1 The Martian: Crusoe at the Final Frontier

Studies in the English‐language Robinsonade at the Crusoe tercentenary

“…Recent, more focused approaches (Carroll, 2019; Wilson, 2020) have done justice to the popularity of such films as Duncan Jones's Moon (2009), Alfonso Cuarón's Gravity (2013) and Ridley Scott's The Martian (2015), thus adding to the subfield of science‐fiction Robinsonade criticism. While Andy Weir's The Martian (2009–2014), the source for Scott's film, was a literary sensation (see Ridley, 2020), the first science‐fiction Robinsonades were written in the 18th century (see Baines, 1995). Given the technicalities involved, it is only natural that the Screen Age has made much of this variant.…”

“…Mayer followed up with a survey discussion from silent film Robinsonades to Robert Zemeckis's Cast Away (2000), which, apart from its encyclopeadic value, offers insight into the responsiveness of the cinematic Robinsonade to the dynamically changing circumstances of the 20th century (Mayer, 2018). Recent, more focused approaches (Carroll, 2019;Wilson, 2020) (2009)(2010)(2011)(2012)(2013)(2014), the source for Scott's film, was a literary sensation (see Ridley, 2020), the first science-fiction Robinsonades were written in the 18th century (see Baines, 1995). Given the technicalities involved, it is only natural that the Screen Age has made much of this variant.…”