A Typology of Screen Presence in Sci-Fi Horror: from The Twilight Zone to The Social Dilemma

Abstract

This article explores how the presence of screens in sci-fi horror conveys technology-related anxieties that can be articulated through media studies. It proposes a typology of five forms of screen appearance: reference; mise en abyme; narrative element and/or character; erasure of the frame within the frame; and aesthetics/narrative technique across mediums. This study is divided into three sections. The first puts sci-fi horror narratives and media theory into conversation. Building on that connection, the classification is developed in the second section by comparing examples of screen presence in television shows and movies since the 60’s and up to the present—from an episode of The Twilight Zone (1964) to The Circle (2017). In order to show the usefulness of the suggested classification, the third part of the article analyzes the docudrama The Social Dilemma (2020) employing said typology as a framework. Here, this work is considered sci-fi horror due to its fictional subplot and is examined as an example of the way Internet-connected screens have been portrayed recently.