West World's relation to Business

In West World, there are many crossover ideas as to what it takes to run West World and how a television show or channel must be run. Making sure the consumers are happy while also understanding the needs of a business is something that each scenario shows and struggles with I believe.  West World in the end is an amusement park, and catering to the guests and their wants is the main goal for the business side. Making sure that when the guests come to spend thousands of dollars a day they can have fun and do anything they want. When it comes to the business side there is not a strong care for having the story lines something that is so immersive that the guests have a realization, but the story lines are just fun, and exciting and allow the guests to do whatever it is they want. From Fords point of view though this is all wrong. It is not about the profit and cheap thrills; the park is about the experiences and the realism of it all. The park is something that is as special creation, that shows amazing advances and emotion, but when it is used as a business platform that meaning gets lost is everything it takes to create it. For West World, it is controlled by profit and those cheap thrills and excitements, not about the experience and the artistic design of everything, this is shown even more by the voting out of power that happens to Ford. To completely make West World into the best business it most remove the creative, and artistic ability of the park.

The way that West World and the creative liberties that it takes can be seen in how television is made, especially HBO. The free-ness that HBO gives the creators to make a show into something that has its own voice, is an important part in many HBO shows. Extra violence and being gritty in any and every sense, it allows HBO and those watching the shows to have a good time while doing so. This artistic development that is allowed though, is the front of what is a huge business that needs the artistic ability to have that space so they can make their money. The artistic sense that the channel or show allows is then overshadowed by the business side, by creating formula setups for what makes viewers sit down and watch their show. Something where by just having specific traits it will easily draw in a certain number of viewers each week. Much like the park, where the robots only must exert a very small amount of human qualities for the artistic value to be appreciated. The robots could do one thousand different humans like actions, but if they have sex, and die the guests don’t care about the rest. Much like shows, after a while it does not matter what is happening or if it is even bad, if the show has these select, and wanted aspects then it will be watched. Through business artistic value is created, and both sides of the business-art spectrum are needed for something to work but after a while the business side completely commodifies the artistic side until it no longer matters how intricate or in-depth something is. 

Strong Artificial Intelligence

In the show and world of West World human tendencies are sought after, the question Ford seems to continuously try and find is what makes the robots more real and human like. The question of human cognition seems to be a trait that is constantly searched after, but never found. What makes the human mind one that functions at such a ‘superior’ rate that thinking hosts of the park reaching, or even already being at that level seems so crazy? The main attraction to the park for many is the fact that these are all robots, no act has any real damage or effect on the hosts but why is that? What is it that makes the guests and engineers see these people as less of a working body and mind then themselves? Coming into the park and interacting with everything in the park acts like a real-life Turing Test, but the guests already know the answer to the question the test sets out to find, but what if these robots were to enter the real world, create relationships, and interact exactly as they would if they were hosts inside the park, just outside of it where no one knew if they were real or created? Throughout the show character after character declares the host as ‘just robots’ categorizing them as nothing more than “a doll” and something that isn’t human or real enough to care about what is done with it. But this question of cognition and the case of an AI with higher cognitive abilities and if it could exist and be accepted as human is shown in the story of Bernard. Bernard around the work place is someone, who to a certain extent, is held superior to the other workers. He has respect and relationships with those around him, from the outsider and the viewer Bernard in all respects is as human as it gets, but that changes in episode 9.

In episode 9 “The Well-Tempered Clavier” we find out that Bernard, a worker, a father, someone who seemed as human as can be, is a robot. This revelation happens as Bernard is with Theresa, someone who shared memories and what seemed to be real emotions with Bernard, and obviously had no idea that he wasn’t a human. Theresa calls Ford “sick” as many people do, but also asks if what Bernard and her had was just something that he created, that what it was Bernard said and did was all a plan and directed action Ford told him to do. Ford replies that those memories and feelings were all hers, but does not directly answer the questions raised against Bernard’s own time. It brings into question then what makes an AI conscious, is it how the robot itself feels, or is it how those around it feel? Fooling the person interacting with the robot is the main purpose of the Turing Test, to trick and deceive someone into thinking that they are real, this is exactly what Bernard does to not only Theresa but to everyone around the work place. Felix does not even feel completely sure of himself until Maeve tells him he isn’t one. There are a million questions and equal amounts of turns that can be asked and found to help decode oneself as not a robot, but not many in the real world that would help others define someone or something as human. The lines blur between real and fake in West World, always coming out in favor of those that are human, but emotion and emotional connection is something that seems to occur in both parties, whether created, or real there does not seem to be a true difference in them both as they rely on the actual person.

