Hosts: outlining the concept of post-human in Westworld television series

Abstract

The present article stems from the debate on Post-human which has been gaining momentum over the last thirty years, especially the nineties, when national and international researchers widened the debate taking into consideration the hybridization between body and recent technological innovation. The theme has also been presented in distinct forms: in literature, such as the classic Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein (1818); in audiovisual language by means of animation, cartoons, movies and TV series narratives. The present article lies within that context and stems from the question of what it is to be Post-human in the contemporary society in order to dialogue with filmic productions and TV series, especially analyzing the series Westworld, broadcast by HBO channel since 2016. Our aim is, taking the plot of that series as a reference, to discuss and to reflect upon the thin line that separates us from androids within a society where all of us are becoming, in a way, Post-human. The analysis results, while stablishing relations between the narrative of the indicated series and the context of contemporary society, point to preoccupations related to emerging themes such as vigilance, unauthorized and anti-ethical access through invasive actions mediated by technology which are attached in order to potentialize cognitive functions, among others and, finally, the question of violence that has returned in that context mediated by fear. Although the results do not seem as good news, we point out that the emergence of new forms of hybridization, which favor the (re)construction of Post-human, allows us to explore unthinkable universes, potentializing new forms of living, learning and loving within contemporary society, going beyond extensions and prostheses, in order to substantiate creative and innovative practices, especially in the school scene.