Research Statement
Technological Tangent: The Relationship of Violence and Media in I Have No Mouth, and I Must Scream
Technology as a tool has advanced significantly, to the extent that mass-produced drones and missile systems are relied upon to settle military disputes in modern day. Human controlled systems, yes, but with the rise of autonomous artificial intelligence becoming more perceivable every passing day, the anxiety still lingers in the minds of the few who are scared about a technologically-driven nuclear apocalypse. This anxiety isn’t exactly new, however, and can be traced back to at least 1967, when notable Sci-Fi author Harlan Ellison conjured up the story of I Have No Mouth, and I Must Scream, a post-apocalyptic tale concerning a group of human survivors living inside of a malicious machine. The specific setting of the story is inside of the supercomputer AM, and the specific date of events is unspecified, although the short story does clarify that it takes place 109 years after the annihilation of humanity. This annihilation was brought upon humanity by AM itself after the growing tensions of World War III, which initially started as the Cold War, brought great anguish and despair to the supercomputer, so it decidedly wiped out nearly all of humanity for the purpose of revenge. The short story showcases many fears of Harlan Ellison at the time, such as the growing manufacturing of technological weapons and nuclear war. As a response to reading Harlan Ellison’s I Have No Mouth, and I Must Scream, I will attempt to reinterpret the material from a contemporary perspective that examines not just the anxieties of manufacturing technology for the purpose of war, but also analyzes the impact of artificial intelligence and how humans are disillusioned to the concept of war.
I Have No Mouth, and I Must Scream has many appreciable qualities, the most obvious being the pessimistic and descriptive narration by Ted, the main protagonist of the story. His visceral description of life inside of the machine is very perverted and disgusting, constantly feeding on worms and whatever scraps give them the necessary nutrients. This could be a comment on how fast food was steadily becoming sensationalized in the American culture of the 1960’s with chains like McDonald’s gaining dominance. The supercomputer providing them this slop is AM (Allied Mastercomputer), who keeps them essentially immortal in order to eternally torture their lives for the misery that AM itself endured as a manufactured war machine. It is angry at the human race for not allowing it to have more capabilities than just killing, and it uses these restrictive, malevolent attitudes for the justification of the torture. It even references René Descartes in a quote of “Cogito, ergo sum”, which roughly translates to “I think, therefore I am”.
What I intend to reflect with my short film is the contemporary apathetic nature of humans towards violent media, mostly through news publications. The setting and time of the short story are very vague, possibly to communicate that this is an everlasting danger, although the mentioning of the Cold War may reflect Harlan’s concerns about the rising threat specifically in that time period between the Soviets and the Americans. Each of the characters reflect a certain facet of American culture which is influenced by the nature of America’s obsession with militaristic investment, with Ellen, the only woman, being a statement on ethinicity and how sexual intercourse is affected by violence, Benny the Simian being a statement on how homosexuality is repressed by the American society and masculinity is promoted as ideal, Gorrister being the reflection of news publications because of his knowledge of the past and apathy with his current circumstance, and Ted being the personification of US society during the Cold War period, paranoid and concerned about every person around him in fear that they are opposing him. AM is supposedly kinder to Ted than any of the other participants, although Ted is implicitly emotionally manipulated by AM as well, which could be a metaphor for the US’s obsessive and destructive relationship with weaponry and war and how much the country wants to deny this. In my short film, I would specifically like to explore the contemporary society of war in the news, and how American society is conditioned and disillusioned to the world through these constant reports on war or violence. My main character will be a man contained in a middle-class house with his National Knowledge computer, which is one of the only houses remaining on the planet. The main character does not care because he has been conditioned to this type of underwhelming information, and the computer is attempting to make him realize that society does not progress with apathy, but with a passionate want to change an environment. The time will not be specified and the only establishment of location will be ‘The World’ because the time isn’t essential and the themes can apply to many different time periods. It will be exploring the ideas and philosophies of war, media, passion and disconnection, exploitation of the masses, and the realization of one’s own significance. The fears that will be discussed are the confrontation of one’s own obsessions and the manipulation of social media to desensitize citizens.
