10 Movies About Humanity’s Struggle With Technology

Summary

• Hollywood blockbusters explore humanity’s love/hate relationship with technology through themes of AI advancement and machine failures.
• Films like Demon Seed, Ex Machina, and Terminator 2 delve into AI dangers, consciousness, and destiny.
• The Matrix and Blade Runner tackle themes of reality, humanity, and ethics, influencing sci-fi cinema with their cyberpunk aesthetics.

Some of Hollywood’s biggest blockbusters have revolved around mankind’s battle with technology. From rogue AIs to industrial nightmares, or malfunctioning computers, humanity has consistently had a love/hate relationship with the things we create.

While often all too real, our fears of technology leaving us redundant have been fertile ground for epic sci-fi movies. In our short lifetimes, we have seen artificial intelligence jump light-years ahead, and with the dawn of quantum computing close at hand, these fears have become grounded in reality. While the machines may never truly take over, humanity’s battle with its own technology will continue to influence filmmakers and artists long into the future.

10

Demon Seed

Confronting Our Reliance on Technology

• Directed: Donald Cammell
• Released: 1977
• Runtime: 1h 34m

Based on a Dean Koontz novel, Demon Seed is a science fiction horror film starring Julie Christie. The film revolves around Proteus IV, an advanced artificial intelligence that takes over its creator’s computerized house. Trapping his estranged wife, Susan, inside and eventually impregnating her.

This disturbing movie delves into the dangers of artificial intelligence and our reliance on technology. While Demon Seed is far from a perfect film and sometimes falls into exploitation, its strong performances and unique concepts hold the movie together.

9

Tetsuo: The Iron Man

A Nightmare of Man and Machine

• Directed: Shin’ya Tsukamoto
• Released: 1989
• Runtime: 1h 7m

While this bizarre and sometimes extreme Japanese horror film may not appeal to a mass audience, Tetsuo: The Iron Man is a bonafide cult classic. The film revolves around a salaryman who wakes up to find his body transforming into a machine-human hybrid.

Tetsuo: The Iron Man shares many themes with the work of body horror maestro David Cronenberg, such as technological fetishization and bodily mutilation. The transgressive nature of the film is like a hammer blow to the senses, with its extreme imagery accompanied by fast-paced, frenetic editing and a pounding industrial soundtrack.

8

Ex Machina

A Tense Psychological Sci-fi Drama

• Directed: Alex Garland
• Released: 2014
• Runtime: 1h 48m

This stylish science fiction movie follows a programmer who is invited by the genius CEO of his company to a remote home for a secret job. Upon arrival, he discovers he is there to perform the Turing test on his boss’s newly created artificial intelligence.

Ex Machina delves into themes of consciousness, personhood, and the ethics surrounding AI. With terrific performances from its entire cast, Ex Machina is a modern sci-fi classic that made Alicia Vikander a star. The film is like a psychological sparring match, as each character’s motivations are slowly revealed.

7

Apollo 13

A Powerful Story of Human Perseverance

• Directed: Ron Howard
• Released: 1995
• Runtime: 2h 20m

Based on the true story of an ill-fated mission to land on the moon, Apollo 13 would be nominated for numerous awards and win Academy Awards for Editing and Sound. The film stars Tom Hanks as Commander Jim Lovell, as he and his crew, en route to the moon, suffer monumental system failures, losing much of their oxygen and power.

The film follows the crew and those at NASA as they struggle to bring Apollo 13 back to Earth safely. The film is about the frontiers of technology and what can happen when it fails. It’s an uplifting true story of humanity’s ingenuity and determination to succeed in the face of disaster.

6

Blade Runner

Confronting the Nature of Humanity

• Directed: Ridley Scott
• Released: 1982
• Runtime: 1h 57m

Based on Philip K. Dick’s classic novel, Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep, Blade Runner is a science fiction masterpiece and a must-watch for any fan of the genre. The film follows ex-detective Rick Deckard as he is tasked with tracking down rogue synthetic humans known as Replicants.

