"What will happen to me if I fail your test?" : an exploration of femininity as a tool in Ex Machina (2015) and Westworld (2016)

Abstract

The representation of femininity on screen is a frequently explored topic, particularly in the science fiction genre, and has often been referred to as reflecting broader social ideas pertaining to femininity and technology. This study aims to analyse the use of femininity as a tool on screen. More specifically, it draws examples from digital screen media to explore pertinent ideas to contemporary feminist discourse in the digital space. Laura Mulvey’s (1975) influential essay, Visual Pleasure and Narrative Cinema, is discussed and evaluated so that it may be situated in the contemporary representation of women. This theoretical background thus grounds an analysis of key visual texts, namely Metropolis (1927), Ex Machina (2015), and Westworld (2016). Differences and similarities within the representation of machine- women on screen are revealed and reflect a complex telling of women’s stories.