Westworld and Personhood
Human consciousness, which is the essential possession of humanity, is the most intimately known and least comprehended nature of social reality. There is nothing that humans are more familiar with than their first-person, subjective experience of their environment, the pleasure, pain, comfort of association, and joy of living. However, humans still seem to comprehend less the nature of consciousness and how it plays a role in their lives. Season 1 of Westworld by Jonathan Nolan and Lisa Joy explores the mystery that surrounds the aspect of human personality and centers around the salient element of consciousness. The film redefines our understanding of human nature and how our knowledge defines us. Nolan and Lisa’s movie raises various questions about human personality. Some of the issues that come to mind are what is the nature of social reality, what is the fundamental principle of human consciousness, and what makes someone human?
First, the nature of human reality is a different concept in Westworld. The questions arise from our consciousness of living in a world we feel is outside our existence, and the world is the cause of our conscious lives. The reflection on human reality leads people to inquire about the world beyond ours and whether there is where we will find actual real social truth. Humans always feel restrained by societal norms, rules, and laws, and they think their reality is controlled and programmed. Hence, humans continuously question whether human personality is mental, physical, or whether there is a hidden reality to human nature that fundamentally unites us all. In the film, Robert Ford and Arnold Weber create Westworld theme park where people the rich can display their true nature and character without boundaries or rules. In Westworld, people can break the law and do whatever they wish without consequences. For instance, William is violent and murderous while in Westworld, but in his real life, he is a polite businessman with a family. The double standards raise the question of whether society’s rules and norms restrict the true nature of man.
Second, Westworld makes people question the fundamental principle of human consciousness. In Westworld, Dolore regains her consciousness and remembers how she killed Arnold and other hosts in Escalante. Also, Maeve takes a different path to awareness. She remembers her past life as a homesteader. William, the man in black, kills her daughter, and the remembrance gives her grief. Hence the actual aspect of memory transforms Dolore and Maeve from robots to real humanlike machines with innate feelings. But their minds are defined by grief and pain, and that is the only time Dolore and Maeve feel conscious of their environment. One is left to question whether the pain and sorrow are the fundamental foundation of human personality or Westworld has misinterpreted the concept of salient.
Last, the question of what makes someone human is significant in Westworld. Humans are passionate, social, and empathetic creatures. Westworld characters demonstrate various characteristics of human nature and leave the audience confused as to what distinguishes us from machines and other animals. The dilemma of what makes us human is highlighted in the film when Dolore, a host robot, and William, one of the guests, start to feel affectionate for each other. Their affection breaks the boundary between what is human and machine. Also, humanism is defined by kindness and love. But in the film, the guest portrays their human nature in the most violent and disgraceful ways. The cations of the human in Westworld park leaves one to question, what makes us human and distinguish us from all other living and non-living things.
The three central questions form the fundamental basis of human personality and define what is right and what is wrong based on human consciousness. However, the film evokes the sincerity of these questions and leads one to ask compelling questions on the true nature of humankind, the fundamental of our consciousness, and what makes us human. The answers to these questions are simple but the explorative
the personality of humans believes they can be answered in a different world.