Chapter 7: The Critiques of Structural Functionalism, Colonialism, and Capitalism Using Violence in Modern Science Fiction Classics: The Matrix, Alien: Resurrection, and Starship Troopers

The 1990s was a period of cultural upheaval evident in various aspects of popular culture. Hip-Hop was becoming mainstream with the popularity of Dr. Dre, NWA, Onyx, Biggie Smalls, Snoop Dogg, and Tupac Shakur, with a body of work that glorified violence and drugs while simultaneously protesting racial profiling and police brutality. Who can forget NWA’s “F*** Tha Police?” On the other side of the musical spectrum the most popular genre of rock that displaced “Big Hair” and heavy metal bands was “grunge,” originating in Seattle. It contained lyrics expressing disillusionment with society and despair. Grunge was represented by acts such as Nirvana, Alice in Chains, Soundgarden, Pearl Jam, and the Stone Temple Pilots, amongst others, with Nirvana’s “Smells Like Teen Spirit” becoming the song of a generation and an “anthem for apathetic kids” (“Winners of 1991,” 1992). The antiestablishment rebellion was seen in other areas of popular culture during this era, namely in science fiction films. This chapter seeks to examine the underlying themes critiquing capitalism and its violent tendencies found in The Matrix Trilogy (1999, May 2003, and November 2003), Alien: Resurrection (1997) and Starship Troopers (1997) which can be viewed through the lens of critiquing functionalist theory’s relationship with capitalism and their notes on symbolic violence.