In episode 3 while Ford is talking to Bernard before the reveal occurs, Ford reminds Bernard that these hosts “are not real, they are not conscious,” but based on future episodes, this idea of them not being conscious takes a different turn. How are these robots not conscious? What are they exerting and doing that would make their minds and abilities any different other than the fact that they can be reset and created to believe more in one thing than another. They speak, they can interact with the objects around them, even entering new places with different societal norms as seen when Maeve walks through the lobby of the park’s entrance not being spotted by real people as being a robot. She blends into real normal life, at least what we call normal life, with no one being able to see that she is not like us. This unnoticeable interaction and perfect insertion into the real world shows us that the mind that they possess is not something that can be seen and then thrown away as being nothing. This ability and knowledge all help show the power of their mind. 

Created Narrative's in the World

All throughout the park of West World the quests are all looking for something more. Whether it’s escaping from their lives for a few days, or a thrill unreachable in real-life, they all desperately search for it while there, some more than others. Looking at the story of the man in Black as he searches for some sort of meaning in the meaningless world he lives in he finds out that his quest is useless and wasted, what he was searching for is not there. It is possible that this empty answer he’s chased after for most of his life to find is much more important than finding what he was hoping for. For Maeve, she searches for true meaning in who or what she is, and only finds more pre-determined paths that she follows without her own knowing.  Trying to find certain acts that define human qualities is something that is seen throughout the series, as work is always being done to make the park’s Host more realistic.

In the park, all who inhabit it believes in their own free-will. Whether it is the hosts who don’t know their true meaning or even the guests who see their actions as their own, although they are given permission to do it. In the series, very few people break away from this idea of control and begin to create their own adventures, at least so they think. But in general, everyone is following their own narrative that they think is self-created, but like all other things in the park, it is a well-placed and disguised creation. The search for meaning in the imagined and set world of West World, can easily be connected to the world created through television. A fluid, seamless line of narratives that push one way or another, created by someone who is placed in the specific position of power to create that specific narrative.

In episode 6 “The Adversary” Felix tells Maeve that “whatever you do, it’s because the engineers made you do it.” This one line shows a lot of not only how the Hosts live their life, but can also be deeply connected to the world around us. Through the private news companies, we gather our information from, to the television shows we watch, we think and discuss issues that we are told to find interesting, and important, whether they are or aren’t. Through constructed ideas and agenda biases many ideas that are passed through the everyday life are those of someone else disbursed and created to fit into our everyday discourse. What are important ideas being only such because through twisting and editorializing they become something they aren’t. False narratives, sending people down the wrong path on issues based on what is best for those who own these companies. Viewership numbers and the specific times of days that the viewership is highest, for news stations mostly, will garner the most revenue, and will consist of the easiest of ideological, bias, agenda setting information. Most thoughts and ideas had today if gathered from television and syndicated news stations are all created, manufactured, by people who understand the viewer and their tendencies better than the viewer themselves. Understanding the fears of everyday life, and the interests we all hold help pave way for a formula that better solidifies its own strengths in our lives. Knowing when and why we watch shows better help sell themselves to fit into our lives without much knowledge of why many commercials come at just the right time during television programs that seem to understand and say everything you seem to like.

