Cinema has always been the forerunner of depicting AI and its untapped potential. The depiction of AI in film has preceded its actuality and has often led it to be portrayed in a dystopian-fantasy style. Futuristic universes, supernatural abilities and technological innovations are a few examples of dystopian AI. One of the first uses of dystopian AI was seen in 1927, in the film Metropolis (Tomlinson, 2018). A first of its kind, the film portrays a futuristic city, using extravagant sets to depict two very different worlds, the working class and the elite. Like most German expressionist films, the movie used unique camera angles and bold dark shadows (Ebert, 1998). 

Nowadays films have changed the way dystopian AI is portrayed. With some similarities from Metropolis, the films stay true to form by portraying futuristic technology and dystopian universes, but have moved away from its traditional role of storytelling. Dystopian AI movies have adopted a more contemporary style such as Chaos Cinema. According to Steven Shaviro, “Chaos cinema is a never-ending crescendo of flair and spectacle. It’s a shotgun aesthetic, firing a wide swath of sensationalistic technique that tears them old classical filmmaking style to bits” (Steven Shaviro, 2016). Action sequences, intense music and dramatic scenes are often categorised under Chaos Cinema. These dystopian AI movies often if not always consist of a hero and a villain, a high-intensity fight sequence, fast paced action, visual effects and quick-cutting camera shots, thus coming under the umbrella of chaos cinema. 

A great example of dystopian AI in chaos cinema is The Matrix (1999). The movie revolves around Neo, a computer programmer who pledges his allegiance to a secret group of agents to dismantle The Matrix that has taken over Earth (Grebey, 2021). The film is set in a dystopian universe with certain characters having supernatural abilities. The famous fight sequence in the subway station between Neo and Agent Smith is a classic example of chaos cinema. The fight entails Neo and Agent Smith in a high intensity battle, using their superpowers. The camera scenes are sudden and dramatic, the music is apprehensive and the fight sequences are exaggerated. 

Since The Matrix, dystopian AI movies have become more intense, with better storytelling because of audio-visual effects. With movies such as Blade Runner, HER and Lucy, dystopian AI has undoubtedly seen a rise in chaos cinema and has subsequently impacted its nature of storytelling ability. 

By Vanessa Varghese