Kate Uva
English 521: Posthumanism
We live in a world where we do not have control. We are controlled. Unless we become
aware of the controlling force upon us, we cannot be free. We do not exercise free thought
because we are prisoners. The world that we live in (the post modern) is slowly developing into
that of the posthuman. The world is constantly changing and shifting. Technologies have
evolved into sophisticated levels that are breaking into the ‘human;’ the technologies are
beginning to take over and replace elements of ‘humanness.’ This replacement gives certain
individuals the opportunity to see things from a different perspective. This idea becomes
especially powerful when looking at literature and film that involve post human abilities. This
combination of human and technology combined creates a new type of being that is able to step
outside of the rules that their world has set for them. This new being is aware of the control that
this world has on them, which allows them to make changes that conflict with the general world
view. These posthuman abilities open the door for freedom.
The world is something that has been created for us from the time that we are born.
People are caught up in a world that is unreal as they are not fully exposed to the truth. As
children grow, they are exposed only to what is considered acceptable by world around them.
They are exposed to school systems, family structures, religious institutions, and are exposed to a
certain way of thinking; they are domesticated. Society presents to these children a set of ideals
that they hold up on a pedestal and the child internalizes it becoming part of his or her culture
and specific system of thought. These children learn to “see” in the way that they are taught as
they execute the ideas of society in their own lives. As a result, they develop within themselves a
long list of what is right and wrong, moral and immoral, acceptable and unacceptable, so that
they themselves can live up to the perfection. Society presents to the child what it considers to
be perfect or ideal and they accept it. They give up their freedoms unknowingly as these ideals
become the truth to these individuals, a truth that is shared by many. As the ideals become
evident as the truth, these individuals become caught in the frame that has been built around
them. In turn, the individuals interpellate as they become prisoners of these thoughts. These
people are subjects of the ideals that they have been given to internalize. As a culture learns to
live with these ideals and interpellate, ideology is produced and reproduced.
One may wonder exactly how a route of thought becomes so strong and how it manifests
itself into a culture of people in such a way that it comes to be considered ideology. How can so
many people be programmed to look at the world in one way? In reality, ideology is a very
difficult route of thought to break. It is circular in its nature, one that runs so deep that those
children, who are caught in the route of thought that has been presented to them their entire lives,
continue to pass it on to later generations as the ideal truth. Each generation becomes a mirror of
the last, as the ideology reflects back upon the culture that has adopted those ideas over time.
Hidden under the layers ideology there is an underlying cause. We know that ideology is
passed on as the ideals are internalized by the subjects, by repetition and the understanding of an
idea or truth. We know that individuals often have their own internal routes of thought that may
not line up with those of society. So, how does ideology take hold of these individuals in a way
that they can accept or follow reluctantly the ‘correct’ way of thinking? Interpellation is often
forced onto the subjects through of the concept of fear. Society creates an invisible threat or
boundary for the subjects within it. Anything that does not fall into this category is labeled as
wrong, negative, or scary, and we learn along the way that with ideas that are outside of the
frame come a punishment, something that pushes many back within the boundaries of the frame.
Interestingly, this ideological structure is very much aware of human nature. It is normal
for people to have the desire to fit in, and be accepted by others. People work hard to please
their parents and teachers because they are afraid of rejection and judgment. They do not or
alienated from the frame that their society shares. These fears are used in order to take control of
the subjects and wrap them up in that tangled web of ideology.
It is clear that people have become the subjects of a life that is formed of rules,
regulations, biases, racism (one can clearly see the structures that build fear) and other ideologies
that we have been exposed to. We are social beings who are linked into cultural systems of
thought. We follow the course of these ideals and create a common way of life, or discourse,
which is accepted by the group. We have learned that it is essential to follow the prompts that
society provides for us automatically. Louis Althusser argues in his essay “Ideology and the
State” that
Ideology hails or interpellates individuals as subjects. As ideology is eternal. .
Ideology has always-already interpelated individuals as subjects, which amounts
to making it clear that individuals are always-already interpellated by ideology as
subject, which leads us to one last proposition: individuals are always-already
subjects (Althusser 175-76).
