“Nostalgia for the future…” – prosthesis as a pop-cultural weapon?
Publication/Creation Date
September 27 2016Description
Abstract:
Prostheses—especially those created by prosthetic limb designer Sophie de Oliveira Barata—are not treated as disempowering artefacts, but as a McLuhanian extension of man: a tool for creating identity and style while keeping individuality and offering liberation from victim status. Prostheses are not a weakness but a strength, a potential. Moreover, technology is not gender neutral, as prostheses can provide new options for women. “Glamputees” reinterpret notions of the female body, beauty standards, minorities’ spaces, etc. On the other hand, so-called alternative modelling recreates the traditional image of woman. In the following article, I would like to show the dynamics of the “extended” or “bionic” body and the social environment by rereading prosthesis through the theories of Vivian Sobchack, Anne Marie Balsamo, and Donna Haraway. In this way, feminist discourse enhances ambivalent perspectives on the phenomenon of alternative limbs. Keywords
Disabilities ,
Amputees,
Pop Culture,
Empowerment,
Feminism,
Transhumanism,
Posthumanism,
Music ,
Body Modification,
Gender,
Identity,
FashionSource
http://transmissions.edu.pl/nostalgia-for-the-future-prosthesis-as-a-pop-cultural-weapon/
Date archived
March 21 2018Last edited
July 5 2021How to cite this entry
Marta Stańczyk. (September 27 2016). "“Nostalgia for the future…” – prosthesis as a pop-cultural weapon?". TransMissions: The Journal of Film and Media Studies. Transmissions. Fabric of Digital Life.
https://fabricofdigitallife.com/Detail/objects/2870