Humanist vestiges in contemporary science fiction

Authors

  • Dorothea von Mücke Columbia University

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.22409/cadletrasuff.2019n58a658

Keywords:

humanism, her, ex machina.

Abstract

Both Spike Jonze’s her and Alex Garland’s ex machina make references to such outdated media and cultural techniques as the handwritten letter, the hand-drawn sketch, oil paintings and the bound volume of the book. An analysis of the use and function of these seemingly obsolete cultural techniques in the two science fiction movies reveals a surprising commitment to traditionally humanist values as grounded in the invocation of the individualized, mortal human body.

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Original in English.

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Author Biography

Dorothea von Mücke, Columbia University

Department of Germanic Languages

References

ex machina. Directed by Alex Gardner. Produced by Eli Bush, Andrew McDonald, Allon Reich et al. Script by Alex Gardner. UK: DNA Films, 2014.

GARLAND, Alex. ex machina. Final Script. e-book. London: Faber and Faber, 2015.

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______. Die Leiden des jungen Werthers. Edited by Waltraud Wiethölter. Berlin: Deutscher Klassiker Verlag, 2006.

her. Directed by Spike Jonze. Produced by Chelsea Barnard, Megan Ellison, Natalie Farrey et al. Script by Spike Jonze. USA: Annapurna Pictures, 2013.

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Published

2019-07-12

How to Cite

VON MüCKE, D. Humanist vestiges in contemporary science fiction. Caderno de Letras da UFF, v. 29, n. 58, p. 127-147, 12 Jul. 2019.