Marcuse, Ellul, and the Science-Fiction Film: Negative Responses to Technology

In contrast o SF literature, most SF films have responded negatively to technolog, seeing it as a force in contemporary society that has had a deleterious effect on the quality of human life. Herbert Marcuse and Jacques Ellul, two of the most pessimistic analysts, have expressed their criticisms of technology in ways that also find expression in some of these films, which are preoccupied with many of the same issues. Three in particular-Forbidden Planet (1956), Colossus: The Forbin Project (1969), and Alien (1979)-can be seen as responses to the theorists in question. In each case the films adopt positions tha4 while sympathetic with many aspects of Marcuse's indictment of technology, challenge his belief that this technology could ever be a vehicle for human liberation. In contrast, they assume positions closer to that of Ellul, who sees technology's effect on the quality of human life as thoroughly debilitating. (TJM) This content downloaded on Thu, 10 Jan 2013 04:26:32 AM All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions