This document provides a summary of a research paper about how vampire films portray posthumanism and a posthuman world. In 3 sentences:
Vampire films explore fundamental human desires for immortality, health, and meaningful existence, showing how these desires motivate posthumanism. The vampire is presented as embodying posthuman traits like immortality, heightened cognition and amplified emotion. These films depict various scenarios of a posthuman/vampire society and issues that could arise from discrimination, exploitation, extinction, and speciesism between humans and posthumans.
The document provides an analysis of Julian Barnes' novel "The Sense of an Ending" and how it demonstrates postmodern literary techniques. It discusses how the novel features an unreliable narrator in Tony Webster, uses fragmentation and juxtaposition of past and present, and examines the postmodern ideas of subjective memory and the inability to truly know historical truth. The conclusion states that while the novel is not overtly postmodern, it incorporates postmodern elements like an emphasis on style over plot and the uncertainty of knowing objective reality.
A study of conversational implicatures in titanic filmAzam Almubarki
This study analyzed conversational implicatures in dialogues from the film Titanic using Grice's cooperative principle. The researcher classified implicatures as generalized, scalar, or particularized based on whether context was needed. Most implicatures were particularized, requiring knowledge of the specific conversation. The analysis revealed that utterances can contain multiple implicatures. Producing implicatures allowed characters to convey feelings or clarify ideas indirectly. The study implies it is important for English teachers to focus on implicit meanings to help learners improve communicative accuracy and efficiency.
The poet is moving into a room that was previously occupied by Mr Bleaney. Through observing the sparse furnishings, the poet draws conclusions about Bleaney's lonely and stagnant life. The room reflects Bleaney's isolation, as seen in the faded curtains and lack of personal possessions. By the end, the poet worries that he may be becoming like Bleaney over time, trapped in a solitary existence. The poem implies how our environments and circumstances shape our identities.
Pragmatics is the study of meaning as communicated by speakers and interpreted by listeners. It considers how context, including social and cultural factors, affect meaning. A key aspect is speaker meaning - what the speaker intends to communicate through their utterance. Speech acts theory analyzes utterances as actions like statements, requests, promises. Pragmatics also examines implicature or implied meaning, presuppositions, and how context helps determine reference. It bridges semantics and real-world language use.
Relevance theory proposes that human cognition is geared toward maximizing relevance. It has two main principles: the cognitive principle states that the mind seeks relevance, and the communicative principle states that utterances create expectations of optimal relevance. The theory provides an explanation for how utterances are comprehended through hypotheses about explicit and implied meanings. It also addresses issues like lexical narrowing, loose language, and irony. Relevance theory aims to provide an experimentally testable model of pragmatic language comprehension.
The document discusses two models of communication:
1) The message model, where the speaker encodes a message and the hearer decodes it. This model has problems with ambiguity, reference, intention, nonliteral meanings, and indirectness.
2) The inferential model, where communication relies on shared presumptions and inferential strategies. This model accounts for literal, nonliteral, and indirect language use through recognition of contextual appropriateness and inferences about the speaker's intention. Successful communication is recognizing the speaker's communicative intention.
Henry Fielding's novel Tom Jones reflects 18th century English society. It depicts the lives of the middle class, exposing both their virtues and corruption. While the characters and stories are drawn from everyday life rather than mythology or history, Fielding provides social satire and commentary on class in his realistic portrayal. Tom Jones, though of low birth status, grows into an honest young man who falls for his neighbor Sophia Western, but their love is opposed due to class divides that were critiqued in the novel. The work offers a portrayal of London life in the 1700s through its examination of morality, religion, and social status.
The document summarizes the key ideas of relevance theory, proposed by Dan Sperber and Deirdre Wilson. It argues that communication relies on implicit inferences rather than encoding of messages. There are two methods of communication - coded, where messages are encoded and decoded, and ostensive-inferential, where the communicator provides just enough information relying on the audience to infer the intended meaning based on context. Relevance theory explains ostensive-inferential communication, where new information is relevant if it has contextual implications, strengthens existing assumptions, or contradicts assumptions. Every act of communication implicitly presumes to be optimally relevant to the audience.
The document provides an analysis of Julian Barnes' novel "The Sense of an Ending" and how it demonstrates postmodern literary techniques. It discusses how the novel features an unreliable narrator in Tony Webster, uses fragmentation and juxtaposition of past and present, and examines the postmodern ideas of subjective memory and the inability to truly know historical truth. The conclusion states that while the novel is not overtly postmodern, it incorporates postmodern elements like an emphasis on style over plot and the uncertainty of knowing objective reality.
A study of conversational implicatures in titanic filmAzam Almubarki
This study analyzed conversational implicatures in dialogues from the film Titanic using Grice's cooperative principle. The researcher classified implicatures as generalized, scalar, or particularized based on whether context was needed. Most implicatures were particularized, requiring knowledge of the specific conversation. The analysis revealed that utterances can contain multiple implicatures. Producing implicatures allowed characters to convey feelings or clarify ideas indirectly. The study implies it is important for English teachers to focus on implicit meanings to help learners improve communicative accuracy and efficiency.
The poet is moving into a room that was previously occupied by Mr Bleaney. Through observing the sparse furnishings, the poet draws conclusions about Bleaney's lonely and stagnant life. The room reflects Bleaney's isolation, as seen in the faded curtains and lack of personal possessions. By the end, the poet worries that he may be becoming like Bleaney over time, trapped in a solitary existence. The poem implies how our environments and circumstances shape our identities.
Pragmatics is the study of meaning as communicated by speakers and interpreted by listeners. It considers how context, including social and cultural factors, affect meaning. A key aspect is speaker meaning - what the speaker intends to communicate through their utterance. Speech acts theory analyzes utterances as actions like statements, requests, promises. Pragmatics also examines implicature or implied meaning, presuppositions, and how context helps determine reference. It bridges semantics and real-world language use.
