Author: Jayla R.

Beyond Flesh and Blood: Blade Runner and Neuromancer’s Provocative Take on Humanity

Jayla R.
Reading Time: 2 minutes

Cyberpunk classics Blade Runner (1982) and Neuromancer (1984) explore the nuanced interaction between technology and people, eliciting important points on what it means to be human. These stories investigate the nature of mankind from different angles: Blade Runner examines the creation and existential crises of replicants, while Neuromancer analyzes the relationships between people and artificial intelligence in cyberspace. When taken as a whole, they offer a thorough examination of identity, self-awareness, and human nature in a world characterized by technology. 

In Neuromancer, Gibson’s utilization of cyberspace and AI as reflections of humanity helps to challenge how the reader understands what it means to be human. The cyberspace is basically the internet if there was a way to enter the internet. Gibson specifically mentions that the cyberspace is a “consensual hallucination that felt and looked like a physical space but actually was a computer-generated construct representing abstract data.” So it is essentially a place where human identities are both created and destroyed. Concerning AI, Case, the novel’s protagonist, gets involved with two central AI’s named Wintermute and Neuromancer. These AI’s signify how complex the explorations of artificial awareness are. They have the ability to manipulate humans and influence their behavior and decisions just like an actual human being, but they are restricted when it comes to functioning, so this challenges what the reader defines as identity.

Blade Runner’s entire plot surrounds replicants and the quest to kill those that remain on Earth. These replicants are humanoids who are capable of facing identity struggles similar to those of a human being. Roy Batty, a combat model replicant, encapsulates these struggles. His dying words detail how he has experiences and thoughts that will be gone once he’s dead. He says, “All those moments will be lost in time, like tears in rain,” displaying his heartbreaking awareness that gives him a longing to leave something behind to be remembered for.  The replicant Rachel as well is also key to this point because she also has an identity crisis when it is revealed that her memories aren’t real. 

Blade Runner and Neuromancer both provide insightful analyses of human nature while offering an engrossing investigation of what it means to be human in a time when technology is constantly redefining the limits of existence. While Neuromancer addresses similar topics through its depiction of artificial intelligence and the virtual world, Blade Runner uses the struggle of replicants to challenge fundamental aspects of human identity. Because these worlds can evoke profound philosophical issues about our place in a technologically advanced society and the nature of our own identities, they will always be relevant.

The Cyborg Revolution: How Janelle Monaè’s Dirty Computer Reflects Donna Haraway’s Vision

Jayla R.
Reading Time: 2 minutes

In her essay, “A Cyborg Manifesto,” Donna Haraway uses imagery of a posthuman society to challenge traditional beliefs of identity. In this society, identity is fluid and the line between humans and machines and animals are blurred. Haraway uses the cyborg as a metaphor for those fluid identities that defy binary ideals. In this same manner, Janelle Monae’s 2018 album Dirty Computer reimagines these concepts in a dystopian society where people who refuse to fit into predefined categories are “dirty computers” and persecuted as such.

Dirty Computer follows Jane 57821, a woman that is considered a dirty computer because she doesn’t conform to the social norms of purity and control. Similiar to Haraway’s cyborg, these dirty computers are symbols of defiance against an oppressive system that punishes those who are different. The song, “PYNK” and other songs from the album combat these oppressive practices by celebrating being queer, sexually free, and expressing yourself. MonĂĄe’s depiction of her characters rejects the need for society to classify people according to their gender, race, or sexual orientation and instead embraces Donna Haraway’s vision of a world in which identity is not fixed but rather always changing.

MonaĂŠ utilizes the cyborg imagery promoted by Haraway to criticize the dominant nature of technology. The album’s storyline depicts technology as a weapon of oppression, wielded to control and destroy those who deviate from the standard. This is comparable to how Haraway’s cyborg opposes a patriarchal, militarized application of technology. Monae also tackles the same power dynamics that Haraway criticizes in her song “Screwed.” On a surface level, the song is basically saying we’re all screwed, so we might as well just have a good time. But a deeper dive reveals ideas about how oppression can be achieved through controlling bodies that deviate from societal norms. The lyrics, “You fed the world up now, we’ll f it all back down” frame pleasure as a means to rebel against these oppressive regimes. The song reflects Haraway’s depiction of rebellion against capitalist and patriarchal systems.

Overall, Monae’s Dirty Computer refuses to isolate the “other” and describes the bravery and resilience it takes to break the rules. MonĂĄe embodies Haraway’s desire for a future free from the shackles of the past by allowing listeners to use her music to picture a world in which being different is not only accepted but celebrated.

From Binary to Spectrum: A Look at how Gen Z Pushed Gender Boundaries

Jayla R.
Reading Time: 2 minutes

The past decade has elicited monumental changes in gender and how it is perceived. Progressive attitudes towards gender and sexuality are more prevalent now than ever before. As the title of this post suggests, it was widely believed that gender was only a binary construct as opposed to the spectrum we use today. In addition to cisgender, there is transgender, nonbinary, agender, genderfluid, and even more ways for nonconforming individuals to identify with. The TIME Magazine article linked below explains how large the gap is between generations regarding views towards gender. In just 2021, Gen Z was the only generation in which a majority believed there are more than two genders and Gen Z is much more likely to identify as nonbinary or trans.

What I feel has prompted this massive shift in ideals is the maturation of the “most progressive generation” – Gen Z. Gen Z has proven that we won’t take everything we’ve been taught at face value, especially Gen Z women. Offensive rhetoric in the media that was formerly accepted is now called out and the people responsible are being held accountable. We have LGBTQ+ peers and family members, so seeing attempts by politicians to make them illegal and outlaw gay marriage leads to a greater drive towards social justice. We also have more access to technology and resources that reveal how much needs to be fixed in our government and we have the means to go out and speak against it.

While people who identify outside of the gender binary have always existed, it has only recently become common to identify as such. Queer kids are now less likely to be forced to conform to one gender or another and can choose to identify as whoever they please. While there is certainly much more progress to be made regarding this matter, the impact Gen Z has had on widespread acceptance of those who are different is something to be marveled at.

TIME Magazine article: https://time.com/6275663/generation-z-gender-identity