The Digital and the Divine: Cyber-Spirituality in Contemporary Science Fiction Film and Television
A special issue of Religions (ISSN 2077-1444).
Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (30 November 2023) | Viewed by 9311
Special Issue Editor
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
In 2006, Daniel Frampton proposed, rather provocatively, that as digital technologies become more and more advanced, and computer-generated images more ubiquitous, cinema will “truly become its own new world—able to show anything, be anything, go anywhere, think anything—and animators will be the new gods of this world” (Filmosophy, p. 205). As digital technologies continue play an increasingly dominant role not just on screen but also in our lives, it is worth reassessing the question of how these have, in fact, changed our relationship with the Divine. As a genre, science fiction has long played with the idea of all-powerful virtual beings and explored notions of transcendence through technological advancements. It has also been at the forefront of exploring our anxieties and hopes regarding these new technologies and the ethical and moral consequences of scientific advancement. This Special Issue will examine how recent films and television shows have dealt with our doubts about the increasing use of artificial intelligence, the challenges of digital environments and the dangers and opportunities of virtual worlds. At the heart of these questions lie deeply philosophical and theological concerns about an age-old question, namely: what makes us distinct as human beings and what lies beyond our own existence?
This Special Issue invites submissions from a broad range of disciplinary scholarship interested in exploring these topics through film and television representations, including film and media studies, religious studies, philosophy and theology.
Dr. Sylvie Magerstädt
Guest Editor
Manuscript Submission Information
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Keywords
- science fiction
- cinema
- television
- cyber-spirituality
- artificial intelligence
- digital technologies
- virtual reality
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