Abstract

FUENTES MARTINEZ, Raquel. Towards the quest for identity and the conquest of consciousness in the science fiction genre: humanity versus technology in Frankenstein (1818) and Westworld (2016). Humanidades (Montevideo. En línea) [online]. 2021, n.10, pp.69-101.  Epub Dec 01, 2021. ISSN 1510-5024.  https://doi.org/10.25185/10.4.

Technological and scientific development are an essential part of the evolution of human beings as a species. Thus, their role in the relationship with humanity has been reflected in different artistic manifestations, including literature and film. In this article we will analyse the survival of what is considered the first work of science fiction: Frankenstein or The Modern Prometheus (1818), by Mary Shelley in the first season of one of the most successful science fiction series on television: Westworld (2016-2020). By analysing both, we will see how the fundamental issues raised by science fiction are embodied: humanity’s creative impulse, the ethical consequences of the act of creation and the creature’s need to give meaning to its existence. Furthermore, the analysis of aspects in the novel and the series such as the character traits of the creator and his relationship with his creatures will provide us with fundamental elements of value in demonstrating how the genre of science fiction has echoed from its origins key existential questions for the relationship between technology and humanity. Frankenstein and Westworld are evidence of this.

Keywords : Frankenstein; Westworld; hubris; otherness; science fiction; technology.

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