Joanna Lapinska
Universtät Wien, Institut für Theater-, Film- und Medienwissenschaft, Department Member
- Artificial Intelligence, Affect (Cultural Theory), Posthumanism, Science Fiction, Cultural Studies, Humanoid Robotics, and 17 morePopular Culture, Cinema Studies, Robots, ASMR, Transhumanism/Posthumanism, Anthropology of Things, Feminism, and Feminist Theory, Class and Inequality, Creativity, Embodiment, Creative Industries, Creativity studies, New Materialism, History of Technology, Affect/Emotion, Sensuality, Corporality, and Affect Studiesedit
- I hold a Ph.D. in Humanities in the discipline of Cultural Studies, and an M.A. in Film Studies. I have authored mult... moreI hold a Ph.D. in Humanities in the discipline of Cultural Studies, and an M.A. in Film Studies. I have authored multiple papers in collected volumes and journals, and "To kocha! Związki miłosne ludzi i maszyn w filmie science fiction" (2020), a study of love relationships between humans and machines in science-fiction films. My research interests include contemporary cinema, the theories and practices of posthumanism, affect theory, the new practices of intimacy, and the sensual experiences in media. I am currently involved in an FWF Lise Meitner postdoc project on “ASMR as a New Intimacy Practice in Western Culture” at the Department of Theater, Film and Media Studies, University of Vienna (Austria).
Don't hesitate to contact me! I am open to any kind of research or organizational collaboration.edit
Książka ukazuje, jak zmieniały się przedstawienia związków miłosnych człowieka i maszyny w filmach science fiction, pochodzących z amerykańskiego i zachodnioeuropejskiego kręgu kulturowego, i jakie przekazy kulturowe na temat... more
Książka ukazuje, jak zmieniały się przedstawienia związków miłosnych człowieka i maszyny w filmach science fiction, pochodzących z amerykańskiego i zachodnioeuropejskiego kręgu kulturowego, i jakie przekazy kulturowe na temat podmiotowości współczesnego człowieka i innych podmiotów otaczającej go rzeczywistości wpisane są w historie miłosne opowiedziane w analizowanych filmach. W interpretacji autorki omawiane filmy stawiają pytania o to, czy maszyny obdarzone sztuczną inteligencją mogłyby wchodzić w miłosne interakcje z człowiekiem i co miałoby to oznaczać dla obu stron w kontekście ich podmiotowości.
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This volume discusses the definitional problems and conceptual strategies involved in defining the human. By crossing the boundaries of disciplines and themes, it offers a transdisciplinary platform for exploring the new ideas of the... more
This volume discusses the definitional problems and conceptual strategies involved in defining the human. By crossing the boundaries of disciplines and themes, it offers a transdisciplinary platform for exploring the new ideas of the human and adjusting to the dynamic in which we are plunged. The emerging cyborgs and transhumans call for an urgent reconsideration of humans as individuals and collectives. The identity of the human in the 21st century eludes definitions underpinned by simplifying and simplified dichotomies. Affecting all the spheres of life, the discoveries and achievements of recent decades have challenged the bipolar categorizations of human/nonhuman and human/machine, real/virtual and thus opened the door to transdisciplinary considerations. Ours is a new world where the boundaries of normality and abnormality, a legacy of the long history of philosophy, medicine, and science need dismantling. We are now on our way to re-examine, re-understand, and re-describe what normal-abnormal, human-nonhuman, and I-we-they mean. We find ourselves facing what resembles the liminal stage of a global ritual, a stage of being in-between—between the old anthropocentric order and a new position of blurred boundaries. The volume addresses philosophical, bioethical, sociological, and cognitive approaches developed to transcend the binaries of human-nonhuman, natural-artificial, individual-collective, and real-virtual.
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This section contains four original articles addressing the matters of interaction, coexistence and representation of the human senses in various historical and cultural contexts. The multisensory experience of the world in relations to... more
This section contains four original articles addressing the matters of interaction, coexistence and representation of the human senses in various historical and cultural contexts.
The multisensory experience of the world in relations to the past, the present and the future constitutes the main theme of the selected articles. The authors analyze how, in various cultural texts and historical moments, human experience was depicted through the prism of sensory perception, sometimes combined with sensory memory and the powerfulness/powerlessness of the (non)human corporeality. The authors analyze a variety of historical and cultural sources to answer the question of the impact of multisensory experience on our view of the world: in the past, the present and the future.
The multisensory experience of the world in relations to the past, the present and the future constitutes the main theme of the selected articles. The authors analyze how, in various cultural texts and historical moments, human experience was depicted through the prism of sensory perception, sometimes combined with sensory memory and the powerfulness/powerlessness of the (non)human corporeality. The authors analyze a variety of historical and cultural sources to answer the question of the impact of multisensory experience on our view of the world: in the past, the present and the future.
