‘I, Robot’ and the Breadcrumbs of Anti-Blackness

Abstract

Post-racial and colourblind framings suggest that the racial divides of the past have been rendered obsolete, largely due to the advancements spurred by social movements in the 1960s and 1970s. However, scholars across the fields of Rhetoric, Theory, and Black Studies have shown how these framings, rather than ameliorating racial divides, have deepened them by subtly endorsing whiteness and white supremacist ideologies. This paper introduces the concept of ‘Technological Progress Framing’ – the belief that technology and its rapid advancements can resolve racial disparities. It argues that this framing has, in certain contexts, either repackaged or supplanted post-racial perspectives, ultimately serving the interests of whiteness. Using the 2004 film ‘I, Robot’, the paper elucidates how science fiction films, undergirded by this Technological Progress Framing, further anti-Black rhetoric and agendas.