Hybridity and Habitation: A Rhetorical Analysis of Interior Design in Live-Action Cyberpunk Films Through the Lens of Posthumanism and Thing Theory

Abstract

Characterized by hyper-urban environments, extreme class division, and an abundance ofcorporate oversight, the cyberpunk subgenre of science-fiction is a prime candidate for scholarly research on speculative interior design and associated technologies. Using the theoretical frameworks of posthumanism, or the concept that humans will transcend their current biological form in the near future, and thing theory, or the worldview that objects are able to enact their autonomy on living subjects, interior design in three live-action films in the cyberpunk subgenre were analyzed in order to determine how depictions of future spaces reflect present ideations of our potential real future. Metaphor analysis was employed as this thesis’ methodology, as the ideologies implemented in design and technology are often understood through tactile or visual interactions with artifacts. After applying metaphor analysis to one domestic space, one workspace, and one decorative element in each film, it has become evident that in our inevitable posthuman future, human scale and the corporeal form of our species must be taken into account when creating spaces and technologies for us to inhabit and use. Though it may be inaccurate to surmise that design can solve all of the institutional problems that plague societies, there is reason to believe that the inanimate spaces and technologies that occupy our lives do play a role in affecting our psyche and ability to foster healthy relationships