GENERATION IRON: “NO, YOU COULDN'T DO WHAT I DO”

Abstract

This thesis analyzes the 2013 observational documentary film Generation Iron, directed by Vlad Yudin and produced by Edwin Mejia. Methodologically, it employs a textual analysis along with a contextual grounding. The theoretical basis for this analysis is a combination of postmodernism, as described by Jean Baudrillard and Fredric Jameson, as well as Stuart Hall's theories on encoding/decoding as well as representational media. The argument of this thesis is that the documentary Generation Iron represents the muscular male form of the subjects in the film as hyperreal, concealing their inexplicable nature by means of the logic of a simulation, in this case through the use of the opacity of human genetics. It is through this representation that the male body transitions beyond male-ness and into something hyper- or trans-mensch, borrowing and modifying Nietzsche's terminology. This opens up the possibility for further research into not only the questions of male and female embodiment, but also of sexuality.