Forms of Dehumanization in Never Let Me Go (2010): A Study of Mechanistic Dehumanization

Abstract

Film as a modern literary form reflects complex social and philosophical realities, including questions of humanity, identity, and systemic oppression. This study examines the forms of dehumanization depicted in the film Never Let Me Go (2010), directed by Mark Romanek and adapted from Kazuo Ishiguro's novel. The research focuses on how cloned individuals Kathy, Tommy, and Ruth are systematically stripped of their full human status through institutional mechanisms, social norms, and bodily exploitation. Employing a qualitative descriptive method within a postmodernist framework, this study applies Nick Haslam's Dehumanization Theory (2006), specifically the concept of mechanistic dehumanization, to analyze how the clone characters are treated as passive, replaceable, and object-like beings whose existence is defined solely by their biological utility. The analysis draws on dialogues, scenes, characterization, and narrative events in the film as primary data. Findings demonstrate that dehumanization in Never Let Me Go operates through objectification, institutional control, marginalization, and the commodification of the human body mechanisms that normalize the exploitation of clones while denying them autonomy, dignity, and recognition. This study contributes to the academic discourse on dehumanization, dystopian cinema, and the ethics of identity construction in technologically advanced societies