Allegorising Surveillance Capitalism: Westworld's Science Fictional and Metafictional Pastiche

Abstract

Lisa Joy and Jonathan Nolan’s Westworld (2016-2020) is a deeply ambivalent product: it is another action-packed, CGI-abusing show, but also a narratively complex allegory of present-day power structures. The series, which is now in its third season but still in production for more, combines the appeals of two traditionally opposed ‘spirits’ of science fiction: the visual and kinetic attractions of the SF film and the deeply critical and estranging potential of SF literature. Bearing this ambivalence in mind, this paper examines how, by combining metafictional and science-fictional elements, Westworld functions as a critical allegory of surveillance capitalism. However, upon a closer reading, a question shall constantly emerge: is the series an anti-capitalist allegory, or is it a spectacular pastiche of the science-fictional and the metafictional? There is not an either-or answer to the question, but it is precisely this ambivalence which makes the show worth examining in depth, as an example of how the ambivalences of popular audio-visual narratives need not be seen as flaws, but as a provocative ground for critical reflection.