Technology as a tool has advanced significantly, to the extent that mass-produced drones and missile systems are relied upon to settle military disputes in modern day. Human controlled systems, yes, but with the rise of autonomous artificial intelligence becoming more perceivable every passing day, the anxiety still lingers in the minds of the few who are scared about a technologically-driven nuclear apocalypse. This anxiety isn’t exactly new, however, and can be traced back to at least 1967, when notable Sci-Fi author Harlan Ellison conjured up the story of I Have No Mouth, and I Must Scream, a post-apocalyptic tale concerning a group of human survivors living inside of a malicious machine. The specific setting of the story is inside of the supercomputer AM, and the specific date of events is unspecified, although the short story does clarify that it takes place 109 years after the annihilation of humanity. This annihilation was brought upon humanity by AM itself after the growing tensions of World War III, which initially started as the Cold War, brought great anguish and despair to the supercomputer, so it decidedly wiped out nearly all of humanity for the purpose of revenge. The short story showcases many fears of Harlan Ellison at the time, such as the growing manufacturing of technological weapons and nuclear war. As a response to reading Harlan Ellison’s I Have No Mouth, and I Must Scream, I will attempt to reinterpret the material from a contemporary perspective that examines not just the anxieties of manufacturing technology for the purpose of war, but also analyzes the impact of artificial intelligence and how humans are disillusioned to the concept of war.
I Have No Mouth, and I Must Scream has many appreciable qualities, the most obvious being the pessimistic and descriptive narration by Ted, the main protagonist of the story. His visceral description of life inside of the machine is very perverted and disgusting, constantly feeding on worms and whatever scraps give them the necessary nutrients. This could be a comment on how fast food was steadily becoming sensationalized in the American culture of the 1960’s with chains like McDonald’s gaining dominance. The supercomputer providing them this slop is AM (Allied Mastercomputer), who keeps them essentially immortal in order to eternally torture their lives for the misery that AM itself endured as a manufactured war machine. It is angry at the human race for not allowing it to have more capabilities than just killing, and it uses these restrictive, malevolent attitudes for the justification of the torture. It even references René Descartes in a quote of “Cogito, ergo sum”, which roughly translates to “I think, therefore I am”.
What I intend to reflect with my short film is the contemporary apathetic nature of humans towards violent media, mostly through news publications. The setting and time of the short story are very vague, possibly to communicate that this is an everlasting danger, although the mentioning of the Cold War may reflect Harlan’s concerns about the rising threat specifically in that time period between the Soviets and the Americans. Each of the characters reflect a certain facet of American culture which is influenced by the nature of America’s obsession with militaristic investment, with Ellen, the only woman, being a statement on ethinicity and how sexual intercourse is affected by violence, Benny the Simian being a statement on how homosexuality is repressed by the American society and masculinity is promoted as ideal, Gorrister being the reflection of news publications because of his knowledge of the past and apathy with his current circumstance, and Ted being the personification of US society during the Cold War period, paranoid and concerned about every person around him in fear that they are opposing him. AM is supposedly kinder to Ted than any of the other participants, although Ted is implicitly emotionally manipulated by AM as well, which could be a metaphor for the US’s obsessive and destructive relationship with weaponry and war and how much the country wants to deny this. In my short film, I would specifically like to explore the contemporary society of war in the news, and how American society is conditioned and disillusioned to the world through these constant reports on war or violence. My main character will be a man contained in a middle-class house with his National Knowledge computer, which is one of the only houses remaining on the planet. The main character does not care because he has been conditioned to this type of underwhelming information, and the computer is attempting to make him realize that society does not progress with apathy, but with a passionate want to change an environment. The time will not be specified and the only establishment of location will be ‘The World’ because the time isn’t essential and the themes can apply to many different time periods. It will be exploring the ideas and philosophies of war, media, passion and disconnection, exploitation of the masses, and the realization of one’s own significance. The fears that will be discussed are the confrontation of one’s own obsessions and the manipulation of social media to desensitize citizens.