Relevance theory proposes that human cognition is geared toward maximizing relevance. It has two main principles: the cognitive principle states that the mind seeks relevance, and the communicative principle states that utterances create expectations of optimal relevance. The theory provides an explanation for how utterances are comprehended through hypotheses about explicit and implied meanings. It also addresses issues like lexical narrowing, loose language, and irony. Relevance theory aims to provide an experimentally testable model of pragmatic language comprehension.
The document discusses two models of communication:
1) The message model, where the speaker encodes a message and the hearer decodes it. This model has problems with ambiguity, reference, intention, nonliteral meanings, and indirectness.
2) The inferential model, where communication relies on shared presumptions and inferential strategies. This model accounts for literal, nonliteral, and indirect language use through recognition of contextual appropriateness and inferences about the speaker's intention. Successful communication is recognizing the speaker's communicative intention.
Henry Fielding's novel Tom Jones reflects 18th century English society. It depicts the lives of the middle class, exposing both their virtues and corruption. While the characters and stories are drawn from everyday life rather than mythology or history, Fielding provides social satire and commentary on class in his realistic portrayal. Tom Jones, though of low birth status, grows into an honest young man who falls for his neighbor Sophia Western, but their love is opposed due to class divides that were critiqued in the novel. The work offers a portrayal of London life in the 1700s through its examination of morality, religion, and social status.
The document summarizes the key ideas of relevance theory, proposed by Dan Sperber and Deirdre Wilson. It argues that communication relies on implicit inferences rather than encoding of messages. There are two methods of communication - coded, where messages are encoded and decoded, and ostensive-inferential, where the communicator provides just enough information relying on the audience to infer the intended meaning based on context. Relevance theory explains ostensive-inferential communication, where new information is relevant if it has contextual implications, strengthens existing assumptions, or contradicts assumptions. Every act of communication implicitly presumes to be optimally relevant to the audience.
Mahasweta Devi - Draupadi & Gangor (Choli ke Peeche)kwaller42
Mahasweta Devi was an Indian writer and social activist. The document discusses two of her most celebrated works, Draupadi and Choli Ke Peeche. Draupadi tells the story of a tribal woman who is repeatedly raped in police custody but refuses to be defeated, confronting her abuser naked. Choli Ke Peeche depicts a tribal woman who is ostracized from her village after her photograph is taken topless, leading her down a path of abuse and prostitution. Both stories portray women reclaiming power over their bodies and identities in the face of oppression. The document argues that Devi used women's bodies as symbols of resistance against social norms and objectification.
Simulacra and Simulations - Jean BaudrillardSamantha Trieu
This document provides an overview of Jean Baudrillard's theories of simulation and hyperreality as presented in his book Simulacra and Simulation. It summarizes that Baudrillard believed reality has been replaced by simulation through sign systems and media that construct symbolic representations of the world without reference to an original. Contemporary society consumes these empty signs and loses the ability to distinguish reality from simulation. The document also briefly outlines Baudrillard's four stages of the process of simulation replacing reality and some influences and critiques of his work.
Word Meaning (Semantics, Semantic Features and Prototype)Huseyin Kirik
This document provides an overview of key concepts in semantics, including:
- Entailment and hyponymy relationships between words and sentences. Entailment means one sentence necessarily implies the truth of another. Hyponymy is a hierarchical relationship where a word is a type of another word.
- Other semantic relationships like synonymy, antonymy, complementarity, and meronymy. Synonyms have the same meaning, antonyms have opposite meanings, and complementaries have mutually exclusive meanings. Meronyms refer to part-whole relationships.
- How semantic features can help explain why some sentences seem odd, by looking at the conceptual features words have like [+/- animate].
- Prototype theory
This document provides an introduction to pragmatics. It defines pragmatics as the study of what speakers mean in context rather than just the literal meaning of the words. It discusses several key elements of pragmatics including deixis, reference, inference, anaphora, presupposition, speech acts, direct and indirect speech acts, politeness and social closeness. The document aims to explain these fundamental concepts in pragmatics.
07 politeness and interaction for studentsgadis pratiwi
The document discusses politeness and interaction in linguistic exchanges. It notes that social factors like status, age, and power influence how people interact. Politeness involves being aware of each other's "face" or public self-image. Face-threatening acts risk damaging someone's self-image, while face-saving acts preserve it. Requests can be direct or indirect, and indirect requests are often seen as more polite as they give the other person freedom to decline without losing face. Positive politeness emphasizes closeness between speakers, while negative politeness stresses the listener's independence. Effectively using pre-requests allows the other person to halt a potentially risky request.
This document discusses different types of reference in language. It defines reference as the relationship between words and the people, objects, or ideas they refer to. There are several types of reference:
Exophoric reference refers to things outside the text, while endophoric reference refers to other parts of the text. Endophoric reference can be further broken down into anaphoric reference, which refers back to something already mentioned, and cataphoric reference, which refers forward. The document also discusses substitution and ellipsis as other cohesive devices in language.
The document defines pragmatics and discusses several key concepts in pragmatics including:
- Pragmatics is the study of how context contributes to meaning and involves speaker's intended meaning. It examines how words are used in practical situations.
- Context, both linguistic (co-text) and physical, influence word interpretation. Deixis involves words that point to people, places, times and require context.
- Other concepts discussed include reference, inference, anaphora, presupposition, speech acts, and politeness which involves consideration of another's self image or "face".
