ABSTRACT
Chapter 5 explores the role that the sublime plays in contemporary cinematic special effects with particular attention paid to nostalgia for physical effects, animatronics, stunts, and stop-motion. The chapter begins by considering the impact of terror on Hollywood’s Disaster Cinema. It argues that recent films in this genre (Pacific Rim, White House Down, Olympus Has Fallen, San Andreas, et al.) represent a nostalgia for the 1990s (Independence Day, Armageddon, Godzilla, et al.), a desire to relive the time immediately preceding the dawn of the 21st century and its associated terror. Walter Benjamin and David Nye are used in the latter half of the chapter to explore ideas about American technological progress. Another consideration is the longevity of digital special effects and the Uncanny Valley. Some films considered include Jaws, which here is made a case study demonstrating nostalgia for physical effects, Jurassic Park, Avatar, and Star Wars, all of which show how digital technology has advanced the industry but also produces a counter-current of popular nostalgic desire for the ‘authenticity’ of past cinematic special effects.