We are called as subjects within our world to take on or accept the ideology that the people in
control or power put upon us. We interpellate by identifying with and accepting this controlling
route of thinking. This happens so frequently, that it appears that we are always ready to be the
subject of the next created ideal. It is automatic. We are created to be “ready made” individuals
that are a part of a larger way of thinking. We conform in order to avoid punishment; we fear it.
The desire to be accepted for fear of being punished physically (beaten, alienated, etc.) or
mentally (ridiculed, alienated, or othered) forces us into a subject role.
In her essay “Three Steps on the Ladder of Writing” Cixious explores the idea of the
subject as being something created by others. It is created out of ideology. She describes that
“we live in a legalized and general delusion. Fiction takes the place of reality.” (200.) She
reinforces the idea that the world in which we live is something that has been created for us, it is
a delusion that we as a society accept as the truth. We do not dare take the step outside into the
world that is real. We do not, because we fear it. Cixious continues her thoughts on how these
fears embed themselves into an individual, using the writer’s soul as an example. She describes
the writer reaching down into themselves and finding a hell of sorts, a part of the subject that is
completely against any and all ideology. This hell is the part that has been suppressed by fear and
caused by the framing that we have internalized since childhood. She explains that it is difficult
to go into that hell because it is hard for us. It is even more difficult to come out knowing that it
exists.
It is a climb that requires strength. . . to go through the various doors, obstacles,
walls and distances we have forged to make a life. I know besides that what also
prevents us in our society from going there is not our inability- because all of us
are able—but our cowardice, our fear. Our fear, since we know perfectly well
that we will reach the dangerous point where those who are excluded live- and we
hate exclusion. (204.)
Cixious makes a strong point that all of human nature can understand. If we look deep into
ourselves to see our own individual truth, there is a good chance that we will see something that
conflicts with the world that has been presented to us, the world that Haraway calls the “once
upon a time” truth. (380.). When we see that the shared ideal may not exist, or that there may be
another version of the truth, it bothers us. Our reaction is to become introverted, to shrink away
from this new discovery, to become cowards. We are afraid to confront the ideology that we
have been framed with and see it as untrue, because if we do not share the vision of our world,
we risk being punished and being isolated.
This idea is very much present in Ruiz’s “Four Agreements.” This piece focuses mainly
on the idea that there is a collective “society’s dream or the dream of the planet” (2) Within this
dream we see the construct of ideology and discourse as it develops its subjects in society, a
construct that is viewed by the Toltec Indians as the “mitote” or illusion. This idea weaves
together nicely with Cixious and Haraway’s vision of the world of the delusion or the fairytale.
Like Cixious, Ruiz goes into great depth about how we fear punishment and isolation, and stay
within our illusion or delusional world in order to avoid enduring the pain and suffering of being
the opposition. He sees that we have learned about the world around us through repetition and
attentions by adults, and that we thrive on these attentions to the point where we learn to judge
and be judged. We make an unwritten agreement to live within the frame of ideology by the
judgments that our world has on us. We become those children who have unknowingly accepted
these truths. We do not have a choice, we just agree. Ruiz also notes that if we do not begin to
interpellate these ideas, we pretend that we have as a result of our fear of punishment and
rejection. We do not want to step outside the frame that has been built for us. We, like the
writer, reach that dangerous point and become cowards. We ignore what we may know to be
true within ourselves, and present to the world the ideology that we share, the ‘dream of the
planet’.
Ruiz also makes a bold statement of the world, which I believe is one that is key to
understanding the world, literature and film. He states
In the dream of the planet it is normal for humans to suffer, to live in fear, and to
create emotional dramas. The outside dream is not a pleasant dream. . . If we look
at human society we see a place so difficult to live in because it is ruled by fear. ..
. It may exist at different levels in different countries around the world, but fear is
controlling the outside dream (13).
This statement ties in completely with what Cixious has to say about fear and becomes an
important concept about the world. Ideology and the frame that has been created for us directly
force ideals upon us, even though we may not be aware. Unfortunately, it often seems that there
is no other choice. We are slaves of ideology for fear that we will not be accepted. Quite
simply, these ideological constructs control the world.
The construct of ideology and control has become a familiar theme throughout literature
and film. Of course, with any narrative piece of work, we see an echo of our world, which
presents a frame of reference to the reader or viewer. It is clear that reality, control and power
are all ideas that our concern society. We are caught up in a web of reality vs. substance, a world
that is based upon rules and regulations from some higher source, all of which control us in
some way.