The document discusses various types and theories of presupposition. It defines presupposition as information that a speaker assumes is already known by listeners. There are different types of presuppositions triggered by lexical items and grammatical constructions, such as existential, factive, and structural presuppositions. Theories view presupposition as either a property of sentences (semantic view) or of speaker beliefs (pragmatic view). Presuppositions are assumed to be part of the common ground between speakers but can be introduced through accommodation.
Pragmatics is the study of contextual meaning, speaker meaning, and how more is communicated than what is explicitly said. It involves the study of invisible meaning, deixis, reference, inference, presupposition, speech acts, and politeness. Pragmatics examines how context, both linguistic and physical, affects meaning, and how language is used to manage social relationships and interactions.
Postcolonial Feminism In Midnight's Children NiyatiVyas
This document summarizes a student paper about postcolonial feminism in Salman Rushdie's novel Midnight's Children. The paper argues that the novel depicts native women in India as having individual agency rather than being universally oppressed. It analyzes the characters of Naseem, Mumtaz/Amina, and Jamaila to show how they navigate patriarchal societies. The student also includes examples of dialogues from the novel that demonstrate male domination. In the references section, the student cites critical works on Rushdie and postcolonial feminism as well as an Instagram post about misogyny.
The document discusses key concepts related to reference, inference, presupposition, and implicature in language. It defines reference as an act of referring and discusses different types of referring expressions. It also defines inference as providing additional information, presupposition as assumptions that are sometimes true and sometimes not, and implicature as saying something indirectly rather than being direct. Finally, it provides examples to illustrate different types of presuppositions and implicatures.
Roland Barthes was a French literary theorist who wrote the influential essay "Death of the Author" in 1967. In the essay, Barthes argues that the meaning of a text is not defined by the author's intentions, and that the reader is free to interpret the text independently of the author. This perspective represented a shift from structuralism, which viewed the author as the source of a work's meaning, to post-structuralism, which sees meaning as derived from the interaction between text and reader rather than being fixed or authoritative. Barthes' essay was influential in developing theories of post-structuralism that rejected structuralism's claims of a single, authoritative meaning.
Postmodernism emerged in the late 20th century as a departure from modernism in the arts, characterized by the mixing of different styles and genres, self-referentiality, and skepticism of absolute truths. Postmodern works blur fiction and reality, use appropriation and pastiche, and bring together high and low cultural forms. In film, postmodernism subverts narrative conventions and challenges notions of genre, time, and social divisions through works like Pulp Fiction that combine styles from different eras.
Deixis refers to linguistic expressions that can only be interpreted based on contextual information like who is speaking, their location, or the time. There are several types of deixis:
1. Person deixis refers to pronouns like I, you, he, she that indicate speakers and addressees.
2. Place or spatial deixis uses words like here, there, this, that to indicate locations relative to the speaker.
3. Time or temporal deixis includes words like now, then, tomorrow to reference times in relation to the moment of speaking.
4. Other types include discourse deixis which references elements within a conversation or text, and social deixis which reflects social relationships
This document discusses reference and inference in language. It defines reference as enabling identification through linguistic forms. Referring expressions include proper nouns, definite and indefinite noun phrases, and pronouns. Referential uses involve shared background knowledge between speaker and listener, while attribute uses involve different perspectives. Proper names conventionally associate with objects in a sociocultural community. Anaphora involves repetition, with the antecedent as the first mention and anaphora as the second. Co-text makes referents more specific. Inference involves understanding implied information based on context.
Pragmatics presentation presupposition prepared by Mr. Ijaz Ahmed MPhil Schol...Ijaz Ahmed
This presentation discusses presupposition in linguistics. It defines presupposition as an implicit assumption whose truth is taken for granted. There are several types of presuppositions including existential, factive, lexical, structural, non-factive, and counterfactual presuppositions. Examples are provided for each type from a short story. The presentation concludes that presuppositions are implicit assumptions speakers and listeners assume to make utterances appropriate in context.
This document defines and compares presupposition and entailment. Presupposition refers to information assumed to be true prior to an utterance, whereas entailment logically follows from what is asserted. There are different types of presupposition such as existential, factive, and lexical. Entailments are logical implications of an utterance, but presuppositions can be canceled in certain contexts. The projection problem refers to presuppositions not necessarily carrying over when a sentence becomes more complex.
Referring expressions are linguistic elements that refer to specific people or things. Not all expressions have referents, only referring expressions, which are used to point to a particular person or thing that the speaker has in mind. Referring expressions can be proper nouns, pronouns, or longer phrases, but their use as a referring expression depends on the linguistic context and whether a specific referent was intended. Definite noun phrases are often but not always used as referring expressions.
Human nature is difficult to define because humans have evolved through different stages over time. Traditional approaches like Aristotle's viewed nature as having intentions and goals for humans to live naturally, but modern thinkers argue nature is malleable. Recent evidence from Darwin and other sciences show human nature is not fixed but shaped by experience and environment. Zombies have evolved in popular culture to represent societal fears and show how cultures could unite under catastrophe according to films like World War Z. They have become deeply ingrained in modern pop culture.
Human nature has evolved over time through different stages of development and is difficult to define since humans have diverse preferences. Historically, philosophers like Aristotle viewed human nature as having a fixed, teleological purpose that leads humans to fulfill their potential. However, modern thinkers argue human nature is malleable and shaped by experience and environment rather than being innate or fixed. Zombies have become a phenomenon in popular culture that reflect society's fears and can represent humanity's struggle for civilization in the face of catastrophe.
Mahasweta Devi - Draupadi & Gangor (Choli ke Peeche)kwaller42
Mahasweta Devi was an Indian writer and social activist. The document discusses two of her most celebrated works, Draupadi and Choli Ke Peeche. Draupadi tells the story of a tribal woman who is repeatedly raped in police custody but refuses to be defeated, confronting her abuser naked. Choli Ke Peeche depicts a tribal woman who is ostracized from her village after her photograph is taken topless, leading her down a path of abuse and prostitution. Both stories portray women reclaiming power over their bodies and identities in the face of oppression. The document argues that Devi used women's bodies as symbols of resistance against social norms and objectification.