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Authors: Joanna Łapińska, Natalia Giza Human sensory experience is very rarely, perhaps never, the domain of only one particular sense, isolated from the others. This has already been emphasized forcefully by Maurice Merleau-Ponty, who... more
Authors: Joanna Łapińska, Natalia Giza
Human sensory experience is very rarely, perhaps never, the domain of only one particular sense, isolated from the others. This has already been emphasized forcefully by Maurice Merleau-Ponty, who noted that our sensory experience is always intertwined. This is because in experiencing the reality around us we use all of our senses at the same time, which effectively (and often very impressively) reinforce each other. Therefore, our experience of the world is always multisensory. The visual influences the auditory and vice versa, and what is tactile, gustatory, and olfactory is never far behind. The multisensory experience of the world around us directly affects how and what we think and feel, what we know and create-and, therefore, who we are. The sensory turn, which highlights the importance of the body and its senses, and focuses especially on the previously underappreciated multi-modal and multisensual perception of the world, is currently taking place across the humanities and social sciences. Within this turn, it is recognized, among others, that the sense of sight, which was always highly esteemed in the Western world, is being supplanted by the other senses, usually under-valued in the past. Today, without doubt, the multisensory experience involving the senses of sight, hearing, touch, smell, and taste constitutes an attractive subject of ongoing research for the academics studying different forms of culture, art, film, and design. The original articles collected in this special issue of our "Roczniki Kulturoznawcze" ("Annals of Cultural Studies") serve as an invitation to discuss multisensory experience in culture, art, film, and design. All the papers address interaction, coexistence, and representation of human multisensory experience in various contexts.
Human sensory experience is very rarely, perhaps never, the domain of only one particular sense, isolated from the others. This has already been emphasized forcefully by Maurice Merleau-Ponty, who noted that our sensory experience is always intertwined. This is because in experiencing the reality around us we use all of our senses at the same time, which effectively (and often very impressively) reinforce each other. Therefore, our experience of the world is always multisensory. The visual influences the auditory and vice versa, and what is tactile, gustatory, and olfactory is never far behind. The multisensory experience of the world around us directly affects how and what we think and feel, what we know and create-and, therefore, who we are. The sensory turn, which highlights the importance of the body and its senses, and focuses especially on the previously underappreciated multi-modal and multisensual perception of the world, is currently taking place across the humanities and social sciences. Within this turn, it is recognized, among others, that the sense of sight, which was always highly esteemed in the Western world, is being supplanted by the other senses, usually under-valued in the past. Today, without doubt, the multisensory experience involving the senses of sight, hearing, touch, smell, and taste constitutes an attractive subject of ongoing research for the academics studying different forms of culture, art, film, and design. The original articles collected in this special issue of our "Roczniki Kulturoznawcze" ("Annals of Cultural Studies") serve as an invitation to discuss multisensory experience in culture, art, film, and design. All the papers address interaction, coexistence, and representation of human multisensory experience in various contexts.
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Authors: Marzena Keating, Joanna Łapińska The aim of this article is to analyse various excremental motifs and their functions in selected contemporary films. Drawing on concepts such as Julia Kristeva's abject, Mary Douglas's taboo... more
Authors: Marzena Keating, Joanna Łapińska
The aim of this article is to analyse various excremental motifs and their functions in selected contemporary films. Drawing on concepts such as Julia Kristeva's abject, Mary Douglas's taboo and Mikhail Bakhtin's grotesque body, the authors demonstrate that dirt in the form of excrement holds metaphorical and symbolic potential in cinematic representations. Faecal tropes selected for discussion range from the use of excrement as a means of humiliation ('The Help', 'Green Book', 'Kornblumenblau') or resistance ('Silent Grace', 'Hunger') to an understanding of defecation as an ideal and peaceful act ('Jarhead', 'Halkaa') or as a trigger for culturally conditioned disgust ('Death at a Funeral', 'Daddy Day Care'), to the use of faecal matters as a demarcation line between 'us' and 'them' in the world of the future ('Uncanny', 'The Platform') or as a productive substance entangled with multiple life forms ('The Martian'). Since filmic texts can be regarded as a taxonomic representing of faecal motifs that have received considerably little scholarly attention, the discussed examples do not exhaust the topic, but lay the foundation for more detailed analysis in the future.
The aim of this article is to analyse various excremental motifs and their functions in selected contemporary films. Drawing on concepts such as Julia Kristeva's abject, Mary Douglas's taboo and Mikhail Bakhtin's grotesque body, the authors demonstrate that dirt in the form of excrement holds metaphorical and symbolic potential in cinematic representations. Faecal tropes selected for discussion range from the use of excrement as a means of humiliation ('The Help', 'Green Book', 'Kornblumenblau') or resistance ('Silent Grace', 'Hunger') to an understanding of defecation as an ideal and peaceful act ('Jarhead', 'Halkaa') or as a trigger for culturally conditioned disgust ('Death at a Funeral', 'Daddy Day Care'), to the use of faecal matters as a demarcation line between 'us' and 'them' in the world of the future ('Uncanny', 'The Platform') or as a productive substance entangled with multiple life forms ('The Martian'). Since filmic texts can be regarded as a taxonomic representing of faecal motifs that have received considerably little scholarly attention, the discussed examples do not exhaust the topic, but lay the foundation for more detailed analysis in the future.
