Toy Story 3 as a transhumanist film?

[mattbell]

Hey... leave it to Pixar to find a way of sneaking in transhumanist themes for the little kids to absorb.

Without giving any spoilers, I can say that the film explores issues of neural modification, implanted memories, cloning, telepresence, and the nature of identity.  Of course, it's really just a bunch of toys, not people, that are having these experiences, so it's not so revolutionary.  :-)   Last summer's Up had transhumanist themes as well, primarily in the form of talking dog / machine AI hybrids. 

Overall, I really liked the film.  It's the best movie I've seen that has a "3" in the title.

Pixar movies all have a similar feel to them -- compared to Disney films and other mainstream offerings, they're more witty, brainy, and playful, with interesting, complex characters put into relatively mature situations.  They're not afraid to deal with real issues and have strong moral messages. 

I should go before I start comparing The Incredibles to Atlas Shrugged, especially since I haven't actually read Atlas Shrugged. 

(SPOILERS IN COMMENTS)

Comments

[rhiannonstone.livejournal.com]

The Incredibles demonstrates values that many {L,l}ibertarians and Objectivists hold dear, but I still wouldn't compare it to Atlas Shrugged! :)

[shekina.livejournal.com]

Saw Toy Story 3 yesterday, and definitely see how the film deals with neural modification, implanted memories, telepresence and the nature of identity as well as the the inevitable march of time, but I don't remember any instances of cloning. Where did you see that?

[nasu-dengaku.livejournal.com]

It wasn't touched on too much, but there were a couple of occasions:

- When Lotso made his way back to the little girl and saw that she had replaced him with an identical Lots O Huggin' bear.

- When Ken was pining over Barbie, and Lotso told him "There are a hundred million of her, all just like her"