258 Călina MOLDOVAN Călina MOLDOVAN The Melancholy of the Machine. Doubting Your Own Ghost in the Posthuman World Abstract: The paper attempts to analyse several science-fction movies with the purpose of identifying the different processes through which melancholy is depicted in the post-human cinematographic context. This topic will be further elaborated by studying how various characters that belong to the spectrum of artifcial intelligence develop a complex, alien sensitivity. The research is aiming to create a better understanding of the dynamics between being human and being machine in science-fction cinematography. Super computers, robots and cyborgs – they all seem to long after something unachievable and extremely ambiguous: the human element and this struggle generates a profound, exotic melancholy inside the machine. Keywords: melancholy, robot, computer, cyborg, machine, science-fction, longing, artifcial intelligence. “– Are you doubting your own ghost? – What if a cyber-brain could generate its own ghost, create a soul by itself? What could you base your belief in yourself on then?” (Ghost in the Shell, 1995) I. Introduction The science fction genre and its consumers have always been admirers of concepts like artifcial intelligence and cyborgs, concepts that are today on the brink of becoming reality, as important technological advancements are brought into existence every day, from virtual reality and machine learning, to supercomputers and cognitive technology. We need machines as human beings as a race are biologically incapable to respond to new challenges that emerge. EKPHRASIS, 1/2019 A MelAncholic explorAtion of huMAnity (the Solitude of MAn) pp. 258-269 Călina MOLDOVAN Babeș-Bolyai University calinamoldovan@yahoo.com DOI:10.24193/ekphrasis.21.19 Published First Online: 2019/06/27