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Based on the visual, textual and video analysis of selected autonomous sensory meridian response (ASMR) films published on YouTube, this article seeks to provide an overview of numerous roles that both the activity of writing and onscreen... more
Based on the visual, textual and video analysis of selected autonomous sensory meridian response (ASMR) films published on YouTube, this article seeks to provide an overview of numerous roles that both the activity of writing and onscreen written elements play in sonic contexts. In line with the findings of post-cinema studies and posthumanism theories, the author aims to present the post-cinematic techniques used in ASMR videos focusing on the written element as a sign of processuality-, relationality- and experimentation-oriented posthuman sensibility. In this essay, it is demonstrated that in ASMR culture the process of writing supersedes the final product of this activity, and that listening designates multimodal reception experience. While this research draws primarily on the concepts developed within the fields of post-cinema and posthumanism studies, it is interdisciplinary in nature and can be situated within the academic fields of sound studies, new media studies, and performance studies.
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Authors: Marzena Keating, Joanna Łapińska Based on the contrastive analysis of selected recipes represented in various media, such as cookbooks, television culinary shows and ASMR videos, this article seeks to provide an overview of... more
Authors: Marzena Keating, Joanna Łapińska
Based on the contrastive analysis of selected recipes represented in various media, such as cookbooks, television culinary shows and ASMR videos, this article seeks to provide an overview of numerous roles, ranging from informative through performative to artistic-aesthetic, which sound plays in contexts of transmitting culinary knowledge and depicting culinary skills. In line with the findings of sound studies, phenomenology, and postphenomenology, the authors aim to present both the material dimension of sound, mainly brought to existence by the techniques and technologies used and its aesthetic-artistic dimension actualized in a performative act. In this article, it has been demonstrated, following Maurice Merleau-Ponty’s and Melissa Van Drie’s observations, that sensory experiences in culinary contexts are always intertwined, and “listening, like cooking, is multisensorial.” While this research draws primarily on the concepts developed within the field of sound studies, it is interdisciplinary in nature and can be situated within the academic fields of culinary history and food studies, history of everyday life, and philosophy of technology.
Based on the contrastive analysis of selected recipes represented in various media, such as cookbooks, television culinary shows and ASMR videos, this article seeks to provide an overview of numerous roles, ranging from informative through performative to artistic-aesthetic, which sound plays in contexts of transmitting culinary knowledge and depicting culinary skills. In line with the findings of sound studies, phenomenology, and postphenomenology, the authors aim to present both the material dimension of sound, mainly brought to existence by the techniques and technologies used and its aesthetic-artistic dimension actualized in a performative act. In this article, it has been demonstrated, following Maurice Merleau-Ponty’s and Melissa Van Drie’s observations, that sensory experiences in culinary contexts are always intertwined, and “listening, like cooking, is multisensorial.” While this research draws primarily on the concepts developed within the field of sound studies, it is interdisciplinary in nature and can be situated within the academic fields of culinary history and food studies, history of everyday life, and philosophy of technology.
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The audiovisual phenomenon of autonomous sensory meridian response (ASMR), which has been present on the Internet for several years in the form of relaxing videos posted on YouTube, is enjoying growing popularity. One of the interesting... more
The audiovisual phenomenon of autonomous sensory meridian response (ASMR), which has been present on the Internet for several years in the form of relaxing videos posted on YouTube, is enjoying growing popularity. One of the interesting elements of this phenomenon is the affectivity visible in the language used by the members of the community. In this article, I focus on the language used by the ASMR community in online spaces, putting forward the thesis that it corresponds with the language of affect present in the affective turn theories that appreciate bodily sensations as a way of experiencing the world. The article suggests that ASMR is a product of the culture of affect and that the success of this phenomenon is associated with a shift toward the importance of the body and its sensations in Western culture as key elements of the individual’s experience of the surrounding reality.
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The term “autonomous sensory meridian response” (“ASMR”) refers to a novel genre of audiovisual expression consisting of videos, mainly published on YouTube, that are designed to induce a pleasant tingling sensation on the skin of the... more
The term “autonomous sensory meridian response” (“ASMR”) refers to a novel genre of audiovisual expression consisting of videos, mainly published on YouTube, that are designed to induce a pleasant tingling sensation on the skin of the viewer’s head, neck, shoulders, and arms, leading to the relaxation of their entire body. The media-based works of ASMR belong to the so-called “self-soothing devices”: their aim is to influence viewers in such a way that they relax, unwind and fall asleep. In this article, I ask whether the phenomenon of ASMR can be called art. The essay briefly outlines the issue of ASMR’s manifold relationships with art, not only by referring to historical examples of various trends in media art that may indirectly influence the phenomenon of ASMR, but also to contemporary conscious attempts to introduce this phenomenon into venues traditionally associated with high culture, such as museums. I also consider what cultural trends in society and contemporary human needs ASMR responds to. I conclude the essay with a reflection on the understanding of art, the main determinant of which I consider to be the affective moving of the body of the viewer of a particular artistic creation. In the case of ASMR, the sign of this movement is a specific tingling sensation felt on the viewer’s skin that appears when they are in contact with the artwork.
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This article focuses on the perception of sleep in the digital culture of autonomous sensory meridian response (ASMR), examining both viewer-listeners' online discussions about the impact of ASMR videos on their sleep and the content of... more
This article focuses on the perception of sleep in the digital culture of autonomous sensory meridian response (ASMR), examining both viewer-listeners' online discussions about the impact of ASMR videos on their sleep and the content of audiovisual materials published on YouTube. The paper posits that sleep is viewed in two ways in the ASMR community; on the one hand, in a capitalist sense as a manageable and controllable object, and, on the other, as an element that escapes this discourse. The ASMR culture, while affirming contemporary normative sleep patterns, simultaneously invites its enthusiasts to slow down, unwind, and relax, thereby aligning itself with the slow movement.
