Mom-Bots and Cyborg Babies: Artificial Life and Artificial Reproduction in Contemporary Science Fiction Narratives
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Authors
Veysey, Emily
Date
2024-09-05
Type
thesis
Language
eng
Keyword
Assisted Reproduction , Artificial Life , Normalization , Commodification , Technophobia , Heteronormativity
Alternative Title
Abstract
This thesis addresses assisted reproductive technologies and their representation in contemporary science fiction narratives, positioning them as fundamentally interconnected in their co-constitution and situated within the current political debates surrounding reproductive rights. It is guided by the following research questions: How are negative representations of artificial life forms in science fiction film related to technophobic, heteronormative ideology associated with assisted reproductive technologies? What common threads can be identified between these representations and technologies and the real-world bodies and systems they are entangled with? Drawing on the cultural studies of science and technology, feminist media studies, gender studies, labour studies, and using a theoretical framework of the “cyborg” as a posthuman ontology, this thesis proceeds through several stages of interrogation, beginning with an exploration of assisted reproductive technologies and the complex social and ideological aspects at play in their development and use, connecting this to mass media representation through critical analyses of the 2017 films Alien: Covenant and Blade Runner 2049. Arguing these as an entanglement of interconnected factors shaping our reproductive landscape, this thesis works to make visible the role of these technologies in our society and how we speculate about their role in our futures through science fiction film.
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Queen's University's Thesis/Dissertation Non-Exclusive License for Deposit to QSpace and Library and Archives Canada
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Copying and Preserving Your Thesis
This publication is made available by the authority of the copyright owner solely for the purpose of private study and research and may not be copied or reproduced except as permitted by the copyright laws without written authority from the copyright owner.
ProQuest PhD and Master's Theses International Dissemination Agreement
Intellectual Property Guidelines at Queen's University
Copying and Preserving Your Thesis
This publication is made available by the authority of the copyright owner solely for the purpose of private study and research and may not be copied or reproduced except as permitted by the copyright laws without written authority from the copyright owner.