Description
Ever since the discovery of the first fossil remains in the 19th century, dinosaurs have captured the imaginations of scientists and inspired writers, artists, and filmmakers. Dinosaurs, and legends about them are firmly entrenched in popular culture, where scientific information and our interest in the life of the past most often meet. Starring T. Rex! considers dinosaurs as a cultural phenomenon, seen as the interaction of three factors — paleontological discoveries, the cultural interest these discoveries awaken, and the possibilities they offer for commercial exploitation. Jose Luis Sanz explains that the knowledge generated by paleontologists enters popular culture at a mythological level and that the mass communication media (for example, science fiction literature, comic books, television, and movies) are the vehicles that link science and its reflection in culture. Sanz first analyzes the historical origins of the dinosaur myth in modern society. He then considers the manner in which information drawn from scientific study enters popular consciousness, discussing, among other things, the coexistence of men and dinosaurs, what dinosaurs looked like, extinction, the presence of dinosaurs in fantasy stories, and the relationship between dinosaurs and dragons. Preliminary Table of Contents: Introduction 1. Surprise: The Origin of the Myth 2. Dinosaur Hunters: They Really Existed! 3. Arthur Conan Doyle: Lost Worlds and Cavemen 4. The Second Dinosaur Rush 5. Dinosaur Cartoons: Fantasia 6. Were Dinosaurs Stupid? 7. Dinosaur Renaissance 8. Dinomania 9. The Synchrony of Men and Dinosaurs 10. The Myth of the Lost World 11. Frozen Dinosaurs 12. Time Travels 13. Dinosaurs of the Future 14. Exodinosaurs 15. The New Frontiers of Science: Jurassic Park 16. The Extinction of the Dinosaurs 17. Nessie and Friends 18. Intelligent Dinosaurs 19. The Coexistence of Men and Dinosaurs 20. The Man-Dinosaur Conflict 21. Dinosaurs and Terror 22. What Dinosaurs Looked Like 23. Japanese Creatures 24. Dragons and Dinosaurs 25. The Dinosaurs’ Way of Life in the Fantasy Story 26. Eggs and Young Epilogue Index
