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"Body, Soul and Cyberspace explores how recent science-fiction cinema addresses questions about the connections between body and soul, virtuality, and the ways in which we engage with spirituality in the digital age. The book investigates notions of love, life and death, taking an interdisciplinary approach by combining cinematic themes with religious, philosophical and ethical ideas. Magerstèadt argues how even the most spectacle-driven mainstream films such as Avatar, The Matrix and Terminator can raise interesting and important questions about the human self and our interaction with the world. Apart from these well-known science fiction epics, her analysis also draws on recent works, such as Inception, The Thirteenth Floor, eXistenZ, Aeon Flux, Total Recall (2012), Transcendence and TRON: Legacy. These films stimulate an engaging discussion on what makes us human, the role memory plays in understanding ourselves, and how virtual realities challenge the moral concepts that govern human relationships"--
List of contents
List of Illustrations Acknowledgements Introduction: Ethical Questions in Contemporary Science Fiction Films 1. Body - Cyborgs, Clones and Automata: T he Matrix , e XistenZ , Avatar 2. Soul - Cyber-Spirituality and Immortality: The Thirteenth Floor , Aeon Flux , Transcendence 3. Cyberspace - Dreams, Memory and Virtual Worlds: TRON: Legacy , Total Recall (2012), Inception Conclusion: Imagining our Future(s) Notes Bibliography Index
About the author
Sylvie Magerstädt is Senior Lecturer in Media Cultures at the University of Hertfordshire, UK, where she teaches a range of undergraduate and postgraduate courses. Previously, she lectured in Film Theory at Imperial College London and worked as a copywriter and script editor. Her main research interest is the intersection of cinema, philosophy and religion.
Report
"The main concern of the book is how human interactions with cyberspace are represented in SF film. ... Body, Soul and Cyberspace in Contemporary Science Fiction Cinema is well-written and insightful. There is a bibliography and filmography as well as an index, and each chapter is preceded by an abstract. Anyone working on philosophical issues in the films Magerstädt discusses would do well to read this book, particularly Avatar scholars." (Emily Hegarty, SFRA Review, Issue 315, 2015)
