Hegemony Redefined: An Apocalyptic Voice in Select Sci-Fi movies

Abstract

This article is an attempt to explore how the concepts of hegemony work in relation to manand machine. Men, with their excessive desires to conquer the order of nature, believed they could craftthemselves into models of power with the possession of machines that could be used to threaten theiropposing counterparts. Being inventive and creative by nature, humans made use of ArtificialIntelligence (AI) to create tools and machines that could emulate the “cognitive” abilities of the naturalintelligence of human minds. These interactional processes helped men to reify their dominant ideology.But their unrestrained use of machines led to the undermining of the legacy of patriarchy as theirdependence on machines grew to the extent by which the latter became the beneficiaries of thedividends of patriarchy. The central theme in all the select movies is how man’s apocalyptic faceoff withthe machine culminates in attacks and counterattacks that lead to Judgement Day.The paper delineates how the select movies taken up for analysis extrapolate the role reversals wheremachines employ aspects of hegemony that work as a tool in undermining the possibilities of man’s ruleover nature and the non-human. Unlike men, machines are programmed to learn and act faster withobjectivity, allowing them space to execute their rule without validation or remorse. Humans now fearthat the rapid development of a full AI, without bioethics, could spell the end of humanity. The evolvingsignificance of Artificial Intelligence holds power to impact our lives to the extent of it becoming either autopian dream or a dystopian nightmare depending on the extent to which they become active roleplayers in relation to humans. The movies are studied from a binary perspective. For some, the rise ofrobots spells impending danger, but for others, they serve as saviours of humankind, ensuring that therace never goes extinct. Their comprehensive understanding of situations beyond the grasp of humanitygives them the advantage to reinstate their hegemony over humankind. The paper explores how men andmachines orientate and articulate themselves regarding conceptualisations of power and how power andknowledge act as repressive tools that ensure rationalisation and legitimization of control.