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The article analyzes human-non-human love relationships shown in two American science fiction films representing the Third Culture cinema: Benjamin Dickinson's "Creative Control" (2015) and Logan Kibens's "Operator" (2016) in the context... more
The article analyzes human-non-human love relationships shown in two American science fiction films representing the Third Culture cinema: Benjamin Dickinson's "Creative Control" (2015) and Logan Kibens's "Operator" (2016) in the context of critical theory of posthumanism by Rosi Braidotti, Katherine Hayles, Anne Balsamo and Kim Toffoletti with regard to the sexuality in a posthuman reality. Sexuality is understood here as a complex force with the power to transcend binary oppositions of human sex (Braidotti) and corporality as always marked by gender (Hayles, Balsamo). The power of posthuman images is also pointed out in the context of the celebration of the complexity of posthuman experience (Toffoletti). The analyses of intimate relationships between men and women depicted in the films are also placed in the context of the "ideal woman paradigm" (Julie Wosk), present in numerous cultural texts in which artificial creatures were built for the purposes set by men to meet their needs. The essay seeks to answer the question of whether love of man and machine, as shown in the new science fiction cinema, is an expression of the "posthuman moment" in the text of culture, as defined by Stefan Herbrechter and Ivan Callus, whose purpose is to violate the coherence and integrity of human experience and to undermine the existence of the "essence" of humanness.
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The problematization of the idea of creativity resulting in the revision of concepts about autonomous, creative, and human self has been a reality since the end of modernism, or maybe even longer. Postmodernism, as well as theories of... more
The problematization of the idea of creativity resulting in the revision of concepts about autonomous, creative, and human self has been a reality since the end of modernism, or maybe even longer. Postmodernism, as well as theories of posthumanism and new materialism, dealing with categories such as materiality, virtual reality, transgression, hybridization, etc., offer some reflections on the idea of non-human creativity, which is no longer an attribute immanently assigned to human , but a result of interaction between human and non-human elements, including the affective friction of bodies made of matter. Mostly inspired by the theories and methodologies of posthuman studies, studies in new materialism, and new media studies, the article aims to answer the question about the types of creativity appearing in a new YouTube phenomenon-autonomous sensory meridian response videos massively published in recent years. The article is an attempt to give a comprehensive account of the idea of posthuman creativity-with its sub-types like sensual creativity or techno-creativity-visible in extremely popular, however under-researched, autonomous sensory meridian response artworks. The paper puts forward the thesis about autonomous sensory meridian response being a model artistic phenomenon in which the entanglement of human and non-human matter results in a form of posthuman creativity. Numerous examples of autonomous sensory meridian response videos have been analysed, pointing to the specific modes of creative collaboration of human and non-human elements on the film set. In conclusion, it has been shown that autonomous sensory meridian response artworks become the product of posthuman creativity resulting from mutual, affective interaction of bodies.
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In the article, the author discusses a new cultural phenomenon known as ASMR in a posthuman perspective, especially from the perspective of new materialism (Karen Barad), studies of things (Bjørnar Olsen, Ewa Domańska) and affective... more
In the article, the author discusses a new cultural phenomenon known as ASMR in a posthuman perspective, especially from the perspective of new materialism (Karen Barad), studies of things (Bjørnar Olsen, Ewa Domańska) and affective studies (Jane Bennett, Sara Ahmed). The article analyzes selected ASMR videos published on the YouTube website in terms of the affectivity of the objects used in them, arguing that ASMR cultural practices encourage the production of human-non-human assemblages of subjects and objects built of “vibrating matter” (Jane Bennett).
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The autonomous sensory meridian response (ASMR) is a sensory phenomenon, sometimes referred to as a "brain orgasm," which involves pleasant tingling sensations in a body in reaction to certain stimuli. This article analyzes ASMR within... more
The autonomous sensory meridian response (ASMR) is a sensory phenomenon, sometimes referred to as a "brain orgasm," which involves pleasant tingling sensations in a body in reaction to certain stimuli. This article analyzes ASMR within the framework of ideas put forward by the musique concrète that offered new sensibilities of musical expression and promoted attentive listening to matter. At the same time, we treat sonic practices of ASMR as inspired by the concepts developed by New Materialism, especially the notions of physicality and materiality of sound recognized within the ontology of its vibrational force.
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W artykule autorka dyskutuje nowe zjawisko kulturowe, znane jako ASMR, w szczególności jego zainteresowanie multizmysłowością, w perspektywie posthumanistycznej, związanej z niehierarchicznością ludzkich zmysłów. Tekst analizuje wybrane... more
W artykule autorka dyskutuje nowe zjawisko kulturowe, znane jako ASMR, w szczególności jego zainteresowanie multizmysłowością, w perspektywie posthumanistycznej, związanej z niehierarchicznością ludzkich zmysłów. Tekst analizuje wybrane filmy z gatunku ASMR opublikowane w serwisie internetowym YouTube, skupiając się na sposobach ukazywania w nich różnych wrażeń zmysłowych (wzrokowych, słuchowych, dotykowych, zapachowych, smakowych), stawiając tezę, że praktyki ASMR promują posthumanistyczny typ wrażliwości oraz zachęcają do wytwarzania alternatywnych trybów doświadczania świata.
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Authors: Halina Łapińska, Joanna Łapińska The article analyzes the idea of a sensory garden as a place of symbiotic affective coexistence of human and non-human subjects in urban space, based on the concept presented in the study of... more
Authors: Halina Łapińska, Joanna Łapińska
The article analyzes the idea of a sensory garden as a place of symbiotic affective coexistence of human and non-human subjects in urban space, based on the concept presented in the study of green areas belonging to the “Zachęta” Housing Cooperative in Białystok prepared in 2018 by a team from the Białystok University of Technology. The article tries to answer the question of how the sensory garden becomes a space inviting to build affective connections between the entities that co-create it, and whether this reveals its potential leading to the blurring the boundaries between oppositional categories of “nature” – “culture”, “subject” – “object”. The authors note that the concepts of critical posthumanism appreciating the affective relationships between human and non- human actors, as well as non-humans going beyond the functional framework created by human, resonate in the idea of the sensory garden presented in the study. The sensory garden becomes a productivity sphere appreciating the value of the multi-sensory experience of the world, in which humans and non-humans find countless, often non-obvious ways of interacting with each other.
The article analyzes the idea of a sensory garden as a place of symbiotic affective coexistence of human and non-human subjects in urban space, based on the concept presented in the study of green areas belonging to the “Zachęta” Housing Cooperative in Białystok prepared in 2018 by a team from the Białystok University of Technology. The article tries to answer the question of how the sensory garden becomes a space inviting to build affective connections between the entities that co-create it, and whether this reveals its potential leading to the blurring the boundaries between oppositional categories of “nature” – “culture”, “subject” – “object”. The authors note that the concepts of critical posthumanism appreciating the affective relationships between human and non- human actors, as well as non-humans going beyond the functional framework created by human, resonate in the idea of the sensory garden presented in the study. The sensory garden becomes a productivity sphere appreciating the value of the multi-sensory experience of the world, in which humans and non-humans find countless, often non-obvious ways of interacting with each other.
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W artykule autorka analizuje autobiograficzny esej Paula B. Preciado „Testo Junkie. Sex, Drugs, and Biopolitics in the Pharmacopornographic Era” i przedstawioną w nim „teorię siebie” (self-theory) jako wykraczające poza tradycyjne... more
W artykule autorka analizuje autobiograficzny esej Paula B. Preciado „Testo Junkie. Sex, Drugs, and Biopolitics in the Pharmacopornographic Era” i przedstawioną w nim „teorię siebie” (self-theory) jako wykraczające poza tradycyjne rozumienie autobiografii, znane między innymi z teorii paktu autobiograficznego Philippe’a Lejeune’a. „Testo Junkie” jako „autobiograficzny esej cielesny” podkreśla następujące kwestie: 1) cielesności podmiotu mówiącego, 2) umowności kategorii płci i granic między mężczyzną a kobietą, 3) post-humanistyczne inklinacje, czerpiąc inspirację z koncepcji „stawania-się” znanej z „Tysiąc plateau” Gilles’a Deleuze’a i Feliksa Guattariego.
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Artykuł analizuje filmowe portrety kobiet wykonujących taniec brzucha („Czerwony jedwab”, 2002, Raja Amari). Film opowiada historię kobiety, która po śmierci męża oddaje się rozrywce raczej nieodpowiedniej dla bogobojnej arabskiej... more
Artykuł analizuje filmowe portrety kobiet wykonujących taniec brzucha („Czerwony jedwab”, 2002, Raja Amari). Film opowiada historię kobiety, która po śmierci męża oddaje się rozrywce raczej nieodpowiedniej dla bogobojnej arabskiej kobiety: tańcowi brzucha w nocnym klubie w Tunisie. Artykuł skupia się na tańcu jako afektywnej strategii uczestnictwa w kulturze. Taniec brzucha, rozumiany jako świadoma praca nad sobą i swoim ciałem, pozwala kobiecie zamanifestować swoją podmiotowość i poczuć się odrębną jednostką, niezależną od mężczyzny. Kobiece ciało tańczące posiada moc afektywną — tj. zdolność wpływania na inne ciała oraz wyrażania dzięki temu siebie — i może tworzyć pole do negocjacji w ramach hegemonicznego dyskursu władzy mężczyzn nad kobietami w świecie arabskim.
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In recent films emotions/affects are recognized as crucial for creating, recognizing, understanding, and communicating with artificial intelligence (AI) agents. AI is increasingly portrayed as capable of manipulating human affect and as... more
In recent films emotions/affects are recognized as crucial for creating, recognizing, understanding, and communicating with artificial intelligence (AI) agents. AI is increasingly portrayed as capable of manipulating human affect and as itself subject to affect. The paper discusses romantic relationships between AI agents and humans in "Blade Runner" (1982), "Ex Machina" (2015) and "Uncanny" (2015), situating their portrayal in the context of post-humanism and affect studies. It also discusses the Turing test as a form of testimony.
