Abstract

This thesis, “It Makes a World of Difference: The Posthuman Sonics of Love in her,” explores the romantic relationship between the film’s male protagonist, Theodore, and his purchased OS partner, Samantha. Employing analytical approaches that borrow from posthuman critical theory, film sound theory, SF cinema scholarship, and philosophies of erotic love, this thesis integrates a common theme between these discourses – that of difference, or alterity – as informing a method of textual analysis of the film. Taking up the non-dominant perspective of Samantha – a non-corporeal, artificially-intelligent entity defined primarily by her voice – this thesis listens for how to look, and looks, the best it can, through synaesthetic, non-human eyes. Through de-centering the human and the visual, I argue that by attending closely to her’s sonic channels, we come closest to reaching something akin to a posthuman point-of-view; we meet Samantha on her own terms. By straining our sensorial faculties towards the abstract, algorithmically audiovisual we advance towards an understanding of love that accounts for our ever more technologically mediated and interfaced connections. While the larger societal issues raised by this analysis hover throughout, this thesis is an exploration of SF and posthuman spectatorship. Given that many SF/posthuman narratives reinforce conventional, humanist ideals, this thesis intentionally adopts non-intuitive perspectives as influenced by the critical posthuman project of artificially casting aside our humanness the best we can.