Predicting the Future of Humanity Through Francophone Science Fiction Film Public

Abstract

The purpose of this thesis is to use Francophone science fiction film to study how technology has been represented through cinematic history and then predict how it will be represented in the future. I argue that Francophone society portrayed in science fiction film predicts a future where technology and humans will have become less distinguishable from one another and where technology will be nearly omnipotent. Moreover, based on the evolution of the image of the woman in cinema, we believe that those same futuristic worlds, imagined so far exclusively by men, will still reflect the biases of today.

This work is divided into three chapters, regarding respectively the intersection of technology and humanity, divine technology, and the role of the technological woman. The first chapter explores how subjective experiences and memory differentiate between technology and humanity. We then analyze the human mind’s capability to be a vessel for technology both inside the narrative of film and in a meta sense that pertains specifically to cinema. The second chapter studies the relationship between technology and divinity. While early film often related technology to biblical characters, more modern film shows technology as omnipotent and omnipresent (two divine attributes). As humanity and technology converge, the concept of a divine posthuman technological figure emerges.

Finally, the last chapter examines the role of the woman in a technological future and how the genre of science fiction and the medium of cinema influence that role. Though science fiction film has allowed for infinite futures to be imagined, the biases of women’s traditional roles have remained the same. The power of the female lead in Francophone science fiction film is continually subverted by the prejudices of today. While we find society believes that humanity and technology will coalesce and obtain the same capabilities as a divine being, the biases of the present will persist.

Table of Contents

Introduction                                                                                                                            1

Chapter 1: The Human as a Vessel for Technology                                                         10

Chapter 2: Divine Technology                                                                                             29

Chapter 3: Technology as Woman                                                                                      48

Conclusion                                                                                                                               71

Filmography                                                                                                                            76

Bibliography                                                                                                                            77

 

About this Honors Thesis

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School	Emory College
Department	French Studies
Degree	B.A.
Submission	Honors Thesis
Language	English
Research Field	Cinema Language, Modern French Canadian Culture
Mot-clé	Cinema Technology French Francophone Divinity Woman Film
Committee Chair / Thesis Advisor	Dana, Catherine, Emory University
Committee Members	Marder, Elissa, Emory University Mandelberg, Ken, Emory University

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