Reading "Westworld"

Reading Westworld is the first volume to explore the cultural, textual and theoretical significance of the hugely successful HBO TV series Westworld . The essays engage in a series of original enquiries into the central themes of the series including conceptions of the human and posthuman, American history, gaming, memory, surveillance, AI, feminism, imperialism, free will and contemporary capitalism. In its varied critical engagements with the genre, narratives and contexts of Westworld , this volume explores the show's wider and deeper meanings and the questions it poses, as well considering how Westworld reflects on the ethical implications of artificial life and technological innovation for our own futurity. With critical essays that draw on the interdisciplinary strengths and productive intersections of media, cultural and literary studies, Reading Westworld seeks to respond to the show's fundamental question; "Have you ever questioned the nature of your reality?" It will be of interest to students, academics and general readers seeking to engage with Westworld and the far-reaching questions it poses about our current engagements with technology. Contents 6 Notes on Contributors 8 List of Figures 12 Chapter 1 Introduction 13 Robots, Androids and Cyborgs 14 Westworld, Culture and the Posthuman 18 The Scope of the Collection 22 Looking to the Future 30 Works Cited 30 Chapter 2 These Violent Delights: Navigating Westworld as “Quality” Television 34 Introduction 34 Quality Television and HBO—A Truncated Rehearsal 36 Westworld’s Embodiment of Quality 40 Solving the Puzzle: What Westworld’s Human Nature Says About Quality Television 46 Conclusion 49 Works Cited 51 Chapter 3 ‘That Which Is Real Is Irreplaceable’: Lies, Damned Lies, and (Dis-)simulations in Westworld 53 Introduction 53 AI Narratives and Narrative AIs 55 “The Maze” of (Narrative) Self-Consciousness 59 Verification of the Code 63 Conclusion 67 Works Cited 70 Chapter 4 Factitive Maps: Manipulating Spaces and Characters in Vast Narratives 71 Introduction 71 A Taxonomy of Cartographic Occurrences in Westworld 74 Entering the Maze: Factitive Maps and Typologies of Characters 78 Unlocking the Maze: Serial Characters and Memory 82 Conclusion 84 Works Cited 86 Chapter 5 Westworld and the Pursuit of Meaningful Play 88 Introduction 88 Westworld as Virtual World 90 The Design Team 93 The Design 95 Westworld Is a Bad Game 99 Westworld Is a Good Game 101 Conclusion 102 Works Cited 104 Chapter 6 Music as a Source of Narrative Information in HBO’s Westworld 106 Introduction 106 The Relationship Between Music and Image in Westworld 108 The Embedding of Music in the Production Culture of Westworld 110 Piano Reductions 113 Reverie 119 Conclusion 122 Works Cited 124 Chapter 7 The Frontier Myth of Memory, Dreams, and Trauma in Westworld 128 Introduction 128 The Hegemonic Narrative of Hero on the Frontier 129 The Masculine Utopia of Victim Blaming and War 135 Commemorating Motherhood and Sexual Violence 143 Conclusion 146 Works Cited 147 Chapter 8 Long Live the New Flesh: Race and the Posthuman in Westworld 149 Introduction 149 Human and Nonhuman, Reality and Imagination 150 Liberalism, Racism, the Slave 155 The New People 160 Conclusion 166 Works Cited 168 Chapter 9 Flies in the Face: Entomology and the Mechanics of Becoming-Living in Westworld 169 Introduction 169 Filthy Creatures 175 Like Flies to Honey 176 Flies in the Ointment 178 Flies on the Wall 179 The Gilded Fly 180 Dropping Like Flies 181 Flies Everywhere 185 Conclusion 186 Works Cited 187 Chapter 10 Westworld’s Archideology and the Impossibility of Freedom 189 Introduction 189 Žižek and False Consciousness 190 Westworld as an Archideology 194 The Park’s Territories of Control 196 Perpetuating Fantastical Freedoms 201 Conclusion 204 Works Cited 206 Chapter 11 A Mere Instrument of Production: Representing Domestic Labour in Westworld 207 Introduction 207 Journeys to Consciousness 209 Domestic Spaces and Primal Scenes 213 Instruments of Production 220 Conclusion 224 Works Cited 226 Chapter 12 Escaping the Robot’s Loop? Power and Purpose, Myth and History in Westworld’s Manufactured Frontier 229 Introduction 229 The Robotic Frontier 232 The Frontier Robot 237 Conclusion 243 Works Cited 244 Chapter 13 I-n-I Re-member Now: A Rastafari Reading of HBO’s Westworld 247 Introduction 247 Her So-Called Life 250 Memory as Master of Death 254 Triumph of the Will 256 Afro-Asian Vibrations 258 Conclusion 261 Works Cited 262 Chapter 14 The Theme Park of Forking Paths: Text, Intertext and Hypertext in Westworld 263 Introduction 263 Forking Paths 264 Compossibility and Posthuman Becoming 271 Patchwork Girls and Feminist Monsters 274 Conclusion 280 Works Cited 281 Chapter 15 Yul Brynner’s Hat and Time Travel in the Hyperreal 284 Introduction 284 The Heritage Experience of Yul Brynner 285 Time Travel in the Hyperreality of Westworld 289 The Hat, the Gender and the Heritage Industry of Westworld 295 Conclusion 300 Works Cited 301 Chapter 16 Epilogue 302 From Season One to Season Two 303 Reading Westworld and Season Two 307 Works Cited 310 Index 311 Reading Westworld es el primer volumen que explora el significado cultural, textual y teórico de la exitosa serie de televisión de HBO Westworld. Los ensayos se dedican a una serie de investigaciones originales sobre los temas centrales de la serie, incluyendo las concepciones de lo humano y lo posthumano, la historia americana, los juegos, la memoria, la vigilancia, la IA, el feminismo, el imperialismo, el libre albedrío y el capitalismo contemporáneo. En sus variados compromisos críticos con el género, las narrativas y los contextos de Westworld, este volumen explora los significados más amplios y profundos de la muestra y las preguntas que plantea, así como considera cómo Westworld reflexiona sobre las implicaciones éticas de la vida artificial y la innovación tecnológica para nuestro propio futuro. Con ensayos críticos que aprovechan las fortalezas interdisciplinarias y las intersecciones productivas de los medios de comunicación, los estudios culturales y literarios, Reading Westworld trata de responder a la pregunta fundamental del espectáculo: "¿Alguna vez has cuestionado la naturaleza de tu realidad? Será de interés para los estudiantes, académicos y lectores en general que buscan comprometerse con Westworld y las preguntas de gran alcance que plantea sobre nuestros compromisos actuales con la tecnología