| Summary: | 碩士 === 國立清華大學 === 外國語文學系 === 92 === Technology influences our lives tremendously. As
history progresses, it seems that human beings depend more
and more on it. Originally, the concept of technology
referred to instruments that merely assist human beings;
however, in the modern age, it is difficult to tell whether
technology or humans are in control of society or human
life. In this thesis, the ideas of modern thinkers like
Martin Heidegger, Max Horkheimer, Theodor W. Adorno, as
well as those of contemporary critics like Jacques Ellul
and Günther Anders’s will be examined to understand what
exactly is happening to the world and what humans can do to
attempt to find ways out of the technological society.
Along with these theoretical approaches, the Canadian
director David Cronenberg’s three films, The Fly,
Videodrome, and eXistenZ, as the representation of linear
technological development will be considered to see how
technology intrudes on human beings and how humans are
caught in technology helplessly. It is through
Cronenbergian films that viewers are able to obtain new
points of view to question the existence value of
technology.
In Chapter One “Introduction,” the overall structure
of and critical literature on the three films are
discussed. The reason why I choose Cronenberg’s films and
the comments other critics make to the director are
introduced here in the first part. The second part
summarizes the critics’ concepts of technology in order to
frame the basic question of the essence, characteristics,
and impact of technology. In addition, the concept of
auteurism and of genre criticism are introduced as tools
for understanding Cronenberg’s films.
Chapter Two “David Cronenberg and His Films”
introduces the characteristics of the director and his
films in detail for readers to know the reason makes his
films worth discussing. The first part focuses on
Cronenberg’s own philosophical ideas, while the second
part discusses the special genre he adopts, “horror in
science fiction”.
In Chapter Three “Theoretical Backgound,” attempts
to understand technology more completely. Its essence and
characteristics are introduced as the first part; then, its
tremendous danger to human beings is also discussed, in
order to understand more completely how technology affects
people. The third section provides a solution to humans
for how to face their predicament in a technological
culture.
Chapter Four “The Convergence between Humans and
Technological Machines,” discusses how the machines and
the heroes in the three films turn into each other
gradually. Machines become more organic with more power,
while humans like to be technologized without any
consciousness of getting weaker.
Chapter Five “The Impacts that Technology Brings to
Human Beings” is the case study on the heroes in the three
films. Under the technological invasion, the heroes have
less and less power to think, to control themselves, and to
know themselves. To the third film, the heroes are unable
to escape the fate of being trapped in technology.
However, humans still possess a chance to fight
against the restraint from technology: through the works of
art, humans can reflect and question technology.
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