Science Fiction movies have in recent decades become sources of information and interpretation, in other words, a window that reflects the time period in which they were made. While the role of technology has been researched in science fiction material, not much focus has been put into researching specific types of technology. This paper attempts to do just that by investigating the role of information and communication technologies (ICT) in the two science fiction movies, Close Encounters of the Third Kind and Arrival. Primarily using the Actor-Network Theory (ANT), complemented by aspects of the Communication Accommodation Theory (CAT) and the theory of Social Construct of Technology (SCOT), this paper highlights the role of ICTs as active agents. Through a comparative method, selected scenes featuring examples of technologies whose purpose depends on the intentions of non-technological agents such as humans are given, adding an interpretative angle. The generational differences are highlighted throughout the analysis by the networks they create, as well as the power dynamics between civilian and military actors. We find that the Actor-Network Theory can be a great framework to use with science fiction cinema to investigate these subjects.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:UPSALLA1/oai:DiVA.org:mau-62552 |
| Date | January 2023 |
| Creators | Paredes Guzman, Christian |
| Publisher | Malmö universitet, Institutionen för samhälle, kultur och identitet (SKI) |
| Source Sets | DiVA Archive at Upsalla University |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Student thesis, info:eu-repo/semantics/bachelorThesis, text |
| Format | application/pdf |
| Rights | info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess |
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