Abstract

This thesis explores the idea of a changing reality. To examine this idea, I investigate the cyborg apocalyptic narrative, for it is a rich text that allows us to discuss contentious matters that straddle the fine line separating what is real from what shouldn’t be. Because this thesis is, at its very core, about boundaries and boundaries in transition, the cyborg apocalyptic narrative both demonstrates and induces disorder on many different levels.

Taking a cue from Michel Foucault and his genealogical analytical methods, I’ve approached this investigation with an eye for less recognized cultural elements that affect the complexion of the narrative’s operations, meaning, and interpretations. From contemporary biotechnology and the concept of transhumanism, to the work of Sigmund Freud and the concept of technological pessimism, there is much more to the cyborg apocalyptic narrative than what many presume. The Terminator film franchise and the most recent re-imagining of Battlestar Galactica act as exemplars for how current perspectives concerning identity, anxiety, and visions of The End might take on new meanings in light of new revelations. Reality is in a process of transition. This thesis aims beyond traditional points of view. Transformations may indeed have already begun and our reactions to them affect how we view everything from the interpretation of a science fiction narrative about cyborgs and the larger discourse surrounding human identities, the merit of technology, and what a transformative event is really about.