Terminal Identity: The Virtual Subject in Postmodern Science Fiction

by Scott Bukatman

Scott Bukatman's Terminal Identity —referring to both the site of the termination of the conventional "subject" and the birth of a new subjectivity constructed at the computer terminal or television screen--puts to rest any lingering doubts of the significance of science fiction in contemporary cultural studies. Demonstrating a comprehensive knowledge, both of the history of science fiction narrative from its earliest origins, and of cultural theory and philosophy, Bukatman redefines the nature of human identity in the Information Age.
Drawing on a wide range of contemporary theories of the postmodern—including Fredric Jameson, Donna Haraway, and Jean Baudrillard—Bukatman begins with the proposition that Western culture is suffering a crisis brought on by advanced electronic technologies. Then in a series of chapters richly supported by analyses of literary texts, visual arts, film, video, television, comics, computer games, and graphics, Bukatman takes the reader on an odyssey that traces the postmodern subject from its current crisis, through its close encounters with technology, and finally to new self-recognition. This new "virtual subject," as Bukatman defines it, situates the human and the technological as coexistent, codependent, and mutally defining.
Synthesizing the most provocative theories of postmodern culture with a truly encyclopedic treatment of the relevant media, this volume sets a new standard in the study of science fiction—a category that itself may be redefined in light of this work. Bukatman not only offers the most detailed map to date of the intellectual terrain of postmodern technology studies—he arrives at new frontiers, providing a propitious launching point for further inquiries into the relationship of electronic technology and culture.

Genres: Nonfiction, Philosophy, Cyberpunk, Theory, Criticism, Essays, Reference

404 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1990

Reviews

[Brad · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's nice to read a critical text where the author appears to have virtually the same taste as I do. Often academics are illustrating their points by using examples I've never read. In this case, Bukatman makes his argument by referencing David Cronenberg films, Philip K. Dick, TRON, and Robocop. Plus, he's using familiar scholars (Jameson, Baudrillard). Refreshing.

Like most scholars who work on SF, he overcompensates for the (traditionally held) belief that SF isn't Literature by claiming that the genre is important for mankind's ability to live in the modern world. Perhaps an overstatement.

[Amelia Eilertsen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Intriguing concepts of the modern machine intertwined within science fiction as the genre gateway towards the emergence of the post human cyborg.

[Bernhard Eisl · Rating 5 out of 5]

Highly detailed analysis of the different aspects discussed. Additionally, it gave me many more SF novels to add to my endless list of to-read-books.

[Ian]

"The pervasive domination by, and addiction to, the image might be regarded as a primary symptom of terminal identity. The 'image addict' is a metaphor which exists in and through the media, subject to forces that might at first seem to be controlled by the instrumental forces of government and/or big business, but that ultimately seems to signify the passage into a new reality. The spectacular world of television dominates and defines existence, becoming more 'real' (more familiar, more authoritative, more satisfying) than physical reality itself" (Bukatma, pg. #26).

"Video, a startlingly ubiquitous documentary medium, is also the archetypal electronic—and hence manipulable—form. It is increasingly evident that society, ever more defined by a system of electronic representations, is based on an accepted fiction, or a 'consensual hallucination,' to use William Gibson's definition of cyberspace" (Bukatma, pg. #30).