Of Dreamers and the Damned: A Posthuman Reading on Two Divergent Cinematic Journeys

Abstract

Posthumanism rejects the traditional concept of (hu)man, especially its anthropocentric view. Posthumanism as a movement in critical theory analyses the future as open or at least subject to human influence rather than accepting time as a cyclical or predetermined variable with a fixed endpoint. Through a comparative analysis of the movies, Interview with the Vampire (1994) and The Secret Life of Walter Mitty (2013), this paper explores how posthumanism is represented in the cinematic universe from two disparate aspects. The research employs a close textual analysis to deconstruct each film’s narrative to construct a distinct vision of post humanism as it juxtaposes a feel-good drama and a gothic horror which represents two entirely different visions of dystopian and utopian futures respectively. The protagonist of The Secret Life of Walter Mitty, Walter Mitty is not being transposed of his human abilities or uniqueness but he undergoes a fundamental ontological redefinition. At the same time, the protagonist Louis from Interview with the Vampire, experiences alienation and existential loneliness in a highly humanistic world. While both works deal with the transcendence of human body and consciousness, Walter Mitty’s journey shows cognitive enhancement whereas Louis’s story reveals the dystopian outcome of self-annihilation. This paper examines posthumanism’s hope and horror through the comparative study of the movies and explores how the concept need not be necessarily optimistic or pessimistic, rather a mix of how the humans experience it, similar to life in a highly humanistic world.