Transhumanist hero in popular cinema: An analysis of the X-Men series

First part of this thesis assesses the Enlightenment idea of development, the relation between human beings and knowledge, scientific knowledge and practical knowledge. First, the theoretical framework of transhumanism is provided and it is explained how mythical capacities are acquired, the Englightenment ideal of development, rational societal attempts of controls. It is argued that transhumanist literature consists of many sub-genres. This is due to the fact that these sub-genres suggest the interdisciplinary nature of transhumanism. The second part of this thesis assesses the survey of transhumanist literature. Therefore, transhumanist ideolojies and phenomena are discussed. First, the ideological constructions which inform transhumanist discourse, then the individual perception which alters these ideological constructions and the subject's prospects of becoming an individual are explored. Secondly, the individual's own discourse of body and his/her individual future reflections are explored. The relation between knowledge and authority in our age of information and technology, and how it alters the individual's future prospects are explored. Lastly, the changes which the individual undergoes are explored in this framework. In the final part, the X-Men characters are discussed in this transhumanist context. For the transhumanist discourse informs the nature of X-Men characters.