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

ABSTRACT:

This article is an attempt to explore how the concepts of hegemony work in relation to man and machine. Men, with their excessive desires to conquer the order of nature, believed they could craft themselves into models of power with the possession of machines that could be used to threaten their opposing counterparts. Being inventive and creative by nature, humans made use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) to create tools and machines that could emulate the “cognitive” abilities of the natural intelligence 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 their dependence on machines grew to the extent by which the latter became the beneficiaries of the dividends of patriarchy. The central theme in all the select movies is how man’s apocalyptic faceoff with the 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 where machines employ aspects of hegemony that work as a tool in undermining the possibilities of man’s rule over nature and the non-human. Unlike men, machines are programmed to learn and act faster with objectivity, allowing them space to execute their rule without validation or remorse. Humans now fear that the rapid development of a full AI, without bioethics, could spell the end of humanity. The evolving significance of Artificial Intelligence holds power to impact our lives to the extent of it becoming either a utopian dream or a dystopian nightmare depending on the extent to which they become active role players in relation to humans. The movies are studied from a binary perspective. For some, the rise of robots spells impending danger, but for others, they serve as saviours of humankind, ensuring that the race never goes extinct. Their comprehensive understanding of situations beyond the grasp of humanity gives them the advantage to reinstate their hegemony over humankind. The paper explores how men and machines orientate and articulate themselves regarding conceptualisations of power and how power and knowledge act as repressive tools that ensure rationalisation and legitimization of control.