The Machine in the Mirror: Westworld and the Posthuman Anxiety of Automated Body

Mohamad Noor Rizal (Universitas Padjadjaran)

English Language and Literature International Conference (ELLiC) Proceedings
Vol 9 (2026): Reconceptualizing Intercultural Education in the Age of Artificial Intelligence and Sy

This paper examines the HBO series Westworld (2016) as a primary site for exploring contemporary anxiety regarding the evolution of automated technology. Utilizing Rosi Braidotti’s posthuman critical theory and Donna Haraway’s cyborgian framework, the research investigates the shifting hierarchy between human "creators" and robotic "hosts". The study explores how the process of automation reproduces the conditions of humanness while simultaneously defying human control, creating a "weird ambiguity" where the automated body becomes a site of both self-acting subjectivity and absolute otherness.