THE SCI-FI CONSTELLATION

an investigation of the contradictions of capitalism in science fiction cinema from the perspective of Frankfurtian Critical Theory

Abstract

This research investigates the contradictions of capitalism in science fiction cinema from films in which the media has relevant presence in the narratives: They Live (1988), Bacurau (2019) and Videodrome (1983). The theoretical discussion is conducted in light of the Frankfurt School's Critical Theory, chosen for its historical-dialectical materialist approach that allows the analysis of cultural productions through a critique of the productive logic to which these works are tied, as well as the artistic content of the films. The methodology employed is the Constellation Method, aiming to explore the dialectical relationship between ideas and phenomena. As a result, the ideas observed and developed to form the constellation are those that name the axes: Cultural Industry, Class Struggle and Technological Domination, developed through the Conspiracy structure within the phenomena, so that the Origin of SF, the Revolution Bourgeois Industrial and the development of imperialist capitalism are mediated by a vast allegorical dimension of objects, locations, character groups, scenes, etc.