“Not Properly Human”: Literary and Cinematic Narratives about Human Harvesting∗

1. Revised and extended version of a paper read at the XVIIIth Triannual Congress of the ICLA held from 27 July to 5 August 2007 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The conference theme was “Beyond Binarisms: Discontinuities and Displacements in Comparative Literature”. In Section 4 the questions surrounding the post-human era of genetic technology as they surface in literature, cinema, and the visual arts were addressed.

Summary

In this essay the manner in which literary and cinematic narratives articulate the issues surrounding human harvesting and organ transplants is discussed. The focus is on recent works of four internationally known artists: the novels Never Let Me Go (2005) by Kazuo Ishiguro, Excursion to Tindari (2006) by Andrea Camilleri, In stede van die liefde [In Lieu of Love] (2005) by Etienne van Heerden and the film Dirty Pretty Things directed by Stephen Frears in 2002. A shadowy world is depicted where illegal trafficking tests the border between human and inhumane in terms of moral, physical and socio-political realities. At the same time these narratives are also love stories, revealing the many faces of love surfacing at the beginning of the twenty-first century. The organisation of spatial patterns and the articulation of the conflict experienced in multicultural and immigrant societies are some of the meaningful literary devices and motifs developed in all four “texts”. Whilst the genre, cultural context and narrative tone differ considerably in each narrative, there appears to be a remarkable similarity of subject matter and theme and the local and current events compellingly become integrated with a global, almost timeless discourse.

Opsomming

Die wyse waarop die problematiek van die insameling en oorplanting van organe in fiksionele prosa en rolprente verwoord word, is die tema van hierdie opstel. My fokus is geplaas op onlangse werke van vier internasionaal bekende kunstenaars: die romans Never Let Me Go (2005) deur Kazuo Ishiguro, Excursion to Tindari (2006) van Andrea Camilleri, In stede van die liefde (2005) deur Etienne van Heerden en die rolprent Dirty Pretty Things (2002) waarvan Stephen Frears die regisseur is. Elkeen van die verhale speel af binne ‘n skaduwêreld waar onwettige orgaanhandel die grense tussen wat menslik en onmenslik is in morele, fisiese en sosiopolitieke terme beproef. Terselfdertyd is hierdie verhale ook liefdesverhale, en openbaar dit die veelkantige aard van die liefde soos dit aan die begin van die een-en-twintigste eeu vertoon. Die strukturering van ruimtelike patrone en die uitbeelding van die konflik wat in multikulturele en immigrantegemeenskappe woed, is net ‘n paar van die betekenisvolle literêre tegnieke en motiewe wat in al vier “tekste” ontwikkel word. Terwyl ‘n duidelike verskil ten opsigte van genre, kulturele konteks en narratiewe toon in die verhale aanwesig is, bestaan daar onderling opmerklike ooreenkomste in die onderwerp en tema, en word die lokale en spesifieke gebeure op aangrypende wyse deel van ‘n groter, byna tydlose diskoers.

Notes

1. Revised and extended version of a paper read at the XVIIIth Triannual Congress of the ICLA held from 27 July to 5 August 2007 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The conference theme was “Beyond Binarisms: Discontinuities and Displacements in Comparative Literature”. In Section 4 the questions surrounding the post-human era of genetic technology as they surface in literature, cinema, and the visual arts were addressed.