When the earlier gothic imagination focused on humans falling in love with mechanical dolls, as in E.T.A. Hoffman’s "Erzählungen" and G.B. Shaw’s "Pygmalion", the delusion that these artificial creatures were love-worthy was in the eye of the beholder. The contemporary post-humanist imagination posits the reverse possibility that AI agents may fall in love with people and with other AIs, or at least pretend to love in a convincing manner. By the same token, humans are stripped of their uniqueness and imagined as reducible to a machine-like status. The recent films extend this similarity of humans and machines by focusing on romantic scenarios involving both.
The mechanistic grasp of affects is both implied and thematized in "Ex Machina" and "Uncanny", where a sense of the peculiarly human persists in romantically inflected versions of the Turing test. The notion that machines can be convincing at the game of love shows that affects are increasingly understood as crucial to our understanding of AI. Conversely, this notion also suggests that distinguishing between the peculiarly human and that which machines are capable of imitating is more problematic than ever.
When the earlier gothic imagination focused on humans falling in love with mechanical dolls, as in E.T.A. Hoffman’s "Erzählungen" and G.B. Shaw’s "Pygmalion", the delusion that these artificial creatures were love-worthy was in the eye of the beholder. The contemporary post-humanist imagination posits the reverse possibility that AI agents may fall in love with people and with other AIs, or at least pretend to love in a convincing manner. By the same token, humans are stripped of their uniqueness and imagined as reducible to a machine-like status. The recent films extend this similarity of humans and machines by focusing on romantic scenarios involving both.
The mechanistic grasp of affects is both implied and thematized in "Ex Machina" and "Uncanny", where a sense of the peculiarly human persists in romantically inflected versions of the Turing test. The notion that machines can be convincing at the game of love shows that affects are increasingly understood as crucial to our understanding of AI. Conversely, this notion also suggests that distinguishing between the peculiarly human and that which machines are capable of imitating is more problematic than ever.
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The aim of this article is to identify characteristics of presentation of artificial intelligence in the films "Ex Machina" (2015) and "Uncanny" (2015), and the analysis of ideas about possible romantic relationships between humans and... more
The aim of this article is to identify characteristics of presentation of artificial intelligence in the films "Ex Machina" (2015) and "Uncanny" (2015), and the analysis of ideas about possible romantic relationships between humans and artificial intelligence agents in the context of post‑human and affect theories. The key categories used in the analysis are: "witnessing", used in the context of the Turing test, and "affect" as understood by Silvan Tomkins. The article tries to show that contemporary film presentations of artificial intelligence are part of a broader posthuman research, pointing to the equal roles of human and non‑human entities, as well as to the essence of the category of affect in the creation and understanding of artificial intelligence.
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The aim of this article is to identify characteristics of Andy Warhol’s "philosophy of love", the elements of which were described in "The Philosophy of Andy Warhol (From A to B and Back Again)", and an analysis in this context of... more
The aim of this article is to identify characteristics of Andy Warhol’s "philosophy of love", the elements of which were described in "The Philosophy of Andy Warhol (From A to B and Back Again)", and an analysis in this context of Warhol’s films "Blow Job" (1963) and "My Hustler" (1965). Warhol’s films are treated as an opportunity to discuss his attitude to love and sex, as they contain the key elements of his unusual "philosophy of love". The artist’s biography is referenced, as are the concept of "impersonal narcissism", put forth by Leo Bersani and Adam Phillips, Slavoj Žižek’s theories on the role of fantasy in a relationship, and some reflections of Susan Sontag and Esther Perel.
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Artykuł analizuje futurystyczny film krótkometrażowy "Sight" autorstwa izraelskich filmowców – Erana May-raza i Daniela Lazo, przedstawiający spotkanie dwojga ludzi w świecie, w którym królują nowe technologie, a „rozszerzona... more
Artykuł analizuje futurystyczny film krótkometrażowy "Sight" autorstwa izraelskich filmowców – Erana May-raza i Daniela Lazo, przedstawiający spotkanie dwojga ludzi w świecie, w którym królują nowe technologie, a „rozszerzona rzeczywistość” jest czymś powszechnym, jak również proponuje termin „randka 2.0” oznaczający akt zapośredniczony przez technologię w stopniu dotychczas niespotykanym. Autorka, korzystając z tez sformułowanych przez Sherry Turkle oraz Evę Illouz dotyczących miłości w dzisiejszym świecie, stawia pytania o zasięg i wpływ technologii na randki i związki miłosne, które zawieramy, oraz próbuje odpowiedzieć na pytanie, jak zmienia się status randki we współczesnym świecie i jak będzie takie spotkanie wyglądać w przyszłości.
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Steven Shaviro has asked what it feels like to live in the early twenty-first century, an era in which the concept of the human as a superior being towering over all others has become obsolete. It may produce a sense of dread about the... more
Steven Shaviro has asked what it feels like to live in the early twenty-first century, an era in which the concept of the human as a superior being towering over all others has become obsolete. It may produce a sense of dread about the unknown future, or it may fill us with joyful anticipation. A posthuman sensibility, which is both pro-active toward and affirmative of human and non-human coexistence in today's world, surfaces in contemporary intermedia phenomena and post-cinematic art forms, such as autonomous sensory meridian response (ASMR) videos. The purpose of this chapter is to analyze so-called post-cinematic affect, a specific emotional structure revealed through the science-fiction imagery used in ASMR videos. This structure is co-created through various post-cinematic techniques, which include non-human viewpoints, roles, and perspectives along with fragmentary and non-linear narratives. Science-fiction ASMR seeks to capture the posthuman experience of a reality in which humans, rather than being central, are merely a part of the various "arrangements, attunements and practices of being" (Willis in Fast forward: the future(s) of the cinematic arts, Wallflower Press, London and New York, p. 87, [2]). In ASMR, this experience does not cause fear, but surprisingly breeds contentment and relaxation.
