between the human and the inhuman that founds their hierarchies. On the other hand, ideology itself can be seen to rest on an obscene performance of violence that is inseparable from its humanitarian and democratic declarations. So, both the 'hero' Leonidas and the 'monster' Ephialtes, both the flawless bodies of the Spartan warriors and the moral and physical deformity of the traitor, are shown to be monstrous exhibits of the kind of violence that sets up the social space that they share, to be equal expressions of an unconfessed, but not for this less attractive, obscene supplement to the purity of ideology that the film nevertheless pursues. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article analyzes the film "300" by Zack Snyder. Particular focus is on the racist and insulting contents of the film. It mentions that the Australian film critic, Paul Byrnes called it as "one of the most sickeningly violent and mindless films of the new millennium." Also discusses the role of perceived politics of 300 in Iran's propaganda war against the West.

The author presents a criticism of the superhero films "Man of Steel" directed by Zach Snyder and "Birdman" directed by Alejandro González Iñárritu. He discusses the theme of masculinity in crisis, the sense of alienation experienced by the lead characters, and the re-attainment of power.

The article discusses the film adaptation, directed by Zack Snyder, of the graphic novel "Watchmen," illustrated by Dave Gibbons and written by Alan Moore. Emphasis is given to topics such as fidelity to source material, the cultivation of cross-referential practices in the context of multiple viewings, and viewing practices that favor the devotion and attention of fans.

Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons's Watchmen helped define a watershed period for the American comic book industry; however, although pre-production on various Watchmen film scripts began shortly after Watchmen's success, a full-fledged adaptation didn't hit theatres until Zack Snyder's Watchmen was released in 2009. This paper addresses the very different handling of utopianism in both versions of Watchmen, arguing that exploring utopianism in Moore's Watchmen provides much more to say about the traction of utopian social dreaming in our contemporary age than the deconstructionism that defines Snyder's film. In the end, while Snyder's Watchmen is visually arresting and effectively translates some of Moore's content into a cinematic medium, Moore's Watchmen uses the self-reflexivity of its superheroes to engage in a larger project on utopian inquiry and theorization in the realm of popular culture, an inquiry that remains important in today's broader cultural and socio-economic climates. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An essay is presented which discusses the relationship between the fictitious character Superman (Clark Kent), U.S. popular culture, American identity, American exceptionalism and globalization from the 1970s through the mid 2010s. An overview of Superman in American films, including "Man of Steel," directed by Zack Snyder, is provided.

The article discusses the relationship between the U.S. National Guard's advertising recruitment campaign for voluntary military service known as Soldier of Steel (SoS) and the Superman film "Man of Steel," directed by Zack Snyder and starring Henry Cavill, including through referencing the campaign's web site. An efforts to depict the similarity between the fictitious character Superman and National Guard soldiers is provided.

Popular films continue to replace history courses as the source of truth with regard to important events or eras. 300, in its interpretation of the Battle of Thermopylae, based on the graphic novel by Frank Miller, is an example of this trend. Rather than adhering to the presented historical facts of the event, 300 offers a hyperreal interpretation of the battle and the societies that surrounded it, infusing contemporary hegemonic ideologies regarding sexuality, classism, and race into a mediated discourse that presents the spectacle of the film as reality. This essay examines the narratives that are presented within the film, paying particular attention to how each narrative moves away from historical documentation and toward a hyperreality that glorifies violence, misogyny, and domination. How these narratives can potentially become the historical reality that individuals internalize is of particular concern here. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

A film criticism is presented of the 2007 film "300" directed by Zack Snyder and based on the graphic novel of same name by Frank Miller and Lynn Varley. Topics discussed include the the motion picture adaptations of comic books, the use of digital technologies in the making of "300" and other comic book adaptations, and Snyder's use of tableaux vivants, or the reproduction of art.

