Abstract
Here, I analyze the ways in which Physical Enhancement (PE) made its first cinematic appearance and then make comparisons with more recent filmic re-elaborations on the theme. I offer direct insights of some re-adaptations of the same film (Robocop) and saga (Star Trek), and take into account stories, mostly comic-based, that only recently arrived on the big screen, but that nonetheless followed a pre-existing narrative giving relevance to PE (Spider-Man, Captain America, X-Men). Drawing comparisons among different takes on the same subject allows for parallel speculations on the intended overall messages of the plots on issues related to PE. This analysis allows me to state that, following a temporary rejection of PE in response to the horrors of the Nazi era, Western society has gradually turned to a neutral stand towards the concept of altering our bodies in order to “improve” ourselves. PE is affirming itself as fully acceptable in Western society, as well as in its cinematography, because we conceptualize “wanting to become better” in an increasingly positive fashion. If, on the one hand, the term “eugenics” still represents a taboo in many instances, on the other hand, ways around the negative connotations of this label are gaining in popularity, with some Posthumanism proponents as their more fervent supporters. I conclude my analysis by examining completely new cinematic subjects, Heroes and The Tomorrow People, which provide very good examples of philosophically-constructed visual representations that can be considered much in line with a version of Posthumanist ideology.
