Category=ATFA
cultural studies
digital culture
digital media
eq_art-fashion-photography
eq_bestseller
eq_isMigrated=1
eq_nobargain
eq_non-fiction
film theory
forthcoming
time loops
time travel
Product details
- ISBN 9781399562522
- Dimensions: 156 x 234mm
- Publication Date: 30 Nov 2026
- Publisher: Edinburgh University Press
- Publication City/Country: GB
- Product Form: Hardback
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Time loops abound in recent screen media. From the torturous repeating birthdays of the TV series Russian Doll (2019–2022) and horror film Happy Death Day (2017), to the iterative runs of roguelike videogames like Returnal (2021), to the cyclical mediality of apps like TikTok, loops are used in a variety of ways by a variety of media in a variety of contexts.
Why are loops appearing with such prominence now and what cultural concerns do they express? In this edited collection, a range of scholars take a critical look at many different forms and manifestations of the time loop, from television shows about therapy to films about oppression to videogames about morality to the loops of media formats themselves.
Through this work, Unspool: Critical Time Loops in Screen Media shows the suppleness and significance of the time loop to our loopy times.
Nick Jones is Reader in Film, Television and Digital Culture at the University of York.
