A Shift In Our Fear of Robots

“The second season premiere of Westworld, HBO’s moody series about a theme park of “host” robots who rise up against their human “guest” overlords, opened on Sunday night with a scene in which a man confesses his fear of a woman’s growing intelligence.”

“This moment in last night’s episode, “Journey Into Night,” is emblematic not only of the wider themes of Westworld, but also of a recent shift in how filmmakers build fear around rebellious robots in science fiction. Shows like Westworld, or Alex Garland’s 2014 film Ex Machina, seem more interested in mining horror through sentient fembots than with the Terminator archetype of an indestructible warrior robot, which is normally (but not always) presented as male.”

“In essence, the idea of robot women gaining agency may be a more reliable catalyst of tension for modern audiences than the good-old fashioned male robot that can walk through fiery explosions and shoot bullets out of his hands.”

“Empowering women with knowledge is hardwired into Western storytelling as a recipe for disaster, regardless of whether those women are human or robotic. This is the central dynamic in that opening scene between Bernard and Dolores. Bernard is not physically intimidated by Dolores; he specifies that it’s her mind and its evolution that frightens him. What will be the outcome of all her ruminations?”

“That connection between female intellectual maturation and extremely watchable catastrophe is further reflected in Westworld’s choice to make female hosts, particularly Dolores and Maeve (Thandie Newton), much more active agents of rebellion than their male companions Teddy (James Marsden) and Hector (Rodrigo Santoro).”

“Teddy follows Dolores somewhat questioningly, and Hector follows Maeve totally unquestioningly, and both seem to experience their newfound independence vicariously through the women.”

“Even previous male robot archetypes, like Arnold Schwarzenegger’s Terminator, often fall into this pattern of not overthinking their own programming limitations to the degree that female robots do.”

“What makes these unthinking male warrior robots so scary is that they don’t generally buck their directives. Even in cases where male robots are able to supercede their programming, like Sonny in the 2004 film I, Robot or HAL-9000 in 2001: A Space Odyssey, they do so in dedication to a larger mission goal rather than for their own independence.”

“The positive critical reception of Ex Machina and Westworld suggests that the next iteration of robotic fear is being driven by women who feel as if they have sovereign identities, though the degree to which they have broken loose from their programming remains to be seen.”

“Terminators are scary because they can’t undo their programming. Dolores and Maeve are frightening not necessarily because they can, but because they believe they can. That alone is enough for other characters, from Bernard to Lee, to fear the paths they might take.”