“Your body is no longer your own”: the body in science fiction and its narrative and symbolic uses
Article Sidebar
Main Article Content
Abstract
From the first glimpses of the genre, the body has been a central element within science fiction narratives, embodying diverse narrative and metaphoric aspects for the speculative representation of new worlds. Through the analysis of six audiovisual works of science fiction, this paper seeks to analyze three conceptualizations of the uses of the body in science fiction: the estranged body, the controlled body, and the accessory body. Through these conceptualizations, we see the emergence of cues to understanding the contexts from which each of these works emerged, and how in turn these contexts influenced the representation of the bodies.
Article Details
Section
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.
How to Cite
References
BARCELÓ, M. “La evolución histórica de la ciencia ficción”. M. BARCELÓ, Ciencia ficción: Nueva guía de lectura. Barcelona: Ediciones B, S.A., pp. 79-107, 2015.
BUKATMAN, S. Terminal Identity: The Virtual subject in Postmodern Science Fiction. Durham, Duke University Press, 1973.
COHEN, J.J. “Monster Culture (Seven Theses)”. J.J. COHEN (ed.), Monster Theory: Reading Culture. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press, pp. 3-25, 1996. DOI: https://doi.org/10.5749/j.ctttsq4d.4
COURTINE, J.J. “El cuerpo anormal: Historia y antropología culturales de la deformidad”. J.J. COURTINE (dir.), Historia del cuerpo 3. Las mutaciones de la mirada. Madrid: Taurus, pp. 201-258, 2006.
DICK, P.K. ¿Sueñan los androides con ovejas eléctricas?. Barcelona: Edhasa, 1992.
FISHER, W. “Of Living Machines and Living-Machines: Blade Runner and the Terminal Genre”. New Literary History, Vol. 20, N° 1, Critical Reconsiderations, pp. 187-198, 1988. DOI: https://doi.org/10.2307/469327. DOI: https://doi.org/10.2307/469327
FOUCAULT, M. Vigilar y castigar: nacimiento de la prisión. Buenos Aires: Siglo XXI, 2002.
GERAGHTY, L. “From Balaclavas to Jumpsuits: The Multiple Histories and Identities of “Doctor Who’s” Cybermen”. Atlantis: Journal of the Spanish Association of Anglo-American Studies, Vol. 30, N° 1, Madrid, pp. 85-100, 2008. https://www.jstor.org/stable/41055308.
GOLIGORSKY, E.; LANGER, M. Ciencia ficción; realidad y psiconálisis. Buenos Aires: Ed. Paidos, 1969.
HANTKE, S. “Surgical Strikes and Prosthetic Warriors: The Soldier’s Body in Contemporary Science Fiction”. Science Fiction Studies, Vol. 25, N° 3, pp. 495-509, 1998. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1525/sfs.25.3.0495. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1525/sfs.25.3.0495
HARAWAY, D. “A Cyborg Manifesto: Science, Technology and Socialist-Feminism in the Late Twentieth Century”. D. HARAWAY, Simians, Cyborgs and Women: The Reinvention of Nature. New York: Routledge, 1991.
HENDERSON, M. Star Wars: The Magic of Myth. New York City: Bantam Books, 1997.
JENKINS, H. (s.f.). “Transmedia Storytelling 101,” published March 21, 2007, retrieved on June 19, 2026, from https://henryjenkins.org/blog/2007/03/transmedia_storytelling_101.html.
MALTHUS, T.R. An Essay on the Principle of Population. Electronic Scholarly Publishing Project, 1998.
MATRIX, S. “The Chronopolitical Order of Things: Technologies of the Quantified Self in Andrew Niccol’s “In Time” and “Michael Anderson’s “Logan’s Run””. Critical Survey, Vol. 25, N° 2, pp. 85-96, 2013. DOI: https://doi.org/10.3167/cs.2013.250207. DOI: https://doi.org/10.3167/cs.2013.250207
MICHAUD, Y. “Visualizaciones: El cuerpo y las artes visuales”. J.J. COURTINE, (dir.), Historia del cuerpo 3. Las mutaciones de la mirada. Madrid: Taurus, 2006, pp. 401-419.
