POSTHUMANISTISKA SUBJEKT I VISUELL KULTUR

Abstract

The aim of the thesis is to explore how the human subject is depicted in contemporary posthuman cinema and how these films effect our comprehension of human subjectivity. The object of analysis is James Cameron’s Avatar (2009) and the method of analysis is cybernetic and intermedial. The conclusion is that Avatar is a film that depicts a posthuman network society where existence and subjectivity in a great variety of forms is possible. The film presents posthuman subjects in symbiosis with avatars, terminals, extensions and prothesis. In Avatar the human body is exchangeable or even possible to do without, it is not an absolute condition for human life. The human subject can be transformed into a pattern of information and exist for eternity in information circuits. Another conclusion is that the way the human subject and the body are depicted in Avatar is a reflection of the medial and technological structure in our network society. Posthuman narratives is a way of connecting people’s mental worlds to this structure.