Simulacra and Simulations - Jean BaudrillardSamantha Trieu
This document provides an overview of Jean Baudrillard's theories of simulation and hyperreality as presented in his book Simulacra and Simulation. It summarizes that Baudrillard believed reality has been replaced by simulation through sign systems and media that construct symbolic representations of the world without reference to an original. Contemporary society consumes these empty signs and loses the ability to distinguish reality from simulation. The document also briefly outlines Baudrillard's four stages of the process of simulation replacing reality and some influences and critiques of his work.
Word Meaning (Semantics, Semantic Features and Prototype)Huseyin Kirik
This document provides an overview of key concepts in semantics, including:
- Entailment and hyponymy relationships between words and sentences. Entailment means one sentence necessarily implies the truth of another. Hyponymy is a hierarchical relationship where a word is a type of another word.
- Other semantic relationships like synonymy, antonymy, complementarity, and meronymy. Synonyms have the same meaning, antonyms have opposite meanings, and complementaries have mutually exclusive meanings. Meronyms refer to part-whole relationships.
- How semantic features can help explain why some sentences seem odd, by looking at the conceptual features words have like [+/- animate].
- Prototype theory
This document provides an introduction to pragmatics. It defines pragmatics as the study of what speakers mean in context rather than just the literal meaning of the words. It discusses several key elements of pragmatics including deixis, reference, inference, anaphora, presupposition, speech acts, direct and indirect speech acts, politeness and social closeness. The document aims to explain these fundamental concepts in pragmatics.
07 politeness and interaction for studentsgadis pratiwi
The document discusses politeness and interaction in linguistic exchanges. It notes that social factors like status, age, and power influence how people interact. Politeness involves being aware of each other's "face" or public self-image. Face-threatening acts risk damaging someone's self-image, while face-saving acts preserve it. Requests can be direct or indirect, and indirect requests are often seen as more polite as they give the other person freedom to decline without losing face. Positive politeness emphasizes closeness between speakers, while negative politeness stresses the listener's independence. Effectively using pre-requests allows the other person to halt a potentially risky request.
This document discusses different types of reference in language. It defines reference as the relationship between words and the people, objects, or ideas they refer to. There are several types of reference:
Exophoric reference refers to things outside the text, while endophoric reference refers to other parts of the text. Endophoric reference can be further broken down into anaphoric reference, which refers back to something already mentioned, and cataphoric reference, which refers forward. The document also discusses substitution and ellipsis as other cohesive devices in language.
The document defines pragmatics and discusses several key concepts in pragmatics including:
- Pragmatics is the study of how context contributes to meaning and involves speaker's intended meaning. It examines how words are used in practical situations.
- Context, both linguistic (co-text) and physical, influence word interpretation. Deixis involves words that point to people, places, times and require context.
- Other concepts discussed include reference, inference, anaphora, presupposition, speech acts, and politeness which involves consideration of another's self image or "face".
The document discusses various types and theories of presupposition. It defines presupposition as information that a speaker assumes is already known by listeners. There are different types of presuppositions triggered by lexical items and grammatical constructions, such as existential, factive, and structural presuppositions. Theories view presupposition as either a property of sentences (semantic view) or of speaker beliefs (pragmatic view). Presuppositions are assumed to be part of the common ground between speakers but can be introduced through accommodation.
Pragmatics is the study of contextual meaning, speaker meaning, and how more is communicated than what is explicitly said. It involves the study of invisible meaning, deixis, reference, inference, presupposition, speech acts, and politeness. Pragmatics examines how context, both linguistic and physical, affects meaning, and how language is used to manage social relationships and interactions.
Postcolonial Feminism In Midnight's Children NiyatiVyas
This document summarizes a student paper about postcolonial feminism in Salman Rushdie's novel Midnight's Children. The paper argues that the novel depicts native women in India as having individual agency rather than being universally oppressed. It analyzes the characters of Naseem, Mumtaz/Amina, and Jamaila to show how they navigate patriarchal societies. The student also includes examples of dialogues from the novel that demonstrate male domination. In the references section, the student cites critical works on Rushdie and postcolonial feminism as well as an Instagram post about misogyny.
The document discusses key concepts related to reference, inference, presupposition, and implicature in language. It defines reference as an act of referring and discusses different types of referring expressions. It also defines inference as providing additional information, presupposition as assumptions that are sometimes true and sometimes not, and implicature as saying something indirectly rather than being direct. Finally, it provides examples to illustrate different types of presuppositions and implicatures.
Roland Barthes was a French literary theorist who wrote the influential essay "Death of the Author" in 1967. In the essay, Barthes argues that the meaning of a text is not defined by the author's intentions, and that the reader is free to interpret the text independently of the author. This perspective represented a shift from structuralism, which viewed the author as the source of a work's meaning, to post-structuralism, which sees meaning as derived from the interaction between text and reader rather than being fixed or authoritative. Barthes' essay was influential in developing theories of post-structuralism that rejected structuralism's claims of a single, authoritative meaning.
Postmodernism emerged in the late 20th century as a departure from modernism in the arts, characterized by the mixing of different styles and genres, self-referentiality, and skepticism of absolute truths. Postmodern works blur fiction and reality, use appropriation and pastiche, and bring together high and low cultural forms. In film, postmodernism subverts narrative conventions and challenges notions of genre, time, and social divisions through works like Pulp Fiction that combine styles from different eras.
