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RESEARCH ARTICLE
The Appearance of Transhumanism in Cinema through Films
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1 İnönü Üniversitesi, İletişim Fakültesi, Radyo, Televizyon ve Sinema, İletişim Bilimleri 44100, Malatya,
Türkiye
Received: 7 November 2024 | Published online: 25 March 2025
© 2025 by the Authors. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution -Noncommercial 4.0 International License (CC-by the license) ( https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ )
Abstract
Transhumanism, which seeks to enhance human physical and mental capacities of humans, has gained prominence since the late 20th century. Positioned between humanism and posthumanism, it aims to elevate humans through technologies like genetic engineering, artificial intelligence, and biotechnology. Today, its traces can be seen in medical treatments and AI technologies. Cinema, literature, and media play a crucial role in spreading transhumanist ideas, with science fiction being a key genre. This study explores how transhumanist technologies are portrayed in films, focusing on Gattaca (1997), Upgrade (2018), and Archive (2020). The films are analyzed through the lens of genetic engineering (Gattaca), biotechnology (Upgrade), and artificial intelligence (Archive). It is concluded that the technologies depicted in these films are based on transhumanist concepts that could potentially become a reality in the future.
Keywords
Transhumanism
posthumanism
cinema
artificial intelligence
science fiction.
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