Unit:
Department of Communication and Media StudiesLibrary of the Faculties of Political Science and Public Administration, Communication and Mass Media Studies, Turkish and Modern Asian Studies, Sociology
Author:
Papakyriakopoulou Aikaterini
Dissertation committee:
Εύα Στεφανή, Καθηγήτρια, Τμήμα Επικοινωνίας και Μ.Μ.Ε., ΕΚΠΑ
Ελένη Γέμτου, Αναπληρώτρια Καθηγήτρια, Τμήμα Ιστορίας και Φιλοσοφίας της Επιστήμης, ΕΚΠΑ
Ζάφος Ξαγοράρης, Καθηγητής, Ανώτατη Σχολή Καλών Τεχνών
Αφροδίτη Νικολαίδου, Επίκουρη Καθηγήτρια, Τμήμα Επικοινωνίας και Μ.Μ.Ε., ΕΚΠΑ
Άννα Πούπου, Επίκουρη Καθηγήτρια, Τμήμα Ψηφιακών Τεχνών & Κιν/φου, ΕΚΠΑ
Λίζα Τσαλίκη, Καθηγήτρια, Τμήμα Επικοινωνίας και Μ.Μ.Ε., ΕΚΠΑ
Δημήτρης Χαρίτος, Καθηγητής, Τμήμα Επικοινωνίας και Μ.Μ.Ε., ΕΚΠΑ
Original Title:
The Gendered A.I. in Film and Visual Culture: Transgressing the Gender Binary
Translated title:
Έμφυλη Τεχνητή Νοημοσύνη στον Κινηματογράφο και την Οπτική Κουλτούρα: Υπερβαίνοντας την Δυαδικότητα του Φύλου
Summary:
Motivated by the merge of women and machines in science fiction cinema, this thesis explores visual representations of gendered Artificial Intelligence. Feminist film theorists have considered the implications of this merge for the deconstruction of binarisms around femininity. Their ongoing debate concerns whether such depictions challenge the gender binary or perpetuate stereotypical images of femininity and masculinity.
The thesis draws on feminist and queer theory’s initiation of the problematics around gendered machines and proposes a combined methodological approach. First, the analysis of science fiction films treating gendered machines considers the gender gap in both science and fiction. This refers to the exclusion of women from scientific and technological fields and the fact that most films are directed by men. The link between the two triggers the research question of how the feminist reader can envision the future of science fiction and women’s presence in it.
A second aspect of the reading relates to the film genre and focuses on a) the depiction of AI females and b) the romantic or sexual interaction between AI machines and humans. My thesis proposes the combined reading of science fiction and romance subgenres regarding film representations of femininity and masculinity. A core argument for this is that the romantic interplay between human and machine enables a better understanding of gender dynamics and power relations. It also links to the relationship between the artist and the artwork and draws parallels with how science fiction objectifies women. Such objectifications can be subverted by a feminist reading that rejects technological determinism and focuses on a human-centred interpretation of the narratives.
Finally, the thesis composes a novel perspective by introducing the terms “failed masculinity” and “cyborg femininity” as two bodily tropes that can be weaponised against the masculine/feminine dichotomy. By combining the AI, posthuman and cyborg discourses and applying the scholarly contributions of cyborg feminists and cyberfeminists, the thesis figures the AI subject and contributes to a vision of post-gender worlds in feminist film theory.
Main subject category:
Social, Political and Economic sciences
Keywords:
Gender, cyborg, film, feminism, science fiction, Queer, posthuman.
Number of references:
204
