The Carnal Monitor: Feeling Posthuman Metaphysics Through Technological Fantasies in James Cameron’s Avatar
(2012) KOVM12 20121Division of Art History and Visual Studies
- Abstract
- This thesis seeks insight into a historical moment through an investigation of James Cameron’s 2009 film, Avatar, as an expression of a distinct form of posthumanism relevant to today’s digital network technology. Indicators of this include
biologically-oriented empirical science, unique and individualized production,environmental integration and a haptical monitoring experience. The avatar icon is a
useful illustration of this unique shift in the posthumanist paradigm as an indexical creation, custom made for both user and context.
Performing a material and intermedial investigation of Avatar, this paper proposes to read the film as a kind of Benjaminian fossil: the concrete remains of a capitalist
commodity, emptied of its... (More) - This thesis seeks insight into a historical moment through an investigation of James Cameron’s 2009 film, Avatar, as an expression of a distinct form of posthumanism relevant to today’s digital network technology. Indicators of this include
biologically-oriented empirical science, unique and individualized production,environmental integration and a haptical monitoring experience. The avatar icon is a
useful illustration of this unique shift in the posthumanist paradigm as an indexical creation, custom made for both user and context.
Performing a material and intermedial investigation of Avatar, this paper proposes to read the film as a kind of Benjaminian fossil: the concrete remains of a capitalist
commodity, emptied of its fetishistic and mythological value. Of particular interest are expressions of technological fantasy, both hopeful and fearsome as well as a pronounced ecological anxiety.
Concluding that the haptic, in particular, is asked to compensate for a reinvigorated existential anxiety in the contemporary multimedia monitoring practice, this trend is traced through the film’s diegesis and digital 3D technology. It is described how
haptic experience treads a liminal space between the medial economy and embodiment in posthuman subjectivity. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
http://lup.lub.lu.se/student-papers/record/2542856
- author
- Atkin, Kendra LU
- supervisor
- organization
- course
- KOVM12 20121
- year
- 2012
- type
- H2 - Master's Degree (Two Years)
- subject
- keywords
- avatar, James Cameron, haptic, monitor
- language
- English
- id
- 2542856
- date added to LUP
- 2012-08-20 10:33:40
- date last changed
- 2012-08-20 10:33:40
@misc{2542856, abstract = {{This thesis seeks insight into a historical moment through an investigation of James Cameron’s 2009 film, Avatar, as an expression of a distinct form of posthumanism relevant to today’s digital network technology. Indicators of this include biologically-oriented empirical science, unique and individualized production,environmental integration and a haptical monitoring experience. The avatar icon is a useful illustration of this unique shift in the posthumanist paradigm as an indexical creation, custom made for both user and context. Performing a material and intermedial investigation of Avatar, this paper proposes to read the film as a kind of Benjaminian fossil: the concrete remains of a capitalist commodity, emptied of its fetishistic and mythological value. Of particular interest are expressions of technological fantasy, both hopeful and fearsome as well as a pronounced ecological anxiety. Concluding that the haptic, in particular, is asked to compensate for a reinvigorated existential anxiety in the contemporary multimedia monitoring practice, this trend is traced through the film’s diegesis and digital 3D technology. It is described how haptic experience treads a liminal space between the medial economy and embodiment in posthuman subjectivity.}}, author = {{Atkin, Kendra}}, language = {{eng}}, note = {{Student Paper}}, title = {{The Carnal Monitor: Feeling Posthuman Metaphysics Through Technological Fantasies in James Cameron’s Avatar}}, year = {{2012}}, }