“The maze wasn’t made for you”: Artificial consciousness and reflexive narration in Westworld (HBO, 2016-)

Abstract

This paper describes how the science fiction television series Westworld (HBO, 2016-present) questions the very nature of consciousness through a reflexive narrative blending matters of free will and self interest with clues on how to write a serial character, thus drawing on the rich heritage of narratively complex science fiction television series of the last decades. After detailing the “hard problem” posed by any definition of consciousness, the paper follows the series’ logic, successively questioning memory, improvisation and self-interest, while focusing on a narratological approach centered on possible worlds theory.

Keywords

• Narration
• reflexivity
• television series
• consciousness
• science fiction
• Westworld