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Tracking the affective dimension of cultural texts and artworks is the goal of affective methodologies present in the humanities in recent years. This paper examines the fish-related motifs that appear in videos belonging to an online... more
Tracking the affective dimension of cultural texts and artworks is the goal of affective methodologies present in the humanities in recent years. This paper examines the fish-related motifs that appear in videos belonging to an online audiovisual cultural phenomenon called ASMR in the context of affect theory. The presumed symbolic or metaphorical aspects of the motifs described recede before the dominant affective dimension, namely the ability to move the body of the viewer-listener of the video on a primal level. The chapter focuses on artistic strategies for establishing affective connections between human and non-human bodies in ASMR experiences.
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The volume Crossing the Border of Humanity: Cyborgs in Ethics, Law, and Art features contributions that explore various aspects of cyborgs in philosophical, bioethical, and legal discourses as well as in artistic projects. The goal of... more
The volume Crossing the Border of Humanity: Cyborgs in Ethics, Law, and Art features contributions that explore various aspects of cyborgs in philosophical, bioethical, and legal discourses as well as in artistic projects. The goal of this volume is to offer a place for a passionate interdisciplinary debate on the dimensions of the cyborg and the process of cyborgization that we are witnessing in the 21st century. By presenting this volume to readers, we aim to blur the borders between human (mind and flesh) and machine, as well as to cross the boundaries of various disciplines (professions) and passions (e.g., hobbies) of art, science, technology, law, and humanities. By pointing out its multidimensional character, we wish to provide a forum for mutual inspirations.
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This article analyzes the popular media phenomenon called ASMR, which has been flourishing on YouTube for several years, especially one genre of video called “Fixing You”, in the context of affect theories proposed by Steven Shaviro,... more
This article analyzes the popular media phenomenon called ASMR, which
has been flourishing on YouTube for several years, especially one genre of
video called “Fixing You”, in the context of affect theories proposed by Steven
Shaviro, Holly Willis, Gregory J. Seigworth, and Melissa Gregg. “Fixing
You” videos, following the science fiction aesthetics where the viewer is cast
as a broken robot to be repaired by an artist playing the role of a mechanic
or a doctor, give expression to free-floating feelings pervading contemporary,
soon-to-be posthuman, reality. Making use of numerous post-cinematic
tools, these artworks fit into the posthumanizing trend visible in the latest
cinematic and media art, proposing reflection on the assemblages of human
and non-human orders and pointing to alternative, non-rational, affective
ways of experiencing the world. Interestingly, ASMR experiments which do
not treat the anthropocentric perception of reality as the central axis – neither
in the context of human agency nor perspective – instead of emanating fear of
the current/future position of man, they are a source of considerable pleasure
and joy for the audience.
has been flourishing on YouTube for several years, especially one genre of
video called “Fixing You”, in the context of affect theories proposed by Steven
Shaviro, Holly Willis, Gregory J. Seigworth, and Melissa Gregg. “Fixing
You” videos, following the science fiction aesthetics where the viewer is cast
as a broken robot to be repaired by an artist playing the role of a mechanic
or a doctor, give expression to free-floating feelings pervading contemporary,
soon-to-be posthuman, reality. Making use of numerous post-cinematic
tools, these artworks fit into the posthumanizing trend visible in the latest
cinematic and media art, proposing reflection on the assemblages of human
and non-human orders and pointing to alternative, non-rational, affective
ways of experiencing the world. Interestingly, ASMR experiments which do
not treat the anthropocentric perception of reality as the central axis – neither
in the context of human agency nor perspective – instead of emanating fear of
the current/future position of man, they are a source of considerable pleasure
and joy for the audience.
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
W artykule autorka poddaje analizie amerykański dramat filmowy science fiction "Creative Control" (2015) w reżyserii Benjamina Dickinsona, będący satyrycznym spojrzeniem na współczesny, noszący znamiona obsesji, mariaż człowieka z... more
W artykule autorka poddaje analizie amerykański dramat filmowy science fiction "Creative Control" (2015) w reżyserii Benjamina Dickinsona, będący satyrycznym spojrzeniem na współczesny, noszący znamiona obsesji, mariaż człowieka z technologią. Na produkcję tę autorka spogląda z perspektywy filozofii posthumanistycznej, odnajdując w świecie w niej przedstawionym elementy zarówno tzw. "posthumanizmu popularnego" ("w wersji pop"), prezentującego uproszczoną, popularną wersję tej filozofii, jak i "posthumanizmu filozoficznego", zdolnego do przeprowadzania eksperymentów myślowych, jak opisuje te kategorie Matthew E. Gladden. Twórcy "Creative Control" podejmują debatę dotyczącą kształtu przyszłego człowieka i świata, oferując wizję eksperymentu polegającego na obserwacji głównego bohatera znajdującego zastosowanie dla quasi-magicznych, rozszerzających rzeczywistość okularów Augmenta. W nich bohater filmu odnajduje lek na całe zło otaczającego go świata, w tym na marazm, odrętwienie i szarość codzienności, tworząc sobie wirtualną kochankę, z którą spędza noce, a w której my bez trudu odnajdziemy przedstawicielkę kulturowego paradygmatu tzw. sztucznej kobiety idealnej, jak opisała go Julie Wosk. Twórcy "Creative Control" ustawiają przed nami zwierciadło, w którym przyglądamy się niedalekiej przyszłości, nierozerwalnie związanej z technologią przenikającą nasze życie i zapośredniczającą nasze doświadczenia.