Blade Runner delves into themes of identity, mortality, and AI. It confronts themes around advanced technology and what constitutes a living being. With its stunning cinematography and vibrant cyberpunk world, Blade Runner would go on to influence countless other filmmakers and artists. Seven versions of Blade Runner exist, with the 2007 released The Final Cut standing as the most complete version.

5

Metropolis

An Influential Science Fiction Masterpiece

• Directed: Fritz Lang
• Released: 1927
• Runtime: 2h 33m

This groundbreaking silent film was one of the first feature-length science fiction movies released and would be a pivotal moment in the history of cinema. The film follows Freder, an idealistic young man and son of a wealthy city master, as he attempts to bridge the divide between the working classes and the ruling classes.

Metropolis is a classic in the German expressionist art movement; however, on initial release, the film would have a mixed reception. Its long run time would lead to several cuts, with the original release considered lost until damaged prints were discovered in 2008 and eventually restored. The film confronts themes of industrialization, class war, and fears surrounding technology.

4

2001: A Space Odyssey

An All-Time Masterpiece of Cinema

• Directed: Stanley Kubrick
• Released: 1968
• Runtime: 2h 29m

Co-written by science-fiction author Arthur C. Clarke alongside Stanley Kubrick, 2001: A Space Odyssey was a groundbreaking moment in sci-fi cinema. Using cutting-edge graphics, the film follows human evolution’s connection to strange alien monoliths. Starting from the earliest ape-like hominids’ discovery of weapons, the film jumps forward millions of years, following Dr. Dave Bowman and Dr. Frank Poole’s mission to Jupiter. Along the way, their advanced computer, HAL 9000, malfunctions and tries to kill the crew.

2001: A Space Odyssey is an epic sci-fi classic that has become a part of popular culture. While on release, the film would be polarizing for critics. Its stunning cinematography, themes on technology, and iconic soundtrack would ensure its place as one of the cinema’s all-time greats.

3

Modern Times

An Iconic Farewell to The Tramp

• Directed: Charles Chaplin
• Released: 1936
• Runtime: 1h 27m

Charlie Chaplin’s classic comedy, Modern Times, would mark the final appearance of his iconic character, The Tramp. The film follows Chaplin as a stressed factory worker tired of the repetitive assembly line he works on. After reaching breaking point, the Tramp causes chaos as he becomes stuck in the factory’s machinery.

Modern Times is one of Chaplin’s greatest works and would be praised for its humorous depiction of modernization. The film deals with humanity’s over-reliance on technology and the dehumanizing effect of the industrial world.

2

Terminator 2: Judgement Day

An Action Blockbuster Epic

• Directed: James Cameron
• Released: 1991
• Runtime: 2h 17m

In this classic action sci-fi sequel, Arnold Schwarzenegger plays the iconic killing machine repurposed and sent back in time to protect John Connor, the future leader of the resistance. While the Terminator franchise has expanded and become somewhat convoluted, Terminator 2: Judgement Day is a high point in the series.

Its mix of no-holds-barred action, cutting-edge effects, and easily quotable dialogue skyrocketed the movie to blockbuster success. The film’s themes of destiny and destructive technology struck a chord with audiences as our advancements in science and computer technology greatly advanced in the early 90s.

1

The Matrix

A Groundbreaking Action Classic

• Directed: Lana & Lilly Wachowski
• Released: 1999
• Runtime: 2h 16m

The Matrix represented a significant cultural moment at the dawn of the new millennium. Like the Terminator series before it, its stunning CGI effects, jaw-dropping action, and witty dialogue ensured its box-office success.

The Matrix follows an average office worker’s reawakening when he learns reality is a simulation controlled by the ruling artificial intelligence. The movie is the classic battle between humanity and machines as the last remnants of our race fight to survive. The film’s blend of cyberpunk aesthetics, eastern martial arts, and questions around destiny, free will, and reality ensured its lasting effect on popular culture.