As children, we are exposed to fairy tales, often beginning with that happy singsong
phrase “Once upon a time. . .” We become enveloped in the ideals of these stories, and wish this
for ourselves. It is apparent through many elements of pop culture as we look at stories like
‘Cinderella,’ ‘Snow White,’ along with other fairytales introduce the general good vs. evil
storyline. When do we realize that this is not the truth? (Maybe I will discuss the nature of
young adult hood here?) It becomes clear through literature and film that we all realize this in a
different way. However, with all characters, they slowly become aware of the control that is
upon them, and ultimately they use this knowledge to become a soldier. They take their past and
their knowledge, and in some cases their posthuman abilities, in order to reject the rules that the
structure has given them. They become free of the ideologies that their worlds impress upon its
societies.
Cixious states in her essay “Only when we are posthumous can we place the earth in
question, make the earth tremble” (201.) These characters make this illustrate this point
strongly; they are able to break through the route of thought as they are able to see into
dimensions that others are not given the opportunity to see. Their posthuman abilities become a
weapon against ideology. Essentially, they rebel in order to break out of the control that is being
forced upon them.
In the Matrix it is the “world that has been pulled over your eyes to hide the truth” along
with the resonating statement by Morpheus “You are a slave Neo. . . a prisoner of your mind.”
Neo is directly told by Morpheus that he is stuck within the frame of ideology. He is given a
unique choice to go against this ideology when he chooses between the blue pill and the red pill.
Neo chose to put aside the innate fear that lies within the human, in order to discover the truth.
With this decision, Neo becomes part of the posthuman, and a clear example of how the
posthuman can overcome control. Neo begins his vicarious experience in reality while in the
training program. He learns the program in order to unlearn what he has learned. He starts from
square one to learn the martial arts that Morpheus has to offer. He is programmed with 10 hours
straight. He is a “machine.” Here, he realizes what the rules are and what they do, and as a result
is able to put those rules aside. The rules can be broken and he can now have the ‘experience’ in
another way. These rules do not exist any longer. He experiences in the new program and goes
in and experiences it without the rules. He realizes that the real world that he was a part of the
imaginary or what we would consider the fairytale, and the Matrix is reality. Neo must free the
mind of these fairy tale rules in order to be successful in the post human matrix.
This is the beginning of how people need to “Free the Mind.” In society, we are often subjected
to the way that ideology makes us think.
****Brainstorm for where my paper is going*****
WE ARE CONTROLLED : Guiding Quotes and Ideas for analysis
P-The Matrix is “The world that has been pulled over your eyes to hide the truth”
-Technology is narrative” (Mapping the post Human)
-“Creation is an act of sheer will” Jurassic Park (illusion of control and power)
-“We believe the reality in which we are presented” Truman Show
-“You are a slave Neo… prisoner of your mind” Matrix
Several works are already working to present this post human concept to us. We can
literally see and feel what it physically and emotionally would be like to be another person
Strange Days opens up the idea that our brains can be plugged into a “SQUID” and as a result we
are able to “experience” another’s experiences. We plug into this post human world in order to
do this. The characters in the move are able to experience in a truly authentic way.
We are
becoming a society in which we can begin to have vicarious experiences… We can watch the
narrative as it unfolds in front of us. <Work With Control>
Next ideas: braindump.
protagonists are given technology as a source for seeing what is real, what is the truth.
They are able to see outside fo the prompts that we are given as part of our ideological society.
Neo is given the knowledge of the matrix, and is able to ‘relearn’ by going against the rules that
govern them Matrix itself.
Teray in the Patternmaster is given the knowledge that the pattern connects them all, and
he is able to take advantage of his connection with Amber, in order to resist the control that the
pattern holds on him. It gives him power.
Jonas, in The Giver is given the Memories, which allow him to see the way things used
to be, and how the society is being controlled inorder to maintain a calm and perfect “utopia.”
Meg in a Wrinkle In Time- breaks ideology against a PH being. . .
“Flowers for Algernon” control over Charlie who wants to be smarter because this is
what society expects of people- surpasses human intelligence…
More on ideology:
Ann/ What dreams may come
“The Lottery” Shirly Jackson