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W niniejszym artykule przeanalizujemy przedstawienie związku miłosnego dwojga bohaterów filmu "Ona" ("Her", 2013)–człowieka i komputerowego systemu operacyjnego obdarzonego sztuczną inteligencją–w duchu wybranych teorii... more
W niniejszym artykule przeanalizujemy przedstawienie związku miłosnego dwojga bohaterów filmu "Ona" ("Her", 2013)–człowieka i komputerowego systemu operacyjnego obdarzonego sztuczną inteligencją–w duchu wybranych teorii posthumanistycznych dotyczących ludzkiej i nie-ludzkiej podmiotowości. Podstawę teoretyczną analizy stanowić będą wybrane teorie posthumanistyczne, w tym: koncepcje podmiotowości nomadycznej i życia jako "zoe" Rosi Braidotti, a także Gilles’a Deleuze’a i Feliksa Guattariego koncepcje Ciała bez Organów (CbO) oraz podmiotu w trakcie stawania się. Zwrócimy także uwagę na kluczowy aspekt afektu/afektywności pomiędzy ciałami w kształtowaniu relacji między ludźmi i innymi podmiotami oraz w tworzeniu nowej posthumanistycznej podmiotowości–płynnej, relacyjnej, kompozytowej. Analiza filmu wskaże, w jaki sposób najnowsze kino science fiction partycypuje obecnie w ukazywaniu współczesnej kondycji człowieka, który zaczyna wątpić–dzięki bliskiemu kontaktowi i intymnemu, miłosnemu związkowi z robotem–w swoją ludzką wyjątkowość i uniwersalność swego antropocentrycznego, humanistycznego doświadczenia.
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The author proposes an analysis of several affectionate relationships of contemporary cyborgs in the latest Anglo-Saxon science fiction films and television series. The contemporary cyborg in science fiction cinema is no longer just a... more
The author proposes an analysis of several affectionate relationships of contemporary cyborgs in the latest Anglo-Saxon science fiction films and television series. The contemporary cyborg in science fiction cinema is no longer just a hypermasculine “terminator”, a “robocop”, or a ruthless female killing machine like Eve VIII from "Eve of Destruction". Cyborgisation is now a much more complex and ambiguous phenomenon and, with progress in biotechnology permeating many areas of life, it raises the question of distinguishing between a “natural human being” and an “artificial” one. Today’s cyborg has become more and more like a human being living in a postmodern or, soon to be, posthuman society. Mankind is now entering into relationships that are difficult to define and to name with technology. These relationships include love, intimate and erotic relations. We look at the several love relationships of contemporary cyborgs from the science fiction films, "Uncanny" (2015) and "Sight" (2012) and the television series, "Black Mirror" (2011) and "Westworld" (2016). Our intention is meant to indicate possible ways of interpreting cyborg lovers on screen. In the analysis, we utilize, therefore, cultural theories emphasizing the breakdown of classical, coherent, humanistic, phallogocentric subjectivity of humans and those attempting to replace this notion with “posthuman” subjectivity—which is inconsistent, dispersed, and relational. These are the most important theories that she recognizes. However, there are others that we recognize; the pioneer concept of the cyborg by Donna Haraway, the concept of posthuman by Rosi Braidotti, as well as select contemporary affection theories. Contemporary science fiction cinema participates in showcasing the departure from the paradigm of humanity as essentially defined by problematizing the issue of emotion/affection as not belonging exclusively to the humans, but possibly to the robot or the cyborg as well. The current envisionment of the cyborg, especially with its edgy and transgressive qualities, is the product of “nature-culture” dichotomy—man and machine living in symbiosis. This will not always be an easy shift in paradigms but it remains unavoidable and undeniable today.
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We cordially invite you to participate in the International Conference "Multisensuality Through History and Across Media", which will be held on November 17-18, 2022 on the Zoom platform. The event is organized by the University of Vienna... more
We cordially invite you to participate in the International Conference "Multisensuality Through History and Across Media", which will be held on November 17-18, 2022 on the Zoom platform. The event is organized by the University of Vienna and the Pedagogical University of Krakow. For more information, see the attached Call for Papers.
We wait for your contribution!
We wait for your contribution!
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Research Interests:
My short story "Pomosty" ("Bridges") received the 1st place in the 3rd Literary Competition "The Beauty of Falling Leaves" in Charsznica, 2024.
My short story titled "Wieża" ("Tower") received an honorable mention at the 16th National Literary Competition named after Szalom Asz, Kutno 2023.