Deixis refers to linguistic expressions that can only be interpreted based on contextual information like who is speaking, their location, or the time. There are several types of deixis:
1. Person deixis refers to pronouns like I, you, he, she that indicate speakers and addressees.
2. Place or spatial deixis uses words like here, there, this, that to indicate locations relative to the speaker.
3. Time or temporal deixis includes words like now, then, tomorrow to reference times in relation to the moment of speaking.
4. Other types include discourse deixis which references elements within a conversation or text, and social deixis which reflects social relationships
This document discusses reference and inference in language. It defines reference as enabling identification through linguistic forms. Referring expressions include proper nouns, definite and indefinite noun phrases, and pronouns. Referential uses involve shared background knowledge between speaker and listener, while attribute uses involve different perspectives. Proper names conventionally associate with objects in a sociocultural community. Anaphora involves repetition, with the antecedent as the first mention and anaphora as the second. Co-text makes referents more specific. Inference involves understanding implied information based on context.
Pragmatics presentation presupposition prepared by Mr. Ijaz Ahmed MPhil Schol...Ijaz Ahmed
This presentation discusses presupposition in linguistics. It defines presupposition as an implicit assumption whose truth is taken for granted. There are several types of presuppositions including existential, factive, lexical, structural, non-factive, and counterfactual presuppositions. Examples are provided for each type from a short story. The presentation concludes that presuppositions are implicit assumptions speakers and listeners assume to make utterances appropriate in context.
This document defines and compares presupposition and entailment. Presupposition refers to information assumed to be true prior to an utterance, whereas entailment logically follows from what is asserted. There are different types of presupposition such as existential, factive, and lexical. Entailments are logical implications of an utterance, but presuppositions can be canceled in certain contexts. The projection problem refers to presuppositions not necessarily carrying over when a sentence becomes more complex.
Referring expressions are linguistic elements that refer to specific people or things. Not all expressions have referents, only referring expressions, which are used to point to a particular person or thing that the speaker has in mind. Referring expressions can be proper nouns, pronouns, or longer phrases, but their use as a referring expression depends on the linguistic context and whether a specific referent was intended. Definite noun phrases are often but not always used as referring expressions.
Human nature is difficult to define because humans have evolved through different stages over time. Traditional approaches like Aristotle's viewed nature as having intentions and goals for humans to live naturally, but modern thinkers argue nature is malleable. Recent evidence from Darwin and other sciences show human nature is not fixed but shaped by experience and environment. Zombies have evolved in popular culture to represent societal fears and show how cultures could unite under catastrophe according to films like World War Z. They have become deeply ingrained in modern pop culture.
Human nature has evolved over time through different stages of development and is difficult to define since humans have diverse preferences. Historically, philosophers like Aristotle viewed human nature as having a fixed, teleological purpose that leads humans to fulfill their potential. However, modern thinkers argue human nature is malleable and shaped by experience and environment rather than being innate or fixed. Zombies have become a phenomenon in popular culture that reflect society's fears and can represent humanity's struggle for civilization in the face of catastrophe.
The film The Human Centipede uses several horror conventions and film theories. It features a psychopathic doctor villain who surgically attaches 3 people mouth to anus, creating a "human centipede." This transgressive act subverts the normal positive iconography of doctors and hospitals. Feminist theory also applies as the 2 female victims are vulnerable and subjected to the male gaze. The ending leaves one victim alive, allowing for a potential sequel as theorized by Carroll. Overall the film creates horror through disturbing the expected meanings of common icons and empowering the villain over his victims.
This document discusses how the media product represents humanity as a whole rather than specific social groups due to the lack of human characters. It aims to convey humanity's weakness and vulnerability through a zombie virus outbreak. The tone of the news reporters is calm yet apprehensive as they speak on behalf of and represent how the human race should be seen. Both male and female reporters are used to challenge dominant ideologies of male power. Ambulance sirens and other foley sounds were added to portray the despair and danger facing humanity. While a zombie virus is scientifically impossible, efforts were made to construct a realistic scenario, such as filming establishing shots early to avoid people.
The Influence of Emotions on Horror/Thriller Films by Jonah WorcesterJonahW93
The document discusses how horror films portray and influence emotions. It provides examples of different horror genres including traditional horror using primal fears, gore/splatter films focusing on graphic violence, and psychological horror relying on character fears and instability. In particular, it analyzes how the 1956 film Invasion of the Body Snatchers portrayed the universalist vs social constructivist debate around emotions. It also discusses how various horror films have influenced societal fears and perceptions of emotions in different eras.
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The influence of horror/thriller films on emotionsJonahW93
The document discusses how horror films can influence audiences' emotions and perceptions of fear. It provides examples of how different genres of horror films, from traditional to psychological to slasher, portray emotions or lack thereof. Certain films like The Exorcist had big impacts on societies by influencing viewers' emotions and fears. While fear is innate, horror films can socially construct what we are afraid of through their creative storytelling and portrayal of emotions.
