从科技资本主义、技术政治和后人类探析《黑镜》中黑科技带来的异化_英语论文

A Critique of Dark Technology Generated Alienation in Black Mirror: Technocapitalism, Technopolitics and Posthuman

摘要

本论文立足于充斥着电子屏幕的传媒生态，对黑科技带来的异化进行批判。本文主论点围绕异化概念在数字媒体世界的三大维度，即科技资本主义，技术政治和后人类。为了赋予以上抽象理论具象化的意义，本论文将其置入反乌托邦科幻系列剧《黑镜》的具体文本之中分析。通过《黑镜》对黑科技的大胆探讨为当代媒体文化研究和人与科技的关系提供批判性思考。

在论文开篇笔者首先建立了一个全面的理论框架，重新审视并发展了卡尔·马克思在工业资本主义时代提出的异化观念，指出异化概念在数字传媒时代的延伸与拓展。从科技资本主义，技术政治和后人类三个层面，笔者讨论了黑科技下异化的种种表现特征以及其如何影响人类运用媒介科技。以《黑镜》作为一个有效案例，本论文综合分析了科技资本主义层面上科技拜物主义和科技享乐主义带来的异化，技术政治层面上技术监视和社会分层带来的异化，以及后人类层面上赛博格和仿真机器人带来的异化。

本论文采用跨学科和比较研究方法，探索数字时代下新兴且多变的媒介生态下异化意义的发展。通过批判性学术研究，本论文将科幻系列剧《黑镜》对媒体文化的批判与现实科技发展结合对照。基于现实科技发展现状的同时，本论文将目光放眼于数字媒体文化的未来趋势，探讨数字传媒新时代黑科技引发的异化的深层意蕴。

关键词： 异化，黑镜，科技资本主义，技术政治，后人类

Abstract

This thesis is a critique of dark technology generated alienation in the screen-saturated media ecology. My argument is that alienation in the digital era takes triple dimensions: technocapitalism, technopolitics and posthuman. To make sense of those abstract theories, I integrate them into the concrete text of the dystopian science fiction anthology Black Mirror, which offers critical examination of the present media culture and human-technology relationship. 

At the beginning of the thesis I establish a comprehensive theoretical framework to revisit and develop Karl Marx’s concept of alienation in the screen-saturated society. From the prospective of technocapitalism, technopolitics and posthuman, I discuss how dark technology generates alienation and its repercussions on people’s adoption of media technology. Taking Black Mirror as an effective case, this thesis analyzes the alienation of fetishists and hedonists in the dimension of technocapitalism, alienation under surveillance and social stratification in the dimension of technopolitics, as well as alienation brought by Cyborg and humanoid robots in the dimension of posthuman. 

Interdisciplinary and comparative research methods have been utilized in this study to explore alienation in the emerging and rapidly shifting context of digital world. With critical scholarly research, this thesis takes both science fiction portrayal of media culture and present technological advance into account. By taking one step further and looking into the future of digital media culture, this thesis sheds lights on dark technology generated alienation in this brave new digital world.

Keywords：alienation; Black Mirror, technocapitalism; technopolitics; posthuman

Contents

Acknowledgements i

English Abstract ii

Chinese Abstract iii

Table of Contentsiv

List of Figures vi

Introduction 1

1. Background1

2. Black Mirror2

3. Significance of Study.3

4.Overview of Study4

Chapter One Theoretical Framework: Dark Technology Generates Alienation 6

1.1 Alienation in the Traditional Sense 6

1.2 Dark Technology Generated Alienation 6

1.2.1 Technocapitalism 8

1.2.1.1 Gadget Fetishism9 

1.2.1.2 Hedonism 10

1.2.2 Technopolitics: Surveillance and Social Power Hierarchy 11

1.2.2.1 Surveillance11  

1.2.2.2 Social Stratification12

1.2.3 Posthuman: Cyborg and Humanoid Robots 12

Chapter Two Alienation in the Sense of Technocapitalism 14

2.1 Technocapitalism in Black Mirror: Alienation of Fetishists and Hedonists 14

2.1.1 Alienation of Social Media Fetishists 14

2.1.2 Alienation of Hedonists and Screen Addicts 15

2.2 The Alienation of Commodity Fetishists in Technocapitalism 16

2.2.1 Fall Prey to Meaninglessness and Powerlessness 16

Chapter Three Alienation in the Sense of Technopolitics 19

3.1 Technopolitics in Black Mirror: Alienation Under Surveillance and Social Hierarchy 19

3.2 Alienation Under Surveillance 19

3.2.1 Alienation of Interpersonal Relationship: Sense of Insecurity and Lost Trust 19

3.2.2 Self-alienation: Attention Seekers under Surveillance 21

3.3 Alienation under Social Stratification 22

3.3.1 Labor Alienation: The 99% Being Manipulated by the 1% 22

3.3.2 Identity Alienation: Social Hierarchy System 23

Chapter Four Alienation in the Sense of Posthuman 24

4.1 Posthuman in Black Mirror: Alienation in Disrupted Sensory Perception and Faculties 24

4.1.1 Memory Outsourcing 24

4.1.2 Blind to One’s Blindness 25

4.1.3 Separation of Psyche and Soma 26

4.2 Alienation in the Absence of Humanity of Humanoid Robots 27

4.3 Alienation of Humanness in human-machine Interactions 28

Chapter Five Conclusion and Prospection 30

References 32

Filmography: 34

Episodes： 35