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Article Excerpt
A Science Fictionalized Filmosophy of Reality. Dan North. Performing Illusions: Cinema, Special Effects and the Virtual Actor. London: Wallflower Press, 2008. 232 pp. [pounds sterling]16.99 pbk.
* My interest in this book stems from an argument made by Stacey Abbott in a recent Science Fiction Studies article, "Final Frontiers: Computer-Generated Imagery and the Science Fiction Film." Abbott's initial thesis suggests that modern Computer-Generated Imagery (CGI) techniques inexorably render speculative genres (e.g. horror, fantasy and martial arts films) hybrids of science fiction. In the end, however, she extends this idea, suggesting that, despite genre, all contemporary films fall into the realm of science fiction because of the technologized, cyborgian nature of contemporary filmmaking. Abbott concludes on this note: "The interdependence of humanity and technology is seen not only in the stories projected on the screen but in the production process itself, with its creation of ever more elaborate CGI cyborgs. The very techniques of filmmaking are increasingly the science fiction of today" (105).
Dan North demonstrates a similar approach in Performing Illusions, focusing on the evolution and role of "the synthespian, or virtual actor, an anthropomorphic embodiment...
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