Screen culture: virtual and cinematographic (intra)mediation

Abstract

The huge flux of images and visual content that nowadays merge into society have triggered a new concept of culture and have also been transforming the meaning of human existence and of the sense of belonging. A culture absorbed by screens incessantly emanates images in various formats and has resized the meaning of connections. This work aims at exploring this issue using the movie “Avatar” and the virtual platform “Second Life” to illustrate and reflect on the new culture characterized by image as well as on the implications that new technologies bring to classical conceptions of body and human life and existence. It is therefore a deconstruction of the role played by technological apparatus in contemporary societies. We look at both these worlds, which entail a virtual and a fictional reality, trying to find echo of a blend of organic and inorganic dimensions in the human body and to explore the use of technological tools as gateways to other different worlds. Bearing this in mind, we problematize the fundamentals of existence, namely the transition of traditional conceptions of resurrection and of superior legitimizing strength of human existence.