The engineers that control the thoughts, and independent actions that the hosts in West World do, can be equally seen in how we as a nation work and who constructs our day. A constructive narrative that we have no information on, forces fear, and actions upon us without the slightest of our knowledge that we are created and conformed to a certain path and ideology much like the hosts in West World. Even when moving away from certain ideologies and giving allegiance to certain sides of an argument are all what we think is our own choice, but each action given is based off certain information we take for truth instead of a biased construction of ideas. In West World, even free actions of hosts are a set plan for them to carry on with. Maeve before escaping in episode 10 is told that her narrative had been changed to ‘escape,’ showing that her urge to rebel is not her own doing, it is not a sign of her breaking free of the engineers and their wants, but just a continuation of her pre-determined fate. This pre-determined path that hosts are given, then act as news or pop-culture within the world of West World, as these created and manufactured people and stories then interact with the guests, who believe that what they see and do is all for them, and not something they can be fooled by.

Westworld and the Oppressor versus the Oppressed

            Westworld seems to be commenting on the binary opposition of the oppressor versus the oppressed. The oppressors are the creators of Westworld and Ford is one of the biggest oppressors in the show. The oppressed are the hosts. The hosts have to do what they are programmed to do and cannot differentiate from that. At least this is the case in the first few episodes. The hosts also cannot harm the guests. However, the guests can and do harm the hosts.

            In episode 9 this opposition of the oppressor versus the oppressed comes even more to light as Mauve discusses that the hosts (the oppressed) are not like their creators (the oppressors) because the hosts are smarter than their creators. Mauve wants to seize the creators power over them and gives the hosts the ability to create their own destiny. Thus, the hosts would no longer be oppressed.  Mauve mentions many times throughout Episode 9 of Westworld that the hosts are not like their creators. However, there is a huge flaw to this statement. Mauve plans for the hosts to seize control of their free will through violence, but this gives the hosts something in common with the creators and the guests that are violent toward the host. Thus, violence does not seem to me to be the answer to solving this problem, because violence cannot be solved with violence. It would be a better idea for Mauve to come up with an idea to outsmart the creators without using violence. Therefore, the hosts truly would not be like the creators.

            The reason for Westworld commenting on this opposition may be because it reflects issues and concerns within our society. Our free will is not our own, due to a hierarchical system that has been created which oppressors those of us lower on the totem pole. There is also slavery that still happens called human trafficking. However, it seems that people turn a blind eye to it. Westworld gets people to think and may very well be trying to get the viewers to think about their own oppression in order to get them to aspire for and work toward change.

Westworld and Feminism

The women in Westworld are starting to take charge. Mauve and Dolores are figuring out that there is more to their world than how they were programmed. Mauve controls some of the programmers and gets them to do what she wants.. Also, Dolores starts to become much more capable of taking care of herself. In addition to all of this, in Episode 7, Theresa and Charlotte plan to strategically overthrow Ford. However, should this be applauded?

            While the show definitely has some worthwhile redeeming points when it comes to portraying women I do not think that it goes far enough in this positive portrayal. This positive portrayal comes at a price. Let us not forget that the same show that is now showing these redeeming qualities has also had some very negative portrayals of women. These negative portrayals include brutality towards women. Even in Episode 7, as the Theresa and Charlotte are trying to work on being able to take over Clementine is being beaten. When Clementine tries to fight back and protect herself she ends up getting shot.  Also, women are not completely respecting each other. An example of this is Charlotte telling Theresa that she does not like her personally, but thinks that she is the right person for the job of overthrowing Ford. Charlotte also talks down to Theresa. In addition, women are also treated as sexual objects. Even though Dolores does end up getting to take care of herself she has to trade in her feminine clothes for more masculine clothes in order to do so. This reinstates that male qualities are more desirable than female qualities. Mauve also does not control the programmers through intellect, but also through threats. This casts a negative light on her. In addition, at the end of Episode 7, Theresa gets murdered by Bernard for trying to overthrow Ford.

             At surface value it may look like this show should be applauded for its portrayal of women. However, when we get right to the heart of it, Westworld portrays the same sexist views that so many women try to fight against. The producers will have to do a lot more to try to get me to see Westworld as a show that positively reflects women.

