Abstract
This critique of three films of The Island of Dr. Moreau, a classic story that keeps resurfacing in popular culture, aims to shed light on the geologic era in which we live, the Anthropocene. What do these films reveal about the Western conceptualization of the differences between “human” and “animal,” and what does this conceptualization reveal about the Anthropocene? The post-human analysis primarily employs concepts from Lacan, Derrida, and Eagleton, and includes a detailed look at the role of language. Dr. Moreau’s conceit of human uniqueness (and superiority) fosters the kind of thinking that allows humanity to ignore the natural consequences of its actions. The analysis concludes with a discussion of Haraway’s Chthulucene, a counter to the Anthropocentric speciesism that lead us to the Anthropocene and Dr. Moreau to his island.
Recommended Citation
Rosenfeld, Cynthia
(2018)
"The Great Divide: What Dr. Moreau Tells Us About Posthumanism and the Anthropocene,"
Kaleidoscope: A Graduate Journal of Qualitative Communication Research: Vol. 17, Article 5.
Available at:
https://opensiuc.lib.siu.edu/kaleidoscope/vol17/iss1/5