Essays On Breast Cancer. PDF Breast cancer: IntroductionHeather Hotovec
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The document provides information about genre in media texts. It states that genre is a way of categorizing media based on its content and style, with genres having recognizable characteristics or paradigms. Examples of genres include horror, comedy, crime, and sci-fi. Media texts use genre to attract specific target audiences. There can also be hybrid genres that combine elements of multiple genres. The document then discusses several genre theorists and their perspectives on genre. [END SUMMARY]
Similar to Posthumans, Vampires and Human Desires - How Vampire Films Portray the Posthuman and a Posthuman World (10)
Posthumans, Vampires and Human Desires - How Vampire Films Portray the Posthuman and a Posthuman World
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Kabeer Ahmed B Mohamed Ismail
A0096590U
IEM2201J
Research Paper
Posthumans, Vampires and Human Desires:
How Vampire Films Portray the Posthuman and a Posthuman World
Introduction
With the vampire’s rising popularity in films and TV shows, one does wonder what
makes the vampire so attractive, given that it is traditionally demonised as a repulsive, evil
being. Perhaps it is not the vampire per se, but what the vampire represents that makes
humans so attracted to it. Could it be that the vampire epitomises the ultimate of human
goals? To not only survive, but to remain flawlessly young and healthy forever – as the
vampire – is, after all, what most, if not all humans desire the most. In this regard, the
vampire can be considered a depiction of the posthuman which has been, for decades, the
symbol of the most basic and strongest of human drives. While advancements in human
enhancement technologies have not yet brought us immortality or eternal health and
youth, we can however, view the vampire as the ideal posthuman, exhibiting the traits that
humans ultimately strive for.
I will examine how vampire films explore human desires and portray the vampire as
the posthuman, allowing us to imagine a posthuman world. I will be also be explaining how
we can use vampire films to assess posthumanism and the various issues that go with
posthumanism including discrimination, exploitation, extinction and speciesism. I will be
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analysing various vampire films, that will form the basis of my claims and arguments, as well
as supporting articles and films to support my arguments.
Human Desires
Nick Bostrom, a Swedish philosopher and posthumanism advocate, explains,
“…Our desire to live is almost always stronger than our desire to die.
Our desire to live, conditional on our being able to enjoy full health, is
even stronger.”1
Posthumanism is driven largely by the human desire to survive and live long, healthy
lives. Most humans fear death more than anything and we can treat posthumanism as the
means to delay or evade death. This drive to stay alive and healthy is exemplified in many
vampire films, where humans willingly commit to turning into vampires, to deliberately
evade sickness and death. In Interview with the Vampire (1994), Louis, after being attacked
by Lestat to the point of near death, willingly allows Lestat to turn him into a vampire. This
was even despite Louis initially (as a human) begging for death. In Daybreakers (2009),
Charles Bromley explains how he chose to become a vampire to escape dying from sarcoma
he had contracted. This notion of immortality as a cure to all diseases is clearly represented
in many vampire films.
Having said that, we face a possible counter-argument. One might argue that
vampires cannot be considered living beings because they are, strictly speaking, undead and
that to become a vampire, one technically chooses death over life. Another counter-
argument is that vampires cannot be considered healthy because, again, they are undead.
1
Bostrom, N., 2008, ‘Why I want to be a Posthuman When I Grow Up’, In Medical Enhancement and
Posthumanity, Oxford University, pp 7
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However, in vampire films, a vampire can be killed, by driving a stake through its heart, for
example. We can, in this sense then, consider a vampire a living being because it can die
(again), and that the vampire is fully healthy because it is immortal and immune to illness.
To add to Nick Bostrom’s explanation of humans’ desire to live with full health, we
should explore another spectrum of human desire: to live long, healthy and meaningful
lives. While living long, healthy lives is, in itself, meaningful, there must be some greater
motivation why humans would choose to live over dying. The reason could be that humans
assign meaning to their lives, which they do not want ending with their death. In other
words, it might not be enough of a motivation for humans to simply live long healthy lives;
that life must also be a meaningful one. In Twilight (2008), for example, we see how Bella
becomes obsessed with convincing Edward to turn her into a vampire so that they could be
together forever. Here, the meaning Bella assigns to her life is to love Edward forever. In
Daybreakers, again, while Charles Bromley’s motivation to turn into a vampire was sparked
by the fear of death, his desire to live was so that he could see watch young daughter grow
up.
Thus the human desires vampire films explore are the very same desires that would
motivate humans to want to become posthuman.
The Posthuman/Vampire
In the previous section, we have examined how vampire films explore human desires
and how that relates to posthumanism. While we have, up til this point, considered only the
immortality and immunity of the vampire, we should now analyse in detail what
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characteristics constitute a posthuman, and explicitly lay out how the vampire exhibits the
same – sometimes amplified – attributes. By taking examples from different vampire films,
we can show how the vampire fulfils all the criteria to identify one as posthuman.
To do this, we should first decide on a definition of the posthuman. As different
writers have slightly varying definitions for the posthuman, I shall use the definition laid out
by Nick Bostrom, as he very concisely explains how the posthuman would possess a
“general central capacity greatly exceeding the maximum attainable by any current human
being without recourse to new technological means.”2
This general capacity refers to three
key categories: healthspan, cognition and emotion.
Healthspan
“The capacity to remain fully healthy, active and productive, both
mentally and physically”3
In practically any vampire film, from Nosferatu (1929) to Interview with the Vampire
(1994) to a more the more recent and widely popular Twilight franchise (2008-2012), the
vampire is and has always been portrayed as characteristically undead, immortal and
immune to illness. To single out any one or few vampire films to illustrate this would thus be
quite unnecessary. Moreover, the possible counterarguments to the claim that this
immortality is comparable to the longevity of a posthuman have been addressed earlier.
2
Bostrom, N., 2008, ‘Why I want to be a Posthuman When I Grow Up’, In Medical Enhancement and
Posthumanity, Oxford University, pp 1
3
Bostrom, N., 2008, ‘Why I want to be a Posthuman When I Grow Up’, In Medical Enhancement and
Posthumanity, Oxford University, pp 1
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Cognition
“general intellectual capacities, such as memory, deductive and
analogical reasoning, and attention, as well as special faculties such
as the capacity to understand and appreciate music, humor,
eroticism, narration, spirituality, mathematics, etc.”4
While vampires display heightened strength, speed, and physical prowess in general,
they do also display a heightened senses and mental and intellectual capacities. Take
memory, for example. In Interview with the Vampire, Louis easily recalls his entire life since
he turned into a vampire 200 years ago, in great detail. Realistically, even if a human could
live to be 200, without enhanced cognition, aging would take its toll on his brain and
recalling events – even those that occur within the same day – would be a challenge.
