Posthuman/transhuman. An inquiry into Gabriele Salvatores’ Nirvana

ABSTRACT This essay traces the main differences between transhumanism and posthumanism and brings forward a more coherent definition of both theories by analysing the presence and interplay of transhuman and posthuman elements in Gabriele Salvatores’ 1997 film Nirvana. It argues that the artificial enhancement of the human body represented in the film – which is at the core of the transhuman condition – clashes with a cyberpunk world inhabited by characters who have displaced their superiority and exceptionalism. In other words, Salvatores depicts transhuman bodies in a posthuman condition, which can help us clarify the distinction between the two concepts.