The film 300 tells a fictionalized account of 300 Spartans’ courageous stand against Xerxes’s Persian army that provided Greece a beacon of masculine strength, independence, and freedom. This study seeks to understand the racist and sexist ideologies represented in the film’s characterization of the Spartan and the Persian armies. To uncover ideologies in the film, we conducted a textual analysis focusing on the intersecting constructions of nation, race, and gender. Our findings suggest that the film advances ideological support for the duty of Whiteness and masculinity in the United States, specifically, and the West, generally, to protect itself from the external, invading forces of the Orientalized racial “other” and against the internal, corrosive forces of femininity. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The COVID-19 pandemic accelerated the importance of streaming within the context of commercial transmedia strategies. While cinemas have remained closed, studios have used streaming to extend audience engagement, and experiment with transmedia strategies attached to large intellectual properties. This paper seeks to determine how the pandemic affected transmedia and a shift to streaming. Drawing from key scholarly transmedia theory, and industry insights into transmedia best practice, this paper analyses the release of Marvel's WandaVision and Zack Snyder's Justice League and maps them against the larger transmedia strategies being used by Disney and Warner Bros. to create the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) and DC Extended Universe (DCEU), respectively. This research demonstrates that streaming has become the critical component of commercial transmedia. Marvel are using streaming to enhance the integrity of one consistent storyworld. DC are placing greater priority on character than storyworld and using streaming to create a multiverse experience with divergent authorial voices. These varied styles of transmedia storytelling can be attributed to the organisational structures of each parent company, as well as the comic book source material. The pandemic created an opportunity to observe the amplified audience reactions to each approach. As streaming platforms occupy a greater role in transmedia scholarship, these findings will assist in the development of longitudinal research that explores the transformative impact of streaming on commercial transmedia entertainment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A criticism is presented of the 2004 zombie horror film "Dawn of the Dead," directed by Zack Snyder and the 1978 film "Dawn of the Dead," directed by George A. Romero. Particular focus is given to the films' use of muzak, including to depict an apocalyptic scene and during the opening of elevator doors.

The article analyzes the film "Man of Steel." Particular focus is given to the evolution of the character of Superman in the film specifically on the latest incarnation of the character in the film. It explores the subtextual interplay of the film with the contemporary U.S. military and religion as it addresses audience cynicism.

The article presents an analysis of zombie films, an aspect of the horror genre, focusing on ways in which such films made in the 21st century have represented themes of global concern and terrorism. Particular attention is given to the influence of horror director George Romero on the zombie film sub-genre. Several films are analyzed including "28 Days Later," directed by Danny Boyle and starring Cillian Murphy, Noah Huntley, and Naomie Harris, "Dawn of the Dead," a 2004 remake of the original Romero film directed by Zack Snyder, and "Diary of the Dead," directed by Romero.

The article presents a film criticism of the 2004 remake "Dawn of the Dead," directed by Zack Snyder. The analysis focuses on Snyder's use of interracial romance between a black man and a white woman that results in an interracial child, the birth of whom represents, according to the author, a North American zombie nightmare. This creation of a mulatto zombie is explored at length with respect to the historical similarities in North American treatment of people of mixed race and of zombies.

The article offers criticism on the 2009 film "Watchmen," directed by Zack Snyder and based on a 1987 graphic novel by Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons. The author discusses how the film differs from the novel by depicting an attack on worldwide cities rather than a squid attack centered on New York City. The author discusses the alteration as a response to the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks in New York City and focuses on the character of Adrian Veidt in the film.

The article presents criticism on the film adaptation "Watchmen," directed by Zach Snyder. "Watchmen" was a monthly comic-book from 1986-1987 about a group of superheroes. Alterations to the comic-book were made so as to provide the script with an updated version of events relevant to the late twentieth and early twenty-first centuries which resulted in an awkward narration that drew criticism from viewers. Criticism on song choice, background scenes, visual effects are also presented.

The heroic defence of the Greeks at the battle of Thermopylae in 480 BC, in particularly the 300 Spartans who stood to the last man against the much larger Persian force, prompted comic book writer and illustrator Frank Miller to retell this story from a purely Spartan perspective. This version was retold once again when director Zack Snyder created a filmed version of the graphic novel named 300. Despite the film's achievements at the box office, it was attacked for being, amongst others, historically incorrect and ideologically biased. In the graphic novel Frank Miller tells the tale of the battle at Thermopylae through the eyes of a Spartan warrior who bore the responsibility of spreading their tale so that the Spartans' sacrifice might compel other Greek city-states to stand together against the Persians. Therefore the graphic novel and especially the film are drenched with Spartan superiority and Persian inferiority. Despite the inaccuracies and ideological bias, there are a few moments in the graphic novel and film that are notably historically correct. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]