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Title GOING BEYOND BINARIES: A POST- HUMANIST STUDY OF JAMES CAMERON’S FILM SERIES, AVATAR

Author(s) Azra Batool

Abstract This research study examines the cinematic landscape of James Cameron’s Avatar (2009) and its sequel, Avatar: The Way of Water (2022), through the theoretical frameworks of Donna Haraway’s A Cyborg Manifesto, Judith Butler’s Gender Trouble and Laura Mulvey’s Visual Pleasure and Narrative Cinema. Grounded in post-humanist ideology, the study examines the blurred boundaries between the male and female gender binaries and the empowerment of women by challenging traditional gender representations. The research employs a qualitative film analysis approach by Timothy Corrigan, closely examining specific scenes, characters, and dialogues to identify and interpret blurred gender binaries and women empowerment, and a textual analysis approach by Catherine Belsey to analyze script and subtitles as text. The constant comparison of data and an iterative process ensure a dynamic and comprehensive understanding of post-humanist dimensions, the representation of female characters in contemporary cinema, and the dismantling of the gender binary in the Avatar film series. The study examines the portrayal of selected female characters in James Cameron’s film series Avatar and its subsequent sequel, Avatar: The Way of Water, within the context of gender representation in mainstream cinema. By analyzing narrative structures and visual strategies, the research argues that the film presents women characters as empowered figures with agency and depth, subverting conventional Hollywood tropes and the male gaze. It discusses how contemporary science fiction, which includes cyborg entities, portrays women with fluid gender identities, active roles, and agency, in contrast to traditional cinema, which represented women as objects to be looked at and portrayed them with rigid, stereotypical gender identities and passive roles. By addressing the male-female gender binary and the representation of women in cinema, this research contributes to the interdisciplinary discourse, integrating perspectives from gender, cultural, film, and literary studies.

Type Thesis/Dissertation

Faculty Languages

Department English

Language English

Publication Date 2025-08-27

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