This blog is to discuss the embodiment of the individual with cyborg / prosthetic bodies. Firstly what the social model mainly focus on, secondly the enhancement of cyborg legs. Thirdly, the uncanny valley theory on cyborg bodies.

The social model of disability focuses on society’s barriers and limiting opportunities and advocates for the full participation of people with physical impairments. It emphasises the removal of social barriers from the built environment, institutional attitudes, and systematic barriers, and the creation of an inclusive and accessible society (Shakespeare, 2014)

A person who is genetically or acquired without limbs would benefit from robot legs, which are mechanical legs that perform the same functions as human legs. Cyborg legs are high-tech legs that can perform more advanced functions than normal human legs. For example, paramedic sprinters and the character Gazelle in the film Kingsman Gazelle are played by a abled-body actress with computation double-bladed legs. Cyborg legs as posthumanism, in which prosthetic limbs integrated with advanced technology to enhance mobility and conventional functionality (Temara, 2017). Medical model to treat the missing limbs rather than replace them and aim to overcome the physical limitations. Cyborg legs have gone beyond that; the field of human augmentation mainly focuses on cognitive and physical enhancements as an integral part of the human body.

The embodiment of the cyborg challenges ableism through the lens of the social model of disability. It highlights the social and environmental factors that contribute to disability. It challenges the ableism in which the system is one of discrimination and oppression. The augmented functionality and appearance disrupt the norms of what is able-bodied. Aimee Mullins is one of the most famous female double actors and models. People magazine ranked her among its 50 most beautiful people (Vainshtein, 2012). The essence of beauty has been a shift in sensitivity towards prosthetic bodies, Qquestioning societal norms of embodiment and beauty, advocating for diverse representations and acceptance of prosthetic bodies (Garland-Thomson, 2011)

From a psychoanalytic point of view, however, the question arises as to what lies behind the cyborg bodies, beyond medical replacements to non-human prostheses. When I watched the film Kingman and was owed by the character Gazalle, there was a mixed sensation I could not explain. Until I encountered the Uncanny Valley Theory (Mori, 1970). The uncanny feeling, according to Freud’s explanation in 1919, is describes a strange and anxious feeling provoked by familiar objects in unfamiliar contexts, such as  fascination and fear. Related to body image in robotics and animation, Japanese roboticist Masahiro Mori (1970) proposed ‘The Uncanny Valley Theory’, which delineates  the tendency for increased positive emotional responses from observers but which is almost human but not quite, can cause a sudden and steep drop in emotional responses such as eeriness, discomfort, and revulsion, according to Masahiro. Just like its name, Uncanny Valley, cyborg legs construct a mismatch of human and lifelessness, the in-betweenness: life and death, past residual and future robotic legs (Tarama, 2017). The contradiction of uncertainty is bound to create a sense of the uncanny for the viewer (Tamara, 2017). The challenge of prosthetic aesthetics towards the image of prosthetic bodies is that advanced mechanical bodies could induce emotional impulses that merge narrative and dramatic changes, diversity, and particularities in body image.

In summary, cyborg bodies have enhanced human bodily functions and cognitive integration while empowering users and fascinating prosthetic aesthetics

references:

week 6 cyborg bodies / Ellen Catterall / Health, bodies and embodiment (2023-2024)[SEM2] by is licensed under a