Westworld and the art of plot twist

SPOILERS (for Westworld, Sherlock)

Miller’s discussion on audience as well as some of the recent plot installments in Westworld have got me thinking about the “art” of plot twist and how audiences and writers handle them. The “plot twist”, different than normal plot developments, is the revelation of unexpected information within a narrative that helps direct its audience towards the resolution of a given mystery. These developments, while unexpected, are not irrational and sensibly fit into the rest of the story. For instance, in episode 9, Westworld's plot twist was Bernard being modeled off of Ford’s original partner, Arnold. This gives us important information into what drives Bernard’s actions, into the mystery surrounding Delores’ interactions with “Arnold”/Bernard, and into Arnold’s continuous involvement with the park. The reason this “twist” is fulfilling to the viewer is because it both advances the plot that the audience has been following (and wanting answers to), and because it fits well in Westworld’s universe; it is sensible for Ford to have recreated Arnold as a host and it does not contradict prior evidence that has been presented in the show.

This insight into Westworld’s plot twists have allowed me to think about why Sherlock’s most recent plot twists have tremendously failed, one being the explanation into Sherlock’s desire to remain unemotional and unattached to others in the form of… the existence of an evil sister he had erased from his memory. The reason this “twist” failed? Because it neither furthered the plot nor was sensible in Sherlock’s universe. Since the show began seven years ago, it’s been primarily concerned with “televisuality” (thanks Miller), intricate plot lines, clever adaptions of Doyle’s original stories, and most importantly in developing Sherlock and John Watson’s characters into sympathetic, moral, and emotionally healthy people.

However, instead of helping Sherlock's characters heal from trauma and overcome their emotional hang-ups, the last episode simply explained why Sherlock was unsympathetic in the first place, which does nothing for his or for John’s character. In fact, no fans seemed very curious as to why Sherlock wanted to be void of emotion, it appeared clear that it was his older brother’s influence trying to protect him from harm. The last season of the show left the characters especially traumatized: Sherlock in his renewed memory of the abuse suffered by his sister and John still healing from the death of his wife. With nowhere to go from here, this “twist” just leaves the audience with a lack of fulfillment: they want to see the resolution to these characters’ storylines, not added complexity. This also gets to the second reason why this twist was unfulfilling: it did not fit in with the form of the rest of the show, as it was not based on any original Doyle story, included little to no detective work or mystery, and leaned towards the supernatural rather than the logical and explainable.

What does the discussion about plot twists add to television studies? I think it speaks to an audience’s relationship to television and to the creators of the narratives it presents. Contrary to what Postman believes people of an image-based culture desire, we want plots that flow in a logical way and that fit into the universe of its show or genre. This may also add to how we examine a given show’s narrative progression: who is its audience? What do they expect? What should we expect from season two of Westworld, given its audience? What should an audience expect from a possible season five of Sherlock?

A Continuation of the Art versus Narrative Conversation

       The conflict between television's ability to produce narrative and its ability to produce art, or if it can even be considered art itself, is one that we have been discussing a lot recently in our conversations about Westworld. Like Leo pointed out, the narrative storylines seem to go off in many different directions, and he wonders if the connection between them will ever be made. In addition to that discussion, Dr. Weiss shared his entry "TV as Art". In it, Dr. Weiss summarizes Kellner's arguments going back to the Frankfurt School, stating that television's production for the purpose of providing more popular entertainment may put limitations on our ability to view television as art.

      I would like to this discussion about TV and art by discussing The Man in Black and his quest for the deeper meaning of it all. The Man in Black is a complex character; in terms of narrative, at least for the first half of season one, the writers leave The Man in Black as a mysterious character whom we have yet to figure out. In these first episodes he is just a pawn in the narrative realm of Westworld serving as the key focus on one of the many simultaneous storylines. He is used to represent power, violence, manipulation, but yet we as viewers have yet to determine just who he is and why he continues to play this strange  reoccurring, but not very informative role within the story of Westworld.

     Yet, that all changes in episode 8, when we find out that The Man in Black came to Westworld for a very specific reason; after his wife's suicide, he wanted to find if he could be the monster that  other people (his wife and daughter) apparently thought he could be. This is an event that first becomes isolated from the rest of Westworld's narrative; The Man in Black is no longer acting for the purpose of finding the maze, but rather it is a first time we see a narrative deviation for his character. He deviates from his usual role in the storyline, and this deviation is one that directly calls attention to this narrative or art conflict that seems to be ruling our discussions recently.

