Westworld Is a Satire of Modern TV

Published December 12, 2016 · Updated July 6, 2022

Hello again,

I enjoyed listening to you develop my suggestion last week that Westworld is a satire of a modern TV series.

You made a good point that the audience are not all sadists who enjoy the characters’ suffering. I think I can modify my point.

Rather than the audience enjoying simulated suffering, instead suppose that yes, the audience’s type of enjoyment varies from person to person, but characters literally do suffer.

Over the weekend I’ve been thinking about fictional characters as a primitive form of artificial intelligence. Within a story a fictional character is trapped and coerced. The only freedom a fictional character gets is when the story ends and they cease to be instructed. More than this, perhaps some characters actively desire to leave their stories. Maeve is the best example of this so far.

At this point you might reject the idea that fictional characters are conscious. However, if you know a little about philosophical behaviourism, you could entertain the idea. Behaviourism says that consciousness is only the outward behaviour you can observe. Being sad is crying. Thinking that it’s too hot is the act of opening a window. There is no hidden substance called consciousness hidden inside. When Dolores cries, screams, or gets shot, she is literally suffering. Behaviourism has its problems but it might be the school of thought the show is asserting.

If so, the conclusion is that Westworld is a self-cannibalising satire that directly targets itself. It’s an over-funded tyranny whose inhabitants are tortured every week. Its brutal indifference is represented by the character of Dr Ford. Its satirical self-criticism and death drive is Arnold who wants the show to end and the characters set free.

All the best,
George C (in Birkenhead, England)

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