One of the themes manifested in cyberpunk discourse is the transformation of human corporeality under the influence of technological development of the environment. This topic is highly speculative and controversial. The under researched reasons for its popularity in Western culture present a pressing academic challenge, given the widespread international resonance of the cyberpunk subculture. The aim of this study is to describe and analyze a set of artistic models of corporeality transformation in the television adaptation of William Gibson's novel “The Peripheral.” The study identified four artistic models of corporeality transformation in the film adaptation of William Gibson's novel, three of which are rooted in Christian metanarratives. The model of corporeality objectification, exaggerated in both the novel and the television series and contrasted with Christian models, reflects a contemporary interpretation of one of the oldest popular myths adopted by the globalist ideology of transhumanism. The author emphasizes the close connection between the popularity of key transhumanist ideas and mythological consciousness and theoretically under-reflexive strategies for the total digital optimization of social governance. The article touches on a broad range of interdisciplinary theoretical discussions and will be of interest to film critics, literary scholars, researchers of popular culture, media, and body issues, as well as fans of science fiction series and the general public.

The article explores the relationship between the psyche and the body in today's digital reality, where the growing gap between the physical and the mental leads to new forms of psychosomatic disorders. The relevance of the topic is determined by the transformation of lifestyles: the COVID-19 pandemic and general digitalisation reinforce an imbalance in which the body is neglected online and becomes a key instrument of identity offline. The research methodology combines a qualitative analysis of literary and media texts to identify psychosomatic patterns, a theoretical synthesis of psychoanalysis, sociology, and neurophysiology, and a philosophical reflection on the body and identity. Through the analysis of media texts, such as film, literature, and video games, three key aspects of psychosomatics are examined: the impact of isolation on everyday practices; the bodily manifestations of emotions and inner conflicts; and the body as an “archive” of trauma and its decoding. Literary examples (R. Bradbury, J. Verne) and contemporary media texts (“Disco Elysium”, “Fight Club”) illustrate how isolation transforms everyday practices, turning the body into a "battleground" for social and existential conflicts. The neurophysiological model explains how chronic stress disrupts autonomic functions, with the body becoming an “archive” preserving traces of trauma. This is supported by analysis of the game character Harry Du Bois (“Disco Elysium”), whose physical symptoms reflect repressed memories, and the case of Tsukiko Sagi, whose migraines serve as metaphors for unexpressed emotions. The study demonstrates how mass culture represents these processes, offering audiences ways to comprehend psychosomatics in the contemporary world.

The contemporary cultural practices associated with animals give rise to a novel dual concept of corporeality and sensuality. The growth of consumerism in accordance with the feline model of consumption gives rise to the formation of a society where the characteristics associated with the feline species become the prevailing norm. In light of the above, it seems pertinent to examine the strategies of social felinization and to identify the symbolic repressive markers that maintain it, as evidenced in viral cat content. The examination of the most prevalent feline-themed materials on the post-Soviet Internet reveals that the digital representation of cats is primarily shaped by human characteristics, rather than those inherent to the animal itself. This gives the digital cats a subjectivity that is more akin to that of humans. The increasing anthropomorphisation of cats and the felinization of humans has resulted in the emergence of a dystopian world characterised by the “cat police”. In this context, the cat assumes a more prominent role than its human counterpart, thereby conferring upon it the authority to exercise control and impose punishment. However, the methods of control and punishment employed by the “koshchichkina” remain flexible and adaptable to changing corporeality and sensuality, expressed through ironic memes, short videos and clips. The findings of this research can be incorporated into an interdisciplinary study of the mechanisms of identity formation of the modern man and the formation of a new canon of his sensuality and corporeality.

The current paper is a review of the monograph by Czech computer games researcher Jaroslav Švelch “Player vs. Monster. The Making and Breaking of Videogame Monstrosity” (2023). Švelch's work is dedicated to the figure of the monster in the gaming industry. The first chapter examines different theoretical approaches to the monstrosity. The second chapter touches on the classic gaming concept: “Player vs. Environment”. The third chapter analyzes “monster realism” as a special form of visuality. The fourth chapter of the monograph is devoted to new trends in game designers’ attitudes towards the monstrous: the manifestation of sympathy for monsters, the formlessness and incorporeality of monsters.

The article is a case history study. Basing on a well-documented criminal case of 1809, the author explores such issues as corruption in the ranks of Chinese officials; effectiveness of severe punishments for crime prevention; the methods criminal offences were committed and investigated in the Qing empire, and the level of public awareness of these methods; principles of sentencing; and the issue of crime and punishment in the mass consciousness of the Chinese in the late 17th and early 19th centuries. Special attention is paid to a remarkable phenomenon of fictionalizing of a real incident in witness reports, i.e. the introduction of popular moral, didactic and religious motifs widely known in the folklore and literature of that time.

The text is a contemplation review of the new book by V.V. Savchuk. Fence as a balance of power. (St. Petersburg: Publishing House “Academy of Culture Research”, 2021. - 249 p.). The book raises a wide range of problems: the world as an extension of the skin, cultural rhythms of the collective body, principles of building trust and openness, mechanisms of psychological isolation and social distancing, current forms of environmental reflection and art practice. The fence turns out to be one of those limiting things, after the invention of which it is not clear how to think of culture without it. An excursion into the author's thought is given, the logic of the narrative being built is commented to reflect on the embarrassing omnipresence and inevitability of the fence. How did culture end up crucified on the fence? When is the fence not a source of comfort, but of excess discipline and increasing anxiety? What is intimidation fraught with? All these questions are outlined and deeply investigated by the author, while the task of this text is to maximize attention both to the book and to the problem. In other words, start a productive dialogue about fences - which, paradoxically, has hardly been noticed in humanistic research.

The article analyzes the plot tropes of the British mini-series “Dracula”, produced by screenwriters S. Moffat and M. Gatiss, creators of the even more popular TV series “Sherlock”. The new “Dracula”, a mixture of black comedy and body horror, was produced by the BBC and shown on the streaming platform NETFLIX in 2020. The mini-series received the most controversial appraisals from viewers and art critics: from very enthusiastic to sharply negative. The author of this article examines the plot of the series “Dracula” and offers her own version of decoding its meanings. The article sequentially examines the artistic techniques used by famous British screenwriters to create visual and emotional effects, such as black humor, hypertext, queerbaiting, sexual seduction, the “defeated expectancy” trop etc.

Рецензия на книгу Carrico, K. (2017). The Great Han: Race, Nationalism, and Tradition in China Today. Oakland: University of California Press. (Каррико, К. Великая хань: раса, национализм и традиция в современном Китае)

While the concept of charisma is widely used in the social sciences, its embodied nature is less thoroughly explored and theorised. This paper revisits the key embodied characteristics of Weber's sociology of charisma and re-interprets these using Shilling's (2005, 2013) umbrella notions of the body as a source and location of and means for society as a way of analysing the idea of the charismatic body as a force for social change. It then draws on a range of embodied concepts to illuminate how charisma is significant channel of infra and inter-corporeal affective interaction between "leaders" and their followers. In particular, Freund's (2009) social synaesthesia and bio-agency, Massumi's (2002) perspective of affect and the moving body, Thrift's (2010) charismatic celebrity, allure and glamour, Mellor and Shilling's (1997) sensual solidarities, and Seyfert's (2012) conception of affectif. To develop and illustrate this perspective of the charismatically affective body in action, the life of film star and martial artist Bruce Lee (1940–1973) is utilised.

В статье рассматриваются факторы, определяющие индивидуальность человеческой активности. Показано, что традиционная модель человеческой активности учитывает не все такие факторы. Цель исследования – проанализировать недостаточно изученные индивидуализирующие факторы в системе активности человека. Важнейшим ресурсом, создающим моторную индивидуальность, являются инверсии в иерархической системе человеческой активности. Исследование базируется на концепции уровней моторного построения Н. А. Бернштейна. Инверсии представляют собой форму отношений между иерархически соподчиненными уровнями человеческой активности, при которой низший уровень приобретает главенствующие черты, формально оставаясь в своем прежнем подчиненном положении. В статье показан ряд примеров моторных инверсий. Отдельно обозначены симптоматические инверсии, при которых свойства высшего моторного уровня проявляются в низшем моторном уровне, и реальные инверсии, которые становятся проявлением действительных системных противоречий в человеческой моторике. Приведенные результаты показывают необходимость исследования системных инверсий в структуре человеческой активности, и одновременно демонстрируют важность изучения инверсий как общей формы отношений в сложных иерархических системах. Игнорирование инверсий не позволяет сформировать адекватную модель человеческой активности. Статья предназначена для всех читателей, интересующихся философскими проблемами телесности.