The Sun Never Set on the Human Empire: Haunts of Humanism in the Planet of the Apes Films

Abstract

Rise of the Planet of the Apes (2011) and its sequel Dawn of the Planet of the Apes (2014) grapple with a diversity of contentious issues; reviews have noted poignant messages about animal cruelty, racism, capitalism, and colonialism (Hobson 2011). While these messages are certainly present in the Apes films, I do not mean for them to be my primary focus in such a direct and unsubtle fashion. For I believe, and argue throughout this chapter, that the Apes films’ most political message is their performance of a posthuman narrative. Furthermore, I assert that this narrative, while critical and fraught with nuances, is haunted by humanist dispositions. I suggest that even these promising films may be too residually humanistic to offer emancipatory visions for our posthuman imaginary. To these ends, I deploy the posthuman lens to read these films, first along the fractious lines of the ostensibly rigid animal/human dichotomy, then in light of potentially unbridgeable histories of violence and oppression, and finally to understand the political vision implied by the films. Prior to this I provide a brief outline of the position of posthuman thought, and a rough storyboard for both films.