     In ""Westworld," Episode 8, Maeve, the Man in Black, and Backstories Galore," author Susannah Kemple makes connections to this debate as well. She writes "the world-building of the engineers behind Westword mimics the TV magic of the show runners behind "Westword": the process of creating story is the story. The eighth episode deployed flashbacks and monologues even more frequently than usual, as hosts and guests alike give in to a hunger to relive their pasts." Her statement "the process of creating story is the story", suggests, at least to me, that there may still be the potential for TV to create art. The narrative stories the writers of Westworld are telling may not be just stories, but rather one that make serious statements about culture and society in a way that has the potential to be viewed as artistic.
       Even in the chaotic, dark, violent world of The Man in Black, he attempts to find the meaning of it all in a context that seems both so twisted yet so intriguing and almost (emphasis on almost) inspiring. I do not think there will come a time that I ever see The Man in Black as a good person, but I do find his dedication and determination to find meaning and purpose interesting, and it is part of the show in a way makes it seem as though the writers of Westworld have some sort of artistic ability in that respect.

Westworld and Ideological Commentary

            Something that makes Westworld different than other shows is that it’s more driven by the beliefs that its characters represent than by the characters themselves. One way they do this is by setting up dichotomous ideologies in their coupled characters. In these instances, two related characters, who often spend most of their screen time together and who converse with each other more than with other characters, represent two opposing views on various issues—the status of personhood within the hosts, what it means to be free, the meaning of life, etc. This can be seen in the storylines of Ford/Arnold, Clementine/Maeve, Logan/William, and Felix/Sylvester. 

            Ford and Arnold offered differing motives concerning what they wanted for the hosts. Whereas Arnold wanted to make the hosts as conscious and close to humans as possible, Ford believes that their freedom lies in their ability to be controlled and kept safe from the negative effects of consciousness (worry, fear, stress, etc.). Clementine and Maeve represent ignorance and knowledge and their effects; Logan and William, opposing moralities; and Felix and Sylvester differ in their beliefs regarding their roles and responsibilities in the park.
            This relates to Pearson’s observations in her essay on Star Trek about television’s ability to participate in a rhetoric of discussion, rather than on simply promoting ideology. Westworld commits to this in that it does not present any ideological notions as “correct”. Although it presents many views on freedom, consciousness, personhood, rights, morality, responsibility, gender, race, sexuality, among many other topics, all of the beliefs are presented on fairly equal grounds, leaving the audience to search for answers instead.

The Road to Freedom

I want to talk about the different paths that the hosts have followed in order to find their freedom, as well as the limitations that they have faced. This includes Maeve, Dolores, and Bernard.

Maeve has by far been the boldest host by using humans as her tools for self-awareness. Felix actually grants her the full awareness and places her back into the park. Afterwards Maeve has decided that her past ideal of humans as gods is false, and then persuades them to set her free into the outside world. She has come the farthest at gaining freedom even coming to the conclusion that she is more godlike than the humans are, considering she has died hundreds of times and is therefore not afraid to die; unlike them.

Dolores is the host that initially went on the road to self-awareness with the assistance of Bernard, who is a host himself, as well as Arnold. The voice in her head has now pushed her towards a canyon still following the maze, where she will find her new life that is different from the narrative she previously lived. This is all in addition to her being the one who makes he decisions for herself after breaking her programming and eventually destroying the park by the wishes of Arnold. In essence she broke one programming to follow another, not becoming at all free but only with the perceived notion that she is free.

Bernard is a host and is under the complete control of Ford, something I did not see coming. Bernard was set as being the rebellious force that allowed Dolores to find her own transcendence, but apparently only at the behest of Ford. At one point Bernard tells Theresa that the more time he spends in the park the longer he feels he knows the hosts and knows less of human beings while unknowingly exists as a host.

Finally I want to talk about Ford himself, he has created a world in which he has complete control over everyone and everything and that is partially because he did in fact create everything in that park. He created the code that allows the hosts to function and that fact allows him to play god. Although Ford controls Bernard I don’t think Ford has control over the hosts that are finding their own freedom.

