Body, soul and cyberspace in contemporary science fiction cinema : virtual worlds and ethical ... problems

Palgrave Macmillan is the global academic imprint of the above companies and has companies and representatives throughout the world. Palgrave® and Macmillan® are registered trademarks in the United States, the United Kingdom, Europe and other countries. "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. Magerstädt 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"-- Provided by publisher Front Matter....Pages i-ix Introduction: Ethical Questions in Contemporary Science Fiction Films....Pages 1-6 Body — Cyborgs, Clones and Automata: The Matrix, eXistenZ, Avatar....Pages 7-28 Soul — Cyber-Spirituality and Immortality: The Thirteenth Floor, Aeon Flux, Transcendence....Pages 29-56 Cyberspace — Dreams, Memory and Virtual Worlds: TRON: Legacy, Total Recall (2012), Inception....Pages 57-83 Conclusion: Imagining Our Future(s)....Pages 84-87 Back Matter....Pages 88-95 Body, Soul and Cyberspace explores how recent science-fiction cinema answers questions about body and soul, virtuality, and spirituality in the digital age by linking cinematic themes with religious, philosophical and ethical concepts.