| Acknowledgments |
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viii | |
| Prologue: Reading the Law `Made Strange' |
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1 | (27) |
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1 | (4) |
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II The Theo-legality of Modern Law: Towards a Theological Jurisprudence Today |
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5 | (7) |
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III Cultural Legal Studies as `Making Strange' |
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12 | (4) |
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IV The Law `Made Strange': Taking Speculative Fiction Seriously |
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16 | (8) |
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24 | (4) |
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1 From Shyamalan's Unbreakable to Snyder's Man of Steel: Comic-book Mythology on Screen and the Co-implication of Good and Evil |
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28 | (46) |
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28 | (3) |
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II Superheroes and Justice: Comic-books as Visual Legal Mythology |
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31 | (5) |
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III Visual Realism and Viewerly Engagement: The Superhero Film as a Comic |
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36 | (6) |
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IV Pop Culture Manichaeism: Visualising the Battle Between Good and Evil |
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42 | (5) |
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V Responding to `Radical Evil': The Superhero Critique of Law |
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47 | (8) |
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VI Justice-dramas, Law's Mythic Restoring of Order and Evil as `Meaningless Suffering' |
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55 | (8) |
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VII Rethinking the Law's Response: Demythologising the Subjective Account of Evil |
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63 | (8) |
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VIII Conclusion: Superheroes as Figures of Law and Justice |
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71 | (3) |
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2 The Force of/as Modern Law: Justice, Order and the Secular Theology of Star Wars |
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74 | (48) |
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I Introduction: An Eternal Recurrence |
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74 | (3) |
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II Star Wars as Legal Mythology: `I've got a bad feeling about this' |
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77 | (7) |
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III `I find your lack of faith disturbing': The Pluralistic Religion of the Force |
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84 | (5) |
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IV `Train yourself to let go of everything you fear to lose': The Ethics of Star Wars or the Subjectivity of Late Capitalism |
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89 | (7) |
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V `We'll use the Force That's not how the Force works': Ideology in the Age of Empire |
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96 | (8) |
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VI `It surrounds us, it penetrates us, it binds the galaxy together': The Immanent Legality of Star Wars |
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104 | (10) |
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VII `More powerful than you could possibly imagine': Exceptional Legality, Transcendent Sovereignty and the `Democratic' Multitude |
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114 | (5) |
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VIII Conclusion: `May the Force be with you' or `Saving what we love' |
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119 | (3) |
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3 The Superhero `Made Strange': A Christological Reading of Christopher Nolan's The Dark Knight |
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122 | (28) |
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122 | (2) |
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II Myths of the Post-9/11 Superhero: Exceptional Saviours and Legal Justice |
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124 | (7) |
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III `When the chips are down, these "civilised people" will eat each other': The Joker, Hobbes and the State of Nature |
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131 | (6) |
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IV `The only morality in a cruel world is chance': Law, Procedural Justice and the Toss of the Coin |
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137 | (4) |
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V Law, Compassion and the Non-hero: Batman as a Typology of Christ |
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141 | (7) |
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VI Conclusion: `We don't need another hero' |
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148 | (2) |
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4 A Tale of Two Gothams: Revolution, Sacrifice and the Rule of Law in The Dark Knight Rises |
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150 | (34) |
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150 | (3) |
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II A Theo-Legality of Trauma: The Dark Knight Rises as `Sacrificial Film' |
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153 | (6) |
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III `Fire Rises': Revolution and the Rule of Law or Dickens in Cape and Cowl |
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159 | (8) |
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IV `Then you have my permission to die': Political Theology and Parodic Legality |
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167 | (8) |
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V `A hero can be anyone': The Mask, Identity and Destituent Power |
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175 | (6) |
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VI Conclusion: A Thanatopolitics of the City or an Affirmative `Living Sacrifice'? |
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181 | (3) |
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5 Pauline Science Fiction: Alex Proyas's I, Robot, Universalism and Love Beyond the Law |
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184 | (29) |
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184 | (3) |
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II `The Machine runs itself': Allusions to Theology and Law as Technology |
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187 | (7) |
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III Alain Badiou, `the Event' and the `Return to Paul' |
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194 | (5) |
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IV Do Robots Have Rights?: A Post-human Breaking with Identitarian Categories |
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199 | (6) |
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V `Laws are made to be broken': Breaking with the Logic of the Law |
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205 | (6) |
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VI Conclusion: Love Beyond the Law - `That's what it means to be free' |
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211 | (2) |
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6 Escaping the Bureaucratisation of Destiny: Law, Theology and Freedom in George Nolfi's The Adjustment Bureau |
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213 | (28) |
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213 | (2) |
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II Questions of Genre: Theological Science Fiction and Philip K. Dick on Screen |
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215 | (4) |
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III `Whatever happened to "free will"?': The Metaphysical Speculations of The Adjustment Bureau |
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219 | (6) |
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IV `That's just a name we use': Nominalist Political Theology from Duns Scotus to Hobbes |
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225 | (5) |
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V `Did You really think you could reach the Chairman?': The Absent Sovereign or `Where is the Chairman'? |
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230 | (5) |
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VI `Because she's enough': Love of One for Another |
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235 | (4) |
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VII Conclusion: `Free will is a gift' |
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239 | (2) |
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7 `If more people valued home above gold this world would be a merrier place': Hospitality, Gift-exchange and the Theological Jurisprudence of J. R. R. Tolkien's and Peter Jackson's The Hobbit |
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241 | (27) |
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I Introduction: Tolkien on Screen (Again) |
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241 | (3) |
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II The Hobbit as Fairy-tale: Tolkien's Gift and the Aporia of Hospitality |
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244 | (8) |
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III `You call that a fair trade?' Contract, Sovereignty and the Autonomous Subject |
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252 | (5) |
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IV T may be a burglar but I like to think I'm an honest one': Gift, Theft and Love |
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257 | (6) |
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V Conclusion: A Theological Jurisprudence of Speculative Cinema |
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263 | (5) |
| Bibliography |
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268 | (29) |
| Index |
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297 | |