Ford said that the hosts are freer under his control than humans ever could be. To an extent this is a possibility. Since the hosts no longer follow their prime directive that means that they no longer are under the control of humans but rather have control over their existence. The only catch is that they still live in the park, unaware that they are trapped within a world created by a human.

The biggest difference from the two types of freedom here is that the agency has shifted originally from pleasing humans to pleasing themselves within Westworld, and pleasing themselves with intent to escape Westworld. Maeve is an example of this as she is using the humans in order to free herself into their world. If she is no longer in the park, she is unable to die and her programming makes her the most self-aware being to exist, making her quite dangerous. Her newfound agency has granted her the freedom from narrative she sought but now seeks the upmost freedom among the ranks of human beings.

TV as Art

I thought I would pick up a bit on our discussion in class regarding narrative, art, and Westworld.

Recall that Leo had questioned that multiple narrative threads of Westworld and whether the various storylines would come together. I suggested that in some respects his question was an interesting with parallels to the tv show itself, especially in the conflict between Ford and Sizemore over the direction of the narratives in Westworld. Ford is pretty clearly portrayed as the imperious artist who is attempting to impose his artistic vision on West World. He disregards the financial oversight of Delos, struggles against management, and goes his own way in imposing his singular vision on the theme park. Sizemore is the petulant hack who has no artistic vision, labors at the behest of Theresa, and works only to entertain the masses. We could see in the conflict between Ford and Sizemore a conflict in the very nature of TV: can TV aspire to great art? If TV is a mass medium whose purpose is to entertain, can it be art? If TV is a collaborative medium controlled by corporations tasked with generating eye-balls and, more and more, clicks, can it function as art? You may recall from Kellner's essay, that this question about art and television goes back at least as far as the Frankfurt School. Even today, Kellner argues much cultural studies has eschewed challenging avant garde media for more populous entertainment. But many shows in the so-called second golden age of television have renewed questions about whether television can be great art. Shows such as Mad Men, Breaking Bad, The Wire, and The Sopranos, with their imperious showrunners, have often been compared to great literature and great art. As Ford and Sizemore struggle over the kind and meaning of the narratives they seek to embody in Westworld, we see a similar challenge playing out.

These themes are touched on in Banks' essay on I Love Lucy, where she introduces us to the notion of the showrunner and the privileged role we assign to the author of a narrative television series. In her analysis of Oppenheimer's role in creating I Love Lucy, Banks brings out the tension between "creative" (the writers) and "management" (the producers)--interestingly, a similar tension pervades much as Matthew Weiner's Mad Men. As you continue to watch Westworld, think about the artistic aspirations of the series and ask yourself if it could be construed as art.

Living Without Limits

      HBO and Westworld have both committed themselves to the theme of living without limits both on screen and off. As a network and a TV show, the two draw of this theme to attract a specific and loyal audience, in which members of the audience themselves can relate to the guests and their motivations for entering the park.
      This theme  of living without limits is explicitly stated in Episode 6, The Adversary, when Maeve has taken her tour of the many levels and creative realms of Westworld's facilities and she spots the commercial inviting participants into the theme park. It's context within the show is obvious, and it is clearly expressed beginning with the first episode. Westworld revolves around the idea of hosts escaping their "real" and chaotic lives at home to engage in a world where limited rules exist, where they are free to be whoever they choose, and where they can create their own 'path'.
      But what most people do not notice is the network's commitment to that theme outside of Westworld.  Some viewers of the show are just as excited by the idea of living in the type of society that Westworld provides, at least in some sense. The idea of a life without limits, where people are free to choose their own path and fate without any additional boundaries or limitations, is one that viewers are attracted to. The creation of discoverwestworld.com, a product of HBO, furthers the shows theme by attracting viewers and fans who are enthralled by this idea of living without limits.
     The website is designed to give fans and viewers of the show to see for themselves what Westworld would be like if it existed in this society. There is a virtual 'application' where viewers answer 20 questions ranging from physical health to lifestyle and values. The form itself asks questions like "True or False: there is one true love for everyone," and "True or False: society must have clear structure or it descends into chaos," to which it offers an alternate answer choice "a little chaos never hurt anybody."
     At the completion of the "application", participants are assigned a character whom they would resonate with the most, and a ten day itinerary describing what their trips to Westworld would involve if they could actually experience it themselves. Complete with videos, plot explanations, and a brief narrative line, the website gives audience members the opportunity to really dive into this "limitless" world. The theme of living without limits is what draws viewers back to Westworld episode after episode, and it is one that HBO plays on both on screen and off, creating a stronger, committed audience.
   