MORGAN, R.K. Altered Carbon. New York: Del Rey, 2017.
SCHWETMAN, J.D. “Romanticism and the Cortical Stack: Cyberpunk Subjectivity in the Takeshi Kovacs Novels of Richard K. Morgan”. Pacific Coast Philology, Vol. 41, pp. 124-140, 2006. https://www.jstor.org/stable/25474204.
SPIEGEL, S. “Things Made Strange: On the Concept of “Estrangement” in Science Fiction Theory”. Science Fiction Studies, Vol. 35, N° 3, pp. 369-385, 2008. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1525/sfs.35.3.0369. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1525/sfs.35.3.0369
WIENER, N. God and Golem, Inc. A comment on Certain Points where cybernetics Impinges on Religion. Cambridge: The MIT Press, 1964. DOI: https://doi.org/10.7551/mitpress/3316.001.0001
7 Filmography
BENNET, P. (Producer) and TALALAY, R. (Director). Doctor Who: The Doctor Falls [Television episode]. England: BBC One. 2017.
BENNET, P. (Producer) and TALALAY, R. (Director). Doctor Who: World Enough and Time [Television episode]. England: BBC One. 2017.
BOCCIA, J.; FIORE, N.; HERRERA, J.; TODD, K. (Producers) y MORANO, R. (Director). The Handmaid’s Tale: Offred [Television episode]. United States of America: Daniel Wilson Productions Inc., The Littlefield Company, White Oak Pictures & MGM Television., 2018.
COLLINSON, P. (Producer) and GRAEME, H. (Director). Doctor Who: Rise of the Cybermen [Television episode]. England: BBC One. 2006.
COLLINSON, P. (Producer) and GRAEME, H. (Director). Doctor Who: The Age of Steel [Television episode]. England: BBC One. 2006.
DAVID, S. (Producer) and ANDERSON, M. (Director). Logan’s Run [Film] United States of America: Metro Goldwyn Mayer. 1976.
DEELEY, M. (Producer) and SCOTT, R. (Director). Blade Runner [Film]. United States of America: The Ladd Company, Shaw Brothers. 1982.
KAZANJIAN, H. (Producer) and MARQUAND, R. (Director). Return of the Jedi [Film]. United States of America: Lucasfilm Ltd. 1983.
KURTZ, G. (Producer) y LUCAS, G. (Writer/Director). Star Wars. United States of America: Lucasfilm Ltd. 1977.
LAMBERT, V. (Producer) and BARRY, C.; MARTIN, R. (Directors). Doctor Who: The Daleks [Television episode]. England: BBC One. 1963.
LENIC, J.G. (Producer) and GODDARD, A. (Director). Altered Carbon: Nora Inu [Television episode]. United States of America: Virago Productions, Mythology Entertainment, Phoenix Pictures & Skydance Television. 2018.
LENIC, J.G. (Producer) and GRAVES, A. (Director). Altered Carbon: Man with My Face [Television episode]. United States of America: Virago Productions, Mythology Entertainment, Phoenix Pictures & Skydance Television. 2018.
LENIC, J.G. (Producer) and HURRAN, N. (Director). Altered Carbon: In a Lonely Place [Television episode]. United States of America: Virago Productions, Mythology Entertainment, Phoenix Pictures & Skydance Television. 2018
LENIC, J.G. (Producer) and SAPOCHNIK, M. (Director). Altered Carbon: Out of the Past [Television episode]. United States of America: Virago Productions, Mythology Entertainment, Phoenix Pictures & Skydance Television. 2018.
LLOYD, I. (Producer) and MARTINUS, D. (Director). Doctor Who: The Tenth Planet [Television episode]. England: BBC One. 1966.
MCCALLUM, R. (Producer) and LUCAS, G. (Writer/Director). Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith. United States of America: Lucasfilm Ltd. 2005.