Introduction: Beastmode

Abstract

The introduction presents the central thesis of the text that there is an important connection between the study of science fiction and that of sport. No unlike the marginalization of science fiction itself, sport and athleticism have historically been viewed with suspicion and derision and the athlete (and their body) afforded a fear akin to that which we reserve for the most frightening monsters. Science fiction is a genre well suited to studying the monster and, while criticism on the topic is lacking, has a long history of highlighting the embodied exclusion of the athlete. These connections are mapped here, a methodology for the book laid out, and chapter synopses provided.