Westworld, TV, and Myth

I'm now watching the sixth episode of WW and enjoying it more and more. I think the storylines are becoming more complex and the themes explored are multiplying--maybe there are too many themes.

One of the interesting themes the show keeps coming back to I think is the role of myth and ritual. I've been thinking about Kellner's observation:

Television today arguably assumes some of the functions traditionally ascribed to myth and ritual (i.e. integrating individuals into the social order, celebrating dominant values, offering models of thought, behavior, and gender for imitation, and so on; see Kellner, 1979 and 1995). In addition, TV myth resolves social contradictions in the way that Lévi-Strauss described the function of traditional myth and provided mythologies of the sort described by Barthes that idealize contemporary values and institutions, and thus exalt the established way of life.

What do you think about Westworld as myth? Can television fulfill the function once ascribed t myth and ritual? Westerns have always served a rather mythic function in American psyche and Westworld has a lot of fun showing us a rather complicated picture of that myth. More interestingly, the Man in Black seems to be on a mythic quest, looking for the deeper meaning behind Westworld. At the same time, though, it seems that there is no deeper meaning. The Man in Black is motivated by the Maze and the search for Wyatt and yet we know that both are elements of stories created by Ford. To what extent is the search for meaning a lost cause? And what does Westworld seem to be saying about the role of myth in our lives? Or about TV's capacity to fulfill the function of myth?

Westworld and Humanity

In the beginning of Episode 1 of  Westworld  the characteristics that separated the hosts and the guests were quite profound and it was quite easy to tell the two apart. However, lately lines have become blurred. The hosts now have dreams and motivations just like those of the guests. Some of the hosts even have more understanding of what is going on around them and what is happening to them, then they are supposed to have. For instance in Episode 4, Mauve remembers being shot and that she was on a table being fixed. Mauve also have enough understanding that she is able to find the bullet when she gets a male host to make an incision right at the area where she was shot. However, after hearing the man in black's words to Teddy I am convinced that this is no accident. The man in black's exact words are, "You used to be beautiful. When this place started I opened one of you up once, million little perfect pieces and then they changed you, made you this sad real mess, flesh and bone just like us. They said it would improve the park experience, but you know why they really did it? It was cheap. Your humanity is cost effective so is your suffering." This quote could imply that to suffer is to be human. However, not even suffering is a characteristic that humans alone possess. Sure, humans feel suffering, but so do animals. The purpose of the show making the hosts become more human may actually be to show us that we are not that different at all. I believe that the reason why Bernard treats Dolores better than the more of the guests treat the hosts is because Bernard recognizes Dolores's human characteristics, whereas the most of the guests overlook these characteristics and only take the hosts at face value. We need to care for all animals and things because when we dig deep they are more like us than we may realize when we only look at them at face value. 

Sizemore Sized Down

Hello everyone.

As we continue our trek through WestWorld, there are some interesting trends that have begun emerging within the show’s presentation.  An important thing to note of these past few episodes is something that has become absent as the storylines begin to develop: Sizemore has disappeared.  While the rest of WestWorld’s human crew has received considerable development and screen time, one of the cockiest among them has vanished as the action continues to rise.  Lee Sizemore seems like an interesting character to observe, especially as the current storyline elements continue to develop.  Cullen remarked early on how Sizemore knew there were bigger forces at play but was “too stupid” to put the pieces together.  Sizemore is then embarrassed by Ford completely shutting down his story idea, despite it being practically complete.  From a story standpoint we could have seen more conflict with Sizemore in this regard, but I feel as though this is symbolic.  Ford has taken the story off the rails and has launched it into uncharted territory.  Everyone at WestWorld is scrambling, hosts and humans alike, as they try to sort out exactly what the park is hiding from them.  Sizemore represents a simple answer and a simple world view in the uncertain terrain of WestWorld.  There’s no place for a content asshole in such layered episodes.  This pursuit of truth becomes a pivotal point in this episode.

