Transhumanism in brave new world, neuromancer, and her: The creation of illusionary freedom in society

This study explores what "transhumanism" is in its modern use, and how and why transhumanist technologies are used in Aldous Huxley's Brave New World (1932), William Gibson's Neuromancer (1984), and Spike Jonze's her (2013). These works will be analysed as science fiction works employing transhumanism to create their fictional societies. Michel Foucault's theory of punishment, Antonio Gramsci's concept of hegemony and Jean Baudrillard's theory of simulation will constitute the main theoretical background of this study. Donna Haraway's concept of cyborg will also be used to highlight the inequalities between genders in the created societies. It will be argued that in these worlds human beings are strictly controlled in a subtle way by means of advance science and technology that can be categorized under transhumanism. So transhumanism does not present a liberating environment for individuals or the society in real sense in the chosen works; instead it disguises the control mechanism by providing partial benefits for the inhabitants.