Black Space: Imagining race in the film Mission to Mars (2000)

Earlier this month, I stumbled across Black Space: Imagining Race in Science Fiction Film by Adilifu Nama (University of Texas Press, 2008), a "fresh, insightful work that fills an obvious and significant gap in the critical and theoretical discussion of the African American absence/presence (along with the broader issues of race and difference) in science fiction cinema." While Nama’s rich, deep analysis focuses on box office blockbuster such as the Star Wars and Matrix franchises, it also includes less financially successful films, such as Mission to Mars (2000), starring Gary Sinise as Jim McConnell, Connie Nielsen as Terri Fisher, Tim Robbins as Woodrow "Woody" Blake, and Don Cheadle as Luke Graham:

Wow! I'll never watch Mission to Mars in the same light again!