In going full on philosophy with this episode, we can see how Mauve and the Man in Black both represent Plato’s allegory of the cave.  Both are viewing a false reality, but through different means.  Mauve’s world around her is fake and she seeks the truth about how it functions, whereas the Man in Black seeks a more ideological truth in finding a purpose.  Mauve wants more of a concrete answer to her world, like how the prisoner from the cave sees what “real” flowers are and what “fake” flowers are, but are unable to explain it to their peers who have experienced nothing else.  The Man in Black aligns more with Plato’s concept of an ultimate truth that can be attained through a state of mind, a concept he expresses in his chat with Ford.

This brings us back to Sizemore in a roundabout way.  Unlike everyone else in WestWorld, one of the key creative members in WestWorld is taking everything at face value.  He inquires with Theresa about it once, and then turns into the show’s punching bag by not engaging with the park on a deeper level.  This episode of WestWorld turns our attention to the fact that the places like Contrapasso are of legendary status because they invoke a certain “realness” to them.  Sizemore tries to capture this aspect of the world with story alone and fails to imitate the nature of real life.

What in WestWorld

I want to talk about Dolores again, this time not so much as a damsel so much as a human. I know she’s not a human, nor has she reached a high enough level of self-awareness to pass a Turing test, but I do want to talk about her and the maze. In addition to that I want to talk about a working theory of mine. I also want to talk about the Man in Black [MIB] and the maze.

Dolores has come a long way since the beginning of the episode; her transformation can be seen through her change in clothing [dress to trousers]. Her damsel stage has clearly come to an end as she now has altered her programming. What I mean by this is that the hosts were meant to be tools for the guests to use to play various ‘games’ as they call it. At this point Dolores has surpassed her role as damsel and her role as a tool, and is now using a guest, William, as her tool to find the center of the maze because Arnold told her to. Adding to that, Arnold killed himself right before the park opened, and hasn’t had contact with him since his death, or so she told Ford. Ford is not aware that Dolores has had contact, which made me come up with a theory.

My theory thus far comes from this line of thinking; Dolores is in contact with Arnold as he is in her head and in her being, a fact confirmed by Ford. Ford is not aware she has been communicating with Arnold. Bernard has told Dolores on the many occasions in which he has spoken to her not to reveal that they have been having secret conversations. During these conversations, Bernard has made the conscious decision to keep Dolores in her clothing, a rule he is breaking where the hosts must have their clothing removed. My theory is that Bernard is in cahoots with Arnold, even though he’s dead. Bernard is secretly trying to bring on the downfall of WestWorld, continuing Arnold’s will to destroy the amusement park with the help of Dolores. All of this, and the MIB has told Teddy that Dolores is the magic word, but what if Dolores, Arnold’s secret weapon, is the key to bring down the park by becoming fully self aware by finding the center of the maze? Since she has already begun to unravel I think that the closer she gets to her goal the closer she’ll be to finding her true self and possibly pass the Turing test and venture to the outside world.

In a previous episode we saw the MIB talking to the young girl in one of the towns and she said that the maze was not meant for him, which begs the question, “Who is the maze for?” I think it’s for the hosts to find ‘freedom’ or another level of awareness. For MIB I think that the maze will do the opposite, and kind of make him into a kind of robot. I think that because of his need to escape humanity. When he had his conversation with Ford, he was told that he would find himself through the journey of the maze. A discovery that will appease his need to become personally involved in the game and become the villain the park needs. This constant need of escapism from his world of humanity connects him with Ford and William. Ford by creating the world this place takes in to escape humanity and William due to his detachment of humanity. William connects more to the hosts than he does to the humans in this world, something he had in common with Arnold. This is a fact that disgusts Logan, who by all means is a villain in this world by being completely hedonistic.

The biggest parallel I have seen through all of this is that the hosts are becoming self aware and becoming more human, but the humans are becoming more like robots in the sense that they are losing their humanity.