We should acknowledge also that enhanced cognition involves a vastly altered
perspective on life and the universe. In vampire films, we see how vampires experience
differently from when they were human. In the scene where Louis just turns into a vampire,
Louis describes his new perspective on life and the world with “Might as well ask heaven
what it sees. No human can know.”5
Such amplified cognitive capacities the vampire exhibits
are what one could expect of a posthuman.
4
Bostrom, N., 2008, ‘Why I want to be a Posthuman When I Grow Up’, In Medical Enhancement and
Posthumanity, Oxford University, pp 1
5
Geffen, D. (Producer), Woolley S. (Producer) & Jordan, N. (Director), 1994, Interview with the vampire: The
vampire chronicles, United States: Warner Bros.
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Emotion
“The capacity to enjoy life and to respond with appropriate affect to
life situations and other people”6
While I agree with the above definition of emotion, I should add that emotion not
only means our ability to enjoy life, but also means our susceptibility to emotional pain and
suffering and that an enhanced emotional capacity means that all emotions get heightened
and pain, anger and suffering are not isolated. Taking an example from Interview with the
Vampire, in the scene where Louis is terribly pained at the thought of his killing of Claudia,
we hear from Lestat, “Pain is terrible for you. You feel it like no other creature because
you’re a vampire.”7
Other examples would be how we see Edward’s love for Bella in Twilight
as almost obsessive or how Dracula in Van Helsing (2004) is plagued with insatiable anger.
As we recognize how the attributes of the vampire are very much aligned with what
Bostrom prescribes the posthuman should exhibit, we can then see the connection and the
similarity between the vampire and the posthuman very clearly. This is a major point that
shows how the vampire could categorically be the representation of the posthuman, and
this forms a good foundation to build other points upon.
6
Bostrom, N., 2008, ‘Why I want to be a Posthuman When I Grow Up’, In Medical Enhancement and
Posthumanity, Oxford University, pp 2
7
Geffen, D. (Producer), Woolley S. (Producer) & Jordan, N. (Director), 1994, Interview with the vampire: The
vampire chronicles, United States: Warner Bros.
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A Posthuman/Vampiric World
Having examined how the vampire can be viewed as the representation of the
posthuman and how vampire films explore human desires, we should now examine how
vampire films depict a vampiric world and, in doing so, can help us imagine what a
posthuman world would be like. I will then be pointing out the issues we can expect to face
in a posthuman world, which we can gather from vampire films.
Before that, I should point out that as we compare vampire films from the past to
more current films, we observe a development where the vampire, from being the sole
protagonist in films like Nosferatu and Horror of Dracula, grows in number into vampire
communities like in True Blood, or in a more extreme case, takes over the human
population, like in Daybreakers. As such, I will assess each case where posthumans
constitute different proportions of the population, using an appropriate vampire film to
identify the issue associated with each case.
If there was one posthuman/vampire: The issue of discrimination
It is natural for humans to discriminate against those who they deem to be different
or “less human” from them. Ordinary humans would discriminate against posthumans
because they feel that the enhancements posthumans undergo takes away part of their
humanity, making them less human, or that being posthuman puts one at an unfair
advantage over ordinary humans. To give an example, Olympic athlete Oscar Postorius’
inclusion in the ordinary Olympic Games was met with a lot of flak because many felt that his
prosthetic legs enabled him to run significantly faster than the average human, and many
viewed Pistorious as an unfairly advantaged competitor.
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Such discrimination is evident in films like Nosferatu and Horror of Dracula where the
lone vampire is always being relentlessly hunted by humans. The reason the vampire is so
hunted by humans is not so much simply because it feeds on humans, but more so because
it is regarded as a non-human, evil being, despite being very similar or identical to humans.
Also, the vampire’s superior physical and mental capabilities threaten humans, warranting
humans’ discrimination against vampires.
If there were many posthumans/vampires: The issue of exploitation
When a significant majority of the population are posthuman, we can expect
exploitation to be a major issue. Naturally, posthumans will see themselves as superior to
ordinary humans. As a result of this superior complex, posthumans may exploit humans and
view their exploitation as justified by virtue of their superiority.
However, the opposite may also be true. We can also expect that humans may
deliberately develop or use posthumans who are more capable of performing tasks than
ordinary humans, with the aim of exploiting them. We can take an example from the film
Bladerunner (1982). The movie, set in the year 2019, is about how organic robots called
replicants are developed for the sole purpose of performing dangerous, menial work in off-
world colonies that are too hostile to humans, and are banned from being used on Earth.8
We can predict that a similar exploitation of posthumans may occur.
Generally, vampires in films take on a very predetorial role, hunting humans for their
blood. They find this exploitation of humans as justified as they see themselves as superior
to humans, who are only good for food. In Interview with the Vampire for example, Lestat
constantly encourages Louis to kill humans to feed on, justifying this by comparing vampires
8
Scott, R. (Director), 1982, Blade Runner, United States: Warner Bros.
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to God; “God kills indiscriminately, and so shall we… For no creatures are under God as we
are...None so like him, as ourselves.”9
However, True Blood gives us the perfect example of how exploitation can exist both
ways, as mentioned earlier. While the vampires on True Blood see themselves as superior to
humans and treat their treatment of humans as “pets” or “cattle” as justified, the vampires
are also, in turn, tortured and exploited by humans who capture them to extract their blood
for manufacturing the psychotropic drug, “V”, which rapidly became widely popular among
humans.
Such films thus help us imagine a world where two “human subspecies” exist – the
superior posthuman and the ordinary human – and how this can bring about exploitation of
both humans and posthumans, and the implications of this exploitation.
If the world was posthuman/vampiric: The issue of extinction
This issue assumes a rather extreme case where the population of posthumans
vastly outnumber the population of ordinary humans. While this might be a radical idea, it is
one that isn’t impossible, and should be considered when assessing the consequences of
posthumanism. Suppose posthumanism eventually becomes a widely, globally accepted
concept and that technologies for a human to become posthuman are easily accessible. In
such a case, we can imagine how a vast majority of the global population would want to
become posthuman, mainly to ensure their own survival in a world where almost everyone
is greatly faster, stronger and smarter. However, we can also expect that some humans will
not become posthumans because they either cannot afford the procedures to become
9
Geffen, D. (Producer), Woolley S. (Producer) & Jordan, N. (Director), 1994, Interview with the vampire: The
vampire chronicles, United States: Warner Bros.
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posthuman or simply choose not to. This will result in a small population of humans, who,
being at a huge disadvantage, become less capable of surviving in this world. Eventually, the
human species will become endangered and possibly extinct, leaving a world populated by
posthumans.
There are some vampire films that depict such a scenario. In Daybreakers, for
example, we see such an extreme case where vampires make up almost the entirety of the
global population and exploit humans for their blood to the point where humans are close
to extinction. Although the vampires are trying to develop synthetic blood to replace real
human blood for consumption, the motivation behind this is the fear of scarcity, of running
out of blood, not to save the human species from extinction.
Speciesism
Regardless of the proportion of posthumans to humans, there will exist a great deal
of speciesism between humans and posthumans as long as posthumans exist. As covered in
the three cases above, all the issues do, in some way, stem from speciesism as well.
However speciesism also means that the value of a posthuman’s life and status may
be regarded differently than that of a human’s. Quite appropriately, the posthuman may be
considered the superior being, with a higher moral status by virtue of its higher capabilities.
Therefore, a set of rights may have to be granted to posthumans, separate from human
rights. This may spark a lot of debate, dissatisfaction and unrest between humans and
posthumans, if either party feels like they are not given their due rights as humans or as
posthumans.
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This speciesism and situation of human subspecies fighting for their rights is clearly
exemplified in True Blood, where the vampires form the American Vampire League (AVL) to
fight for equal rights for vampires, as they find the treatment vampires receive from humans
– exploiting them for their blood and general discrimination – unjust. Blayde and Dunn,
however, disagree with this fight for equality, and think that the vampires fighting for
equality are taking a step down.
“In our world, human beings are at the top of the food chain. Our
rational abilities have put us far ahead of all the other animals, and
for thousands of years, we have been the dominant species. But in
True Blood, we’re number two. We have to wonder thy vampires
would seek equality with human beings in the first place. Equality
seems like it would be a step down.”10
While some may disagree with this view, it surely makes sense why vampires, and
posthumans for that matter, should view themselves as superior to humans and by that
virtue, fight to be on top rather than clamouring for equality.
Whichever the case may be, regardless of whether posthumans fight for equality or
whether they fight for superiority, speciesism would very likely exist if posthumans exist.
10
Blayde, A., Dunn, G.A., 2010, ‘Pets, Cattle, and Higher Life Forms on True Blood’, ‘ True Blood and
Philosophy, We Wanna Think Bad Things With You’, John Wiley & Sons, Inc., pp. 41.
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Conclusion
With the examples of vampire films and references to various sources, the claims
that vampire films epitomise human desires, portray the vampire as the posthuman and the
vampiric world as the posthuman world are well supported. In fact, the incredible attributes
the vampire possesses makes it a symbol of the ideal posthuman, fulfilling all the human
desires discussed in this paper. With this parallel made between the vampire and the
posthuman, we have also observed how vampire films can be used to predict or assess the
possible consequences of posthumanism and the issues we can expect to face on different
scales. Simply put, if one wants to know what it would be like being a posthuman, living in a
posthuman world, one simply needs to watch some vampire films.
Word Count: 2990 words, excluding title and headings
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References
Abott, S., 2007, ‘Celluloid Vampires: Life After Death in the Modern World’,
Redefining Boundaries: Vampire Cyborgs, United States: University of Texas Press, pp 197-
214
Bostrom, N., 2008, ‘Why I want to be a Posthuman When I Grow Up’, In Medical
Enhancement and Posthumanity, Oxford University, pp 107-137
Blayde, A., Dunn, G.A., 2010, ‘Pets, Cattle, and Higher Life Forms on True Blood’, ‘
True Blood and Philosophy, We Wanna Think Bad Things With You’, John Wiley & Sons, Inc.,
pp. 34-48.
Buchanan, A., 2009, Moral status and human enhancement, Philosophy & Public
Affairs, 37(4), pp. 346-381.
Day, W. P., 2002, ‘Vampire Legends in Contemporary American Culture: What
Becomes a Legend Most’, Post-Human Vampires: “We Are Animals”, United States:
University Press of Kentucky, pp 81-104
Ducsay, B. (Producer), Sommers, S. (Director), 2004, Van Helsing, United States:
Universal Pictures
Finegan, S., 2013, ‘’You only have to turn your back on nature…’: valorising
posthuman desire in Stephen Meyer’s Twilight Saga’, Queensland University of Technology,
Brisbane, Australia, pp. 158-167
Geffen, D. (Producer), Woolley S. (Producer) & Jordan, N. (Director), 1994, Interview
with the vampire: The vampire chronicles, United States: Warner Bros.
Hardwicke, C. (Director), 2008, Twilight, United States: Summit Entertainment
Scott, R. (Director), 1982, Blade Runner, United States: Warner Bros.