The politics of perfection : technology and creation in literature and film / Kimberly Hurd Hale.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Hale, Kimberly Hurd, 1983- author.

Series:

Politics, literature, & film

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Technology in literature.

Technology in motion pictures.

Creation (Literary, artistic, etc.) in literature.

Creation (Literary, artistic, etc.) in motion pictures.

Liberalism in literature.

Politics and literature.

Physical Description:

ix, 151 pages ; 24 cm.

Place of Publication:

Lanham, Maryland : Lexington Books, an imprint of The Rowman & Littlefield Publishing Group, Inc., [2016]

Summary:

The Politics of Perfection: Technology and Creation in Literature and Film provides an exploration of the relationship between modern technological progress and classical liberalism. Each chapter provides a detailed analysis of a film or novel, including Fritz Lang's Metropolis, Ridley Scott's Prometheus, Michael Gondry's Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, Kazuo Ishiguro's Never Let Me Go, and Margaret Atwood's Oryx and Crake. These works of fiction are examined through the lens of political thinkers ranging from Plato to Hannah Arendt. The compatibility of classical liberalism and technology is questioned, using fiction as a window into Western society's views on politics, economics, religion, technology, and the family. This project explores the intersection between human nature and creation, particularly artificial intelligence and genetic engineering, using works of literature and film to access cultural concerns. Each of the works featured asks a question about the relationship between technology and creation. Technology also allows humanity to create new types of life in the forms of artificial intelligence and genetically engineered beings. This book studies works of literature and film as evidence of the contemporary unease with the progress of technology and its effect on the political realm. Book jacket.

Contents:

Perfecting the human

The City divided: Fritz Lang's Metropolis

Of gods and robots: Ridley Scott's Prometheus

The politics of remembering: Michael Gondry's Eternal sunshine of the spotless mind

The price of immortality: Kazuo Ishiguro's Never let me go and natural rights in a cloned world

Shiny people, happy people: saving the world from mankind in Margaret Atwood's Oryx and crake

Self-guided evolution or self-destruction?

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references (pages 141-147) and index.

Other Format:

Online version: Hale, Kimberly Hurd, 1983- author. Politics of perfection

ISBN:

9781498509923

1498509924

OCLC:

953630805

Publisher Number:

40026642473