This article discusses representations of Los Angeles in science fiction films in the context of the aesthetic tradition of the sublime. The article argues that a Los Angeles science fiction sublime is achieved through representations that feature nature and culture hybrids, elaborate design and special effects (including the destruction of Los Angeles monuments), and detective narratives that provide labyrinthine investigations that challenge our understanding of identity, history, and being. Given that these tendencies have gained prominence only since 1980, the article considers postmodernism as an aesthetic category that can help us understand how Los Angeles spaces are integrated in the neoliberal world system.
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