The Machine Stops

In 1909, E.M. Forster imagined a world in which man had developed vastly advanced technologies, ones which made the earth seem vastly smaller with instant communication from across the world, and ones which made work and effort a thing of the past. Although this had its upsides, Forester imagined a harsher reality where the maturation of technology led to the death of free thought as machines became sentient entities. Another important factor in his future is how these advances led to an imminent weakness which emerged from human reliance on machines. Although this future has proven a reality in some ways, it is not as grim as Forester predicted.

In today’s world, the world has indeed shrunk, as we are capable of communicating face-to-face with people from different corners of the world. At the push of a button, I am capable of communicating with a dear friend in Ratingen, Germany, from the comfort of my own home. Man is now able to cross vast distances in mere hours … distances which once would have required months or years of effort now only require a few dollars in gas or a flight ticket.

Unfortunately, this has created a desire in man to rely solely on machines whenever possible. We have, in fact, grown weaker and wiser, relying on mechanical arms to build our houses and microwave ovens to heat our meals. In Forster’s work The Machine Stops, Vashti, Kuno’s mother, spends the majority of her time confined to a resting position in which all her desires are met through the push of a button. She is incapable of visiting the outside world because her body has become so weak through lack of exposure. In fact, strength is discouraged. Although there is not so great a dependence upon technology as Forster may have predicted, his assumptions were nonetheless surprisingly accurate.

It is a common theme in modern fiction that machines will eventually become sentient beings capable of free thought and aware of their own existence. The same can be said concerning the loss of free thought in futuristic societies. This has most recently been enacted in the 2008 film “Eagle Eye.” Clearly, none of these have been fulfilled, as I am expressing to the reader my opinion on the aforementioned work. There is no “Machine” which dictates our way of life.

To be honest, it is somewhat frightening to look back a full century ago and see how horrifyingly accurate the predictions of one man were. It is fortunate, however, to say that his